Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Illustration Friday: Broken

I spent the past weekend in Moab Utah driving around on jeep trails. I took my sketchbook and some watercolors thinking I might draw something while I was there, but it was a very bumpy road. Very bumpy! I don't think you would have liked the results. I drew this little sketch when I got back.

We had a few minor breakdowns during the trip. The first day, one Jeep broke a long-arm strut. We strapped it back on and hobbled back to town, found some guy with a welder, fixed it and were ready to go again the next day. At the beginning of the next day, one guy blew a power steering hose. While we waited for him, we noticed a broken shock on the same Jeep that broke the day before. (the photo of us looking under the Jeep) Both of them were fixed pretty quickly on the trail and we were back on our way. About halfway through the trail, we were going up an obstacle when the power-steering hose guy broke one of his torsion bars. These vehicles have so much power it just twisted it right off. No problem, we would just take it off, throw it in the back of the truck and drive carefully the rest of the way. Not five minutes later, my brother was going up the same obstacle when his driveline blew. This was bad. We were in the middle of nowhere, miles from any paved road. It meant that he would have to get back to town in two-wheel drive--a nearly impossible task for the terrain we were in. It would require the the help of the other jeeps to tow and the use of winches. Luckily, one guy happened to bring an extra u-joint and another guy had some spare brackets and we were able to rebuild the driveline in the middle of the desert on the side of a mountian. Good thing we had tools. A great time for lunch. On Saturday we drove for about 7 hours and covered only 16 miles of trail. We had a blast even with the breakdowns. I can't wait to go do it again sometime. With all the breakdowns, it seemed appropriate to draw something about this trip. It somehow fit the topic.
I spent the past weekend in Moab Utah driving around on jeep trails. I took my sketchbook and some watercolors thinking I might draw something while I was there, but it was a very bumpy road. Very bumpy! (video) I don't think you would have liked the results. I drew this little sketch when I got back.

We had a few minor breakdowns during the trip. The first day, one Jeep broke a long-arm strut. We strapped it back on and hobbled back to town, found some guy with a welder, fixed it and were ready to go again the next day. At the beginning of the next day, one guy blew a power steering hose. While we waited for him, we noticed a broken shock on the same Jeep that broke the day before. (the photo of us looking under the Jeep) Both of them were fixed pretty quickly on the trail and we were back on our way. About halfway through the trail, we were going up an obstacle when the power-steering hose guy broke one of his torsion bars. These vehicles have so much power it just twisted it right off. No problem, we would just take it off, throw it in the back of the truck and drive carefully the rest of the way. Not five minutes later, my brother was going up the same obstacle when his driveline blew. This was bad. We were in the middle of nowhere, miles from any paved road. It meant that he would have to get back to town in two-wheel drive--a nearly impossible task for the terrain we were in. It would require the the help of the other jeeps to tow and the use of winches. Luckily, one guy happened to bring an extra u-joint and another guy had some spare brackets and we were able to rebuild the driveline in the middle of the desert on the side of a mountian. Good thing we had tools. A great time for lunch. On Saturday we drove for about 7 hours and covered only 16 miles of trail. We had a blast even with the breakdowns. I can't wait to go do it again sometime. With all the breakdowns, it seemed appropriate to draw something about this trip. It somehow fit the topic.



18 comments:

The Unknown said...

Love the illo! Is that adventure something you call fun?
love

Catnapping said...

what a great story!

oh yeah. i like the illo, too. very funny.

Anonymous said...

Heehee to Unknown! Love your illustration the wheels are funny and story entertaining! Hmmm haven't tried jeeping but sounds as much fun as bike trailing!!

LDahl said...

This brings back memories of hill climbing! *Sniff* I miss my Jeep!
Great 'Broken', lots of fun to read, maybe not so fun to be there.
Love the illo!!

Your halloween stories were too much fun too:)

Anonymous said...

I hope the damage wasn't expensive!

Great illo! Love it! :)

Unknown said...

Nice halloween costumes!! Love you IF illo too!!

IamOSI said...

sweet! looks like a lot of fun. always wanted to try that out.

PaintMonster said...

Super Awesome!!
I love offroad driving too.
my 4x4 is Suzuki Jimny(samurai):)

Todd DeWolf said...

Yeah- I'm thinking those parts might be important! I love this post and illo. Very funny. Sounds like it was quite a time. Great read!

JacqueLynn said...

Geez, now I want a fun trip somewhere. I love you illo, all of your work! It has a delightful detailed quality and at the same time seems very fresh. Just love it.

Jeope said...

Beautiful background. It's très Spaceman Spiff.

Seth Russell said...

Great story, your illustration fits the topic to a T. Looking forward to more of your work.

Anonymous said...

Hi, thanks for posting on my blog. Actually thanksx100 cos I found yours through it and love your work! Nice colors, very dynamic and creative compositions, kick-butt draftmanship. And all the DETAILS! MAN!

I've always wanted to try flying one of those RC airplanes (as written in your bio)! "Luck-cky" -Napoleon Dynamite

carla said...

What a trip! Your illustration is excellent... love the bits and pieces of the jeep.

bee'nme said...

Quite an adventure! Love your jaunty jeep illustration - just right on and so fun. Great rendering of the setting too. Perfect for the topic in every way!

garth bruner said...

That just doesn't sound like a load of fun, but neither did riding 4-wheelers until I did it. Great illo, reminds me of the old CARtoons magazines I read as a kid.

Drazen said...

WOW that looks like fun! except for the breakdown but it looks amazing. I've never whipped around in such a vehicle on that kind of ground. great illo too, lots of character.

Unknown said...

I really did not need to see this!! My poor Jeep ('86 CJ7) sits silent off to the side of my driveway... one too many repairs which I cannot afford at this time. :-(

I absoutely LOVE the pic. Totally jealous on the whole Jeepin' story.

So as a fellow Jeeper, I WAVE at'cha!