Today proved to be a day of diverse experiences.

An early start had us at the service counter of a local Ford dealership just before 8:00am. Within 30 minutes a mechanic had taken the ER for a test drive and pronounced the same diagnosis as previously; an exhaust leak between the manifold and turbo. Also the same prognosis, no damage but you might loose power.

Marginally reassured we headed south along I-84 and I-15 through the sprawl that is the greater Salt Lake City area. South of the city the nice sunny day gave way to very strong winds and dust that markedly limited visibility.

Just north of Richfield we embarked on Cove Mountain Road with the intention of traveling through Fish Lake National Forest to the town of Koosharem. Initially Cove Mtn Rd, a gravel road, climbed steeply to about 8,000 ft giving great views back down into the great basin.

The climbing continued at a more modest angle through picturesque stands of Aspens until we came to our first obstacle of the afternoon. A tree fallen across the road. A number of vehicles had clearly bypassed this obstacle by simply driving around the fallen tree, we decided to try the same approach; so into lower range and 4 wheel drive. About 30 minutes later we were passed and back on the road. In the interval the ER had been bogged. The first attempt at winching it out had tangled the winch rope and while still useable the rope was now a lot shorter. I made up for the lack of length by connecting together a tree loop, a tow strap, and a tow chain. Very MacGyver-ish I thought.

Not 10 minutes later we came to another fallen tree, this time there was no way to by pass it. So I got out the bush-saw that I carry for chopping fire wood and cut through the offending tree 20 feet or so from its crown. This allowed us to tow the blockage off the road.

For the next 10 minutes we continued to climb through evergreen forest crossing increasingly large snow drifts until the road ahead was completely blocked by snow.

Time to turn back; but there is no where to turn around. We reversed down through those same snow drifts from time to time clearing away the snow with our trusty long handled garden shovel (sure glad I decided to bring it along) until we eventually found a suitable place to turn.

The only problem now was to get around the first fallen tree without getting stuck. When we eventually got back to that spot some careful planning, judicious tree pruning, and cautious driving had us past with no trouble.

A few miles back down the road we found a pretty Aspen glade for our nights camp.

The ER is dirty, has a few scratches that will need polishing (courtesy of some friendly pine trees), the front winch cable seems tangled beyond repair, the exhaust is still leaking but other wise everything seems ok.

However - I now understand why some ER owners opt for the bigger Continental MPT off road tires!