On the way back from Joshua Tree National Park we passed an Explorer on the side of the road. Since I was last in line, I did a u turn to see if they were OK. Apparently the young lady driving the 4X2 Ford felt that having an SUV meant that she could drive in deep sand through a wash and had gotten stuck turning around. I offered my help and she accepted. I was threading a tow strap through her frame when the rest of the gang pulled up. Somebody mentioned the term "Exploder" and my cover was blown. She quickly figured out that I was eager to winch her truck out mainly for the photo op. I suddenly felt she was a lot smarter than her situation indicated. We later discovered that she had her parking brake on while I was winching her. Maybe she is related to Ivan somehow. Anyway, here is the picture:

Before anyone complains about the lack of a weight or towel on the line, my wife pointed it out at the time, but the amount of cable out of the winch was so small that I skipped it. I did make sure that no one was in the line of fire if it let loose though. I even had the wife duck under the dash when I had the load on. Thanks for the picture Xtoolbox.

Why not just pull her out with a strap ? 2 minute job.

Xtoolbox pointed out that it would have been much easier to winch her backwards, but I just wanted the Xterra to pull the Ford through the obstacle that it couldn't get through on its own. As far as pulling her with a strap, it was soft sand all the way to the road. It would have been a bit embarrasing to hook up a strap and then dig my truck into a stuck position as well. Besides, some of us use our aftermarket bumpers as more than just beer openers and have winches. Why not use it?

Aren't you a little young to be "old school"?

Not three posts later:

I thought I explained it, but I guess I didn't.

I guess I need to start reading the posts too