Amanda is in the process of painting our bedroom this evening, so I thought I would venture in there and take a photo. Here we have a brush with the new color on our wall. She is actually using a roller to paint, but I asked her to use a brush for the photo.
I decided to have a little more fun with my camera this evening. I had a few ideas that didn’t really pan out, so as I was looking around for something to photograph, I saw my netbook sitting on the table. I thought the keyboard might make a good subject, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting.
Today’s photo was taken of a butterfly at the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens that was just hanging out and didn’t move the whole time we were there.
The bonus photo today was taken by Amanda while we were at the Botanical Gardens.
We were originally planning on heading to Arches National Park today so we could hike to Delicate Arch. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us, so we ended up staying home. After having some breakfast, Amanda remembered that it was the first Sunday of the month, and that the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens offers free admission today. It was a great opportunity to play with my new lens. Here’s some of the photos I took on our trip there.
This afternoon after hiking at the Colorado National Monument, I installed a new ceiling fan in our bedroom. After getting it started, Amanda painted the ceiling in the room, so I needed to wait until it was dry to complete the task. I had leaned the fan blades against Amanda’s black photo bag and noticed that it might make an interesting photo. After taking a few, I thought I might get a little more creative to see what i could do. On the photo above, I ended up zooming in during the shot, and I think it turned out pretty cool.
Since the first XJ I built up, I have always liked the Warn 9.5ti winch and wanted one, but for some reason I never ended up getting it. Well, that has finally changed, since I received the winch for my JK yesterday 
Now, I just have to wait for Easter Jeep Safari, where I will be picking up my ExpeditionOne Trail Series front bumper so I can install both of them!
Since the Poison Spyders skid didn’t take me very long to install, it was time to move on to my Ruddge Ridge Muffler skid. This is another part of the JK that is vulnerable to getting smashed up, especially with all the ledges around Moab that you need to drop off of.
Low hanging muffler in the back, that I want to keep in good shape:
The Rugged Ridge skid:
Ready to install:
The muffler should be protected:
The install on this skid did not go quite as smoothly as the first one. I’m not sure if there are differences between the 2010 JK and previous years, or the 2-door, but I was missing some studs underneath the Jeep that the instructions said I was supposed to use. Instead, there were holes there. Luckily I was able to find some nuts and bolts in the garage and used those instead. Other than that, the install did go pretty smoothly
After installing the fan in our bedroom this afternoon, it was time to get started working on my JK. I had a few parts sitting in the garage that have been waiting to be installed. I started out with the Poison Spyder Customs Evap. Cannister skid.
Just look how low this plastic box hangs under the Jeep. It definitely needs protection!
The skid only took me about 30 minutes to install, and that was taking my time. Not only is the Evap. Cannister protected, this skid also raised it about 3/4″ for a little more clearance.
Since I got my JK back in January, I haven’t been letting it stay stock for very long. I started out getting a few minor essentials that I added over the last few weeks. Here’s what I have done so far…
Quadratec Floor Mats in the front and rear (already used quite a bit):
Jeep door sill guards…..this area was already starting to get a little scratched up, so I figured I better do something about it:
…and finally, some grab handles; front and rear:
Those are the minor things I have added to the interior so far. I have a Tuffy Security Deck on order for the rear of my Jeep that should be getting here soon…
This morning Amanda and I set off to do some hiking at the Colorado National Monument. Our first destination was the Liberty Cap trail. This is a trail we had not been on before. We started at the bottom and planned to head up to the Liberty Cap before heading back down, however after climbing about 500 feet on the trail, the ice and mud got too slick, so we ended up turning around.
Since we didn’t complete that trail, we decided to head over and check out Echo Canyon, since we haven’t been back there for a while.
View up No Thoroughfare Canyon
This way to Echo Canyon
We hiked about halfway6 up Echo Canyon until we stopped at a slickrock area that had water running through it and a few small waterfalls. We just sat down and relaxed here and listened to the running water. It was very relaxing.
My shadow over a pothole full of water
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