A wagoneer Christmas story

[Kaiserjeeps]

I think it was 2004, maybe 2005. I was in my 69 X model wagoneer with my wife Jen at the time and Bill owner of Sadie from the 70 in the build thread. We headed out to go get two very large Christmas trees at a local lot in Hillsboro Oregon. We picked up two fine 12 foot trees, tied them to the top of my wagoneer and headed for the bank where Jen worked for an after hours drop off. They were huge. It was for the bank lobby. We pull up to a light on 185th a busy 4 lane street. Up next to us a souped up ford escort stops and starts revving his motor. Loud exhaust and everything. I think this guy wants to race I said. Bill says do it Al! The light turned green and I floored it. Running a rebuilt balanced 4 barrel intake buick 350, we launched. Neck and neck for about half a block and I start pulling ahead. A block later I left him in the dust. He backed off and gave up. We pulled up to the bank as he putted by loud exhaust and everything.
I realized this kid just got beat by an old wagoneer with two giant trees tied on the top. I forgot about the trees. All three of us laughed our butts off.
Bill said I bet he does not mention that one to any of his friends. ha!

We just chuckled about that this evening on the phone tonight. What a total hoot!

I am going to have to rebuild the old x model next. I miss that old rig something else. It sits in the garage right now.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Great story, you have a lot of history with these rigs. Can"t wait to see the next one you build. Merry Christmas.

[Serious Johnson]

It was '04 or '05 and Dear Wife & I lived in Maysville, Colorado. I don't do Christmas but she does and on Christmas Eve I finally gave in to her pleas and went out to kill a tree for Santa. In Chaffee County you can get a permit to cut one Christmas tree on public land (the county is 82% public land). Thing is, by the time DW sent me out the Forest Service office was closed, so no permit was forthcoming. There were no trees that I cared to cut on our Maysville property -- in fact no trees at all but cottonwood and a couple of ancient apples, but we had 74 acres just 12 miles away in the High Country. Aside from the fact that you usually couldn't get up there even on a snowmobile in December, the place was above timberline which, by definition, lacks trees. But Dear Wife was relentless, so off I went in the Wagoneer. I made it about 9 miles up Forest Service Road 240, which was farther than I'd expected, before it became apparent that if I didn't stop I'd be snowshoeing down. Backed down far enough to get the Jeep turned around, shut it off, strapped on snowshoes and grabbed my little folding saw. Not far away I found a nice little blue spruce, apologized to the universe, cut it down and dragged it back to the Jeep.
On the way down, outlaw tree with no tag tied to the roof, I met headlights coming up -- wasn't expecting that! When we both killed our lights I made out the profile of a Chevy pickup, and once my eyes adjusted to moonlight I could see that it was that sickly shade of light green used by the Forest Service -- crap! It turned out to be Ranger Dave, who I knew well and who knew damn well that my high property had no trees and that there was no way in hell to get there in a Jeep in winter. We shot the bull for a while and then he nodded toward my Jeep and said, "Went up to your place for a tree did ya'? Well Merry Christmas."

S.J.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Great story! I read it out loud to the wife and we both laughed. Good times!

[Kaiserjeeps]

Great story, you have a lot of history with these rigs. Can"t wait to see the next one you build. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you too FSJ. Yes my wagoneeer will be fun to get mobil again. I have always been impressed with the way they handle snow.
Someday....