July 2015 | Volume 8 | Issue 3

In January 2015, I had the opportunity to borrow a fully loaded XVenture XV-2 for a multi-day expedition on the 4x4 roads of Big Bend National Park (see story in April 2015 issue). I was quite impressed with the trailer – so impressed, that I decided to buy the lighter weight version:  the XV-1. In the first 2 months of ownership, I used the XV-1 at Lone Star Jamboree, on a weekend expedition in Oklahoma, and again on the Ghost Divide Expedition to Overland Expo.

Most of us have in the back of our minds those ideal modifications we still want done. When I registered for the Ghost Divide Expedition, I realized I needed to fulfill some of those backburner items. Here’s what I did…

What is Rock Therapy? It’s a Moab adventure created by wheelers for wheelers. It’s an outlet for many to get away and clear their minds. It’s an excuse for many to take their rigs out in one of the best known off-road trail systems in the country. It’s a gathering created to bring together crowds from all over North America and experience what Moab has to offer.

From blown 3rd members and near-death rollovers to a 2016 Tacoma and sponsor dinners, there were many highlights that made this year’s Rock Therapy one for the ages.

In 1894 David W. Brunton, a geologist working in Colorado, revolutionized modern navigation with the introduction of the Pocket Transit.  Geologists and engineers of the time routinely carried around survey transits and compasses, tripods, clinometers, and plane tables while developing exploratory mineral maps.  Originally manufactured for Mr. Brunton by Wm. Ainsworth & Sons, the Brunton Pocket Transit successfully combined the ability to measure compass bearings, horizontal and vertical angles, and obtain clinometer readings into an ‘instrument sufficiently small and light to be carried in a vest pocket.’  The Pocket Transit virtually eliminated the need for tripods, or an assistant, to sight and read the bearing of distant objects and was built strong enough to remain accurate in the most demanding of professions.