We bought a Jeep. When I tell people this, I forget that I have to clarify. A Jeep Wrangler. The One True Jeep. We call her « La Jeep ». She was born in 2006 and traveled 93,000 miles to find us. She’s the last year of the TJ generation. Sport trim with a 6-speed manual transmission, midnight blue paint, and 30″ tires. We got her to go off-road.
Hot Ones is one of the best shows on YouTube. The simple, sophomoric conceit—10 well-researched questions deftly delivered by the iron-tongued Sean Evans, paired with 10 chicken wings of increasing Scoville units—turns out some of the funniest material I’ve seen in a long time.
You don’t have to be into cars [much] to enjoy watching David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan fix up beaters on Roadkill or Fred Williams go wheelin’ on Dirt Every Day. Turns out thoughtful, talented, well-spoken car guys actually exist!
With semi-spontaneous vacation opportunities somewhat limited by Stephanie’s school schedule, we set aside two weeks in early June (between her spring and summer semesters) almost a year in advance. Our plan amounted to little more than a list of Utah’s best known natural wonders—and an ill-fated attempt to rent a Jeep Wrangler in Cedar City, UT. The rental fell through, but the puddle jumper was already booked, so Cedar City it was—a blessing in disguise, as Cedar City is just over an hour from both Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. A great starting point. Everything else (including the route) we made up as we went along.
