On this past October 28th Evelyn and I hosted our first Zuni Mt. /Mt. Taylor Willys Jeep roundup that we hope to make into a yearly event. This year we were strapped with cold weather coming on and getting our 1960 Willys wagon ship-shape enough for a 30 or 40 mile mountain cruise with friends that also owned Jeeps.
I had been working on our 1960 Willys wagon very diligently for the past month or so, including new front springs, seats, heater core, taillights, fuel tank and wiring items to mention a few things and thought we were ready to cruise the Zuni Mts. with friends and enjoy the trees in their fall color change. I had put 10 gallons of gas in the Jeep the Friday night of the 27th and would top it off on Saturday morning just before we left town. As I did so, fuel ran out of the top of the fuel tank as fast as I poured it in. The new gasket on top of the tank must be leaking. I dropped the fuel level down and put a gas can in the rear of the Jeep if I would need more fuel.
We then met friends Jeff and Liz at the Fire and Ice drive through about 9 that morning, followed by another friend Terry shortly thereafter. We talked excitedly about the cruise and after taking pictures we headed to Zuni Canyon Road to embark on this new adventure. Jeff and Liz were going “topless” today… ummm… that is they did not have a top on their Jeep.
As we just passed the old KMIN radio building our Jeep’s cab filled with smoke so thick I had to pullover to check the problem. The new valve cover gasket had failed and oil was running all over the exhaust pipe causing the smoke. We drove the Jeep to my shop and contemplated staying home. Jeff told me to take the Toyota pick-up. No, I told him it’s a Jeep cruise. Then I had an idea…. We would take our Suzuki Samurai, put duct tape over the name plates and write JEEP on the tape. We did so and after transferring the food, dog and prize gifts for games headed to Forest Road 50 to meet Randy, L.J., and their son-in–law and a couple grandsons, Larry and Candy used one of Randy’s Jeeps and cruise.
When we got to Forest road we were treated to a very nice surprise; L.J. had brought along their spare 1963 Jeep for Evelyn and I to use. I was elated to say the least. We are all in Jeeps now and let the games begin. We had made foam dice with “I did it… in my… J..E..E..P.” lettered on each face and the first one to finish the phrase as we rolled at each of 6 stops would win a prize. We also had a deck of cards to draw from at each stop and the high hand at the end would also win a gift.
We cruised northward on the hard packed dirt road occasionally seeing the old rail bed where steam locomotives used to haul timber from these mountains many, many, years ago. We saw the reforested tree area planted years ago and commented how tall the trees have grown. Nearby aspen trees had already dropped most of their leaves but we did see some orange color along the west ridge.
After a few miles we turned east heading toward the Ojo Redondo campground road and stopped for lunch. We rolled dice and drew cards. Then on the road and circle back to the FR 50 intersection and final card draw and dice roll and Jeep story telling. Each took a turn telling about a Jeep adventure and Jeff was awarded a prize for his “opportunities started” by owning his Jeep. We took a group Jeep picture featuring the Willys and Jeeps, including a 1952, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1979 and 2001. We promised to keep in touch and plan next year’s Zuni Mt. /Mt. Taylor Willys Jeep Roundup. What a great day to share with friends!