"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
03/21/2020 at 22:00 • Filed to: None
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"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
03/21/2020 at 22:00 • Filed to: None | 7
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A partial meeting of the library drinking club (I’m an emertius member since I no longer work for the university and moved onto the Flood Commission) did a little social distancing together with a nature walk around Pena Blanca South of Las Cruces. There were three of us, and we hiked along the lines of a field patrol maintaining a minimum dispersal of 3-5 meters.
Our wet spring in Southern NM has left us with more than double our usual precipitation for this point in the year, and the poppies are blooming in force right now along the higher bits of the desert floor up against the foothills of the Organ mountains. There’s always a few in the spring, but in 10 years I’ve never seen a bloom like this.
Pena Blanca is an geologically and archaeologically interesting rock outcropping along the Southern end of the Organ mountains. All along the sides are shallow caves, with a few petroglyphs in places. The North side also has a bunch morteros where ancient peoples ground meal, both large and small.
Up top has nice views of the surrounding area, extending all the way to the Black Range. Off in the distance was the soft sound of artillery shots on nearby Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range.
The Pajero got a little exercise today, although it is still pissing a socially unacceptable amount of coolant out the weephole on the water pump. I plan to replace the water pump and radiator hoses tomorrow. I’ve got an appointment on Monday to finally get it titled and registered in NM.
While waiting for my compatriots to arrive and give one of them a ride to the trail head (certainly a doable trail in a Subaru, but not in his Civic), I took a few pictures of the truck before it got all dusty. In the spirit of social distancing he sat in the jump seats in the very back. He may be the only person to ever ride in those before I pull them out of the truck.
It was a fantastic way to spend a few hours with some of my favorite people. Aside from a few places scrambling up to the top, this was a nice little nature walk of probably around 5-6 miles in total. To keep with the social distancing theme, we sent each other pictures of the beer drinking upon returning to our respective homes.
jminer
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/21/2020 at 22:55 |
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That’s beautiful scenery and man do I love that Pajero!
I need to do this myself, but spent most of today working on my Mazda.
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ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> jminer
03/21/2020 at 23:20 |
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I never tire (pun absolutely intended) if the scenery in NM, nor the ability to go out in at any time. This is about fifteen minutes from my house in the second biggest city in the state.
Brighammer
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/22/2020 at 00:00 |
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Man, I love that rig...
I’ve had a few folks ask if I’d sell my diesel XJ to them. The only reason I keep saying no is because I REALLY want one of those. But I figure I’d not be able to get enough outta the xj to get into a diesel Pajero(or swapped Montero) straight across ...
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jminer
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/22/2020 at 00:10 |
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The southwest is one of the few places in the US I’ve not been and it is somewhere I very much want to go and spend some time in the wilderness . I had intended on getting out there at the end of last year for a few days but life disagreed.
Feels like it wouldn’t be a bad place to go blow off go dissapear for a bit here with all that’s going on. 1000 miles away is a bit too far to go for a few days right now I’m afraid though.
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ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> Brighammer
03/22/2020 at 00:15 |
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The going rate for an imported Pajero right now is about $12-14k, which looking at it another way is at least $ 5-6k cheaper than the going rate for JDM imported, diesel land cruisers and 4 runners of the same era.
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Brighammer
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/22/2020 at 01:16 |
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Yeah even on the low end(I see them 8500-9500 occasionally in Seattle or Portland) that’s 3x what I figure my jeep will fetch.
Im likely just gonna get a Pajero motor\tranny\t-case and swap them I to my rust-free xj. I figure I’ve done the swap on my Mazda and loved it so I’d likely love it in the jeep too.
But I’d also like a Pajero.
In my fantasy land I'd do both.
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ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> Brighammer
03/22/2020 at 02:11 |
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The rear suspension travel on the Pajero is impressive. That articulation gives them some pretty impressive traction on uneven terrain .
InFierority Complex
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/22/2020 at 03:18 |
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I honestly miss living in that part of the country sometimes.