SWFWDA Summer Quarterly
Farmington, New Mexico
July 30 - August 1, 1999

"The Iron Mountain Goats"

By: Bob Norton - NM 4-Wheelers, SWFWDA 4WDrive Lines

Please visit our Sponsor, CLICK on the Banner above

Four times each year, the Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association meets to conduct a business meeting in conjunction with 4-wheeling fun. The 1999 Summer Quarterly was hosted by the Rock Garden 4 Wheelers of the Farmington, NM area. One of the newer clubs in the association, their members were excited to present the areas spectacular 4-WD playgrounds. The SWFWDA is made up of 35 member clubs in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Louisiana. The location of this event at the extreme northwest corner of this broad region and busy summer schedules likely contributed to keeping the attendance down. About 200 people and 71 vehicles participated in the event. Too bad it was missed by so many as we had a terrific time!

Besides the trail runs and the meeting, there were other activities, all centered at McGee Park just east of Farmington. We were treated to an ice-cream social on Friday evening. A catered BBQ dinner was provided Saturday evening, followed by raffle drawings for the many nice prizes. On Saturday, 14 vehicles participated in a "Rock Crawling Competition" that utilized some of the toughest obstacles in the Rock Garden. Winning first place was Pat Gremillion with his impressive, highly modified Bronco and second place was earned by Darin Howard in his yellow Willy’s "Rock Buggy".

The trails used actually are in two widely separated locales. Several of the runs were made to the area northwest of Farmington known as Chokecherry Canyon. Such well known challenging trails as "The Intimidator" and "Waterfall" were popular destinations. Check out several of the links to past Chokecherry Canyon trail reports at: http://www.4x4now.com/trlrpt.htm#New Mexico

The other location, known as the Rock Garden, is about 30 miles from the McGee Park staging point. Located east of Aztec, NM about 15 miles and not far west of beautiful Navajo Lake, the 4-wheeling here is in terrain consisting of eroded mesas, exposed sandstone (slickrock) and narrow ravines. Mostly BLM managed lands, numerous oil and gas well access roads provide easy access to the trails and play areas. I have been to Chokecherry Canyon three times so I decided to concentrate this weekend on the trails in the Rock Garden, all unfamiliar to me. Like Chokecherry, the Rock Garden offers a wide variety of challenges from moderate to extreme, something for everyone. Having now experienced 4-wheeling in both of these areas, there is no doubt that Farmington/Aztec, New Mexico is one of the premier 4-wheeling destinations in the Southwest!

Select from below for the stories and photos from the 3 trails the author covered.

Rock Garden

Secret Trail

New Trail

Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association - Four Wheeling Responsibly!

Who/What are we? | SWFWDAland Trails | Events | History | Officers | Clubs | 4WDrive Lines | Membership App

New Mexico Trail Guidebooks, Trail Maps, and Trail Videos

4X4NOW Feature Page
4X4NOW Trail Reports | Moab 4WD Trails
4X4NOW "How-To"  | 4X4NOW Buildups
4X4BOOKS | MAPNOW

get Garmin at GPSNOW - Order by 5pm and have it Tomorrow!
Choosing | for Laptop/Pocket PC | Basic | Handheld Mapping | 2-way Radio | Automotive | Motorcycle | RV/Truck/Bus | Land & Water
Accessories
eTrex H | Legend | Vista | Venture HC | Summit HC | Legend HCx | Vista HCx
GPS 18 DLX | 60
Mobile 10 | Mobile 10 for smartphones
GPSMAP 60 | 60Cx | 60CSx | 76S | 76Cx | 76CSx | 276C | 376C | 378 | 478
MapSource City Navigator North America | US Topo | BlueChart
nüvi 200 | 270 | 350 | 360 | 370 | 650 | 660 | 670 | 680
Quest | Quest 2
Rino 110 | 120 | 130 | 520 | 530 | 520HCx | 530HCx
StreetPilot 2820 | 7200/7500 | c330 | c340 | c530 | c550 | c580
Astro GPS dog tracking system
zūmo 450 / 550
© 4X4NOW