Del Albright

THE "DOZER" IS A NEW 2012 JK JEEP WE ARE EXPERIENCING Stacie and I have driven and owned several Jeeps, but now we have added a loaner JK to our inventory of off-road/backcountry rigs.  The "Dozer" was loaned to us after Jeep brought several rigs to the Fall Conference of the Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC). Our mission is to test, drive, wheel and learn the differences of the Jeep JK (4-door in this case), compared to other models of Jeep.  First thing off the bat, we're headed home when we see a big wildfire alongside hwy. 395 near Lake Topaz, called the Coho Fire.  Yup, that big cloud formation is a fire, creating its own weather system. The fire blocked the highway for a couple days and we had to drive an hour out of our way to get around it.  The good news is that the JK has tons of power and rides like "butter," to quote an outdoor writer friend of ours who also got to drive it. Acceleration is crisp and responsive; p...

JEEP/CHRYSLER PROVIDES RIGS FOR WRITERS TO EXPLORE BACKCOUNTRY Day 2 was spent going to Bodie State Park, CA, where a ghost town stands pretty much in tact at 9000 elevation in the desert mountains a couple hours south of Reno.  Scott Brown from Jeep brought a couple JK's, a Grand Cherokee and a Ram Power Wagon for us to drive, enjoy and experience. Our first stop was Mono Lake South Tufa where we enjoyed a tour of the tufa towers (calcium carbonate) standing in the salty lake, and even learned how to make Tufa. Our tour guide, Bartshe Miller from the Mono Lake Committee showed us the wildlife that lives in the lake, like these brine shrimp.  Birds by the millions come to Mono Lake which makes it a birders paradise. More on the Mono Lake Committee and their work to preserve the lake and its wildlife here: http://www.monolake.org/mlc/ Lunch is always a good stop and this one is at the Tioga Lodge, overlooking Mono Lake right off Hwy. 395 south ...

OUTDOOR WRITERS ENJOY DAY 1 OF FALL CONFERENCE IN MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA We did the Board meeting and caught up with friends and fellow photographers and writers in the am, followed by a great lunch and plenty of Mammoth Mountain hospitality. Gomez's Mexican Restaurant provided one outstanding buffet lunch, with goodies like Portabello Mushroom burritos and delectable fajitas. Gomez's serves up a selection of items, including: Sugarcane Shrimp; Chimale; Fajitas; Ceviche, and the usual combinations  you can't live without. More on Gomez's at http://www.gomezs.com The OWAC Board of directors were introduced and we enjoyed a relaxing lunch before heading back to the Westin hotel for workshops and craft improvement sessions. Famed photographer, Jack Dykinga was one of the highlights of the workshops, with his breath-taking images of our natural landscapes.  Jack was down to earth, real and personable while showcasing us  a few highligh...

VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVORITE BOARD MEMBER  BlueRibbon Coalition asking members to vote now online for Board members.  Great folks like my buddy from Wheelers for the Wounded, Kevin Carey is one of the runners.   He is also a charter member of Friends of the Rubicon.  SWEET. There are 4 openings and 5 candidates.  It will be a hard choice, but we need to speak up and vote. Dan Thomas, owner of Rocky Mountain ATV is another choice.  Joni Mogstad, our current President is running again and she has been instrumental in helping BRC grow for years and years.   Danny Hale from the VT ATV Sportsman Assoc. is on the list as well.  And we have Chad Booth of At Your Leisure TV show.  Wow, what a list.  Read their resumes and find your choice to help us make BRC, your BRC. And don't forget to visit and support our Turn the Tide Tour going on now at www.WeAreBRC.org So PLEASE VOTE now.. http://www.sharetrails.org/stor...

MOON ROCKS, NV GETS A TRAIL-GEAR CLEANUP On their Moon Rocks, NV Customer Appreciation Run this past weekend, the Trail-Gear folks loaded up the participants and did a huge cleanup as part of their event.  They picked up like 36 bags of trash, including an old couch dumped off by some thoughtless person, certainly NOT a four-wheeler/off-roader.    Trail-Gear is dedicated to helping keep public lands open to the public, while making some awesome off-road products. During the run, they spotted a backcountry fire and helped guide in Nevada fire crews to make sure it didn't get to be a big conflagration.  GOOD WORK, Trail-Gear.  You all are heroes. It's important that all of us respect our public lands and help folks like the BLM keep them clean and open. Thank you, Trail-Gear and all your customers.   And thanks to all the hard-working government folks who help us manage our public lands -- for us. Del (Photos courtesy of Trail-Gear)

YES YOU NEED A PERMIT ON PUBLIC LAND! By Del Albright, Ambassador, BlueRibbon Coalition Commercial, competitive or organized group events or activities ALL require a permit to be held on public land, and depending on the level of environmental review, REQUIRE at least 6 (six)  and up to 12 (twelve) months to process. Businesses and clubs/organizations need to pay particular attention to the permit process as it can sneak up on you quick!  We’re talking BOTH public land agencies -- BLM and USFS.  This blog will focus on the BLM permit process, but the USDA Forest Service (USFS) is about the same. Depending on the scope of your activity or event, you might have to cover some healthy Cost Recovery to recover costs associated with monitoring, law enforcement, enviro-studies, inventories, travel, administration, etc.  Again, the minimum time frame for submitting a COMPLETE permit application is SIX MONTHS ahead of time.  Just figure on it a...