Day 5

July 17, 2004 - Trail I, Playground, Camp Jeep

Trail I and Playground

Another early start and another 7:00 AM trail ride.  We got on the road by quarter to six and got to the muster field at about quarter past.  Along the way, my Trail Guide magnet blew off the Jeep and disappeared over the side of the bridge we were crossing...  Buh-Bye!  Another one bites the dust!  When we got to the muster field, it was much like it had been the day before.  Again the participants were waiting to be turned loose.  I parked my Jeep on the hill and left it running so I could charge my camera batteries off the power inverter.

Muster

I ran tail in this one so I welcomed each attendee and had them check four-wheel drive, then pull up to the Jeep in front of them in line.  The weather was beautiful and dry.  Trail I can be a real handful when wet so I was grateful that we'd have an easy time on the trail.

Trail

After the driver's meeting was finished (about 7:50) we got back to our Jeeps and hit the trail.  We drove out to the trail entrance, which I discovered had been moved.  The wonderful erosion cut that I always looked forward to was GONE!  In its stead was a gravel road going in to the lower loop of the trail.  Adjacent to the spot where the new entrance connected to the old trail was the Playground.  One of the guides stopped me to say that we were invited to come to the playground when we finished the trail.

The trail was quick and easy though one participant came on the CB to say they had lost oil pressure on one of the steep hill approaches.  It seemed to clear itself up and we heard no more about it over the radio.  The ride was so quick that we were done by a little after 9:00.  Most of the group took a right and went into the Playground.

Playground

And it was fun!  Harvin was working the area, along with the other Paul, Carl and Pete.  Further in, Todd was working the hill climb, and many other folks were stationed along the way.

First was the mud bath - I splashed right through, going for the mud-bath look.  Next was the rock garden.  It was easy, though I did lose points for backing up...  (Ted - age 6 - got out and made movies you see below of all the obstacles.)

Movie

The Whoop-dee-doo's were manned by Carl and Pete.  I stopped only long enough for Ted to get out and film while I walked through them.  Easy-Peasy.

Movie

Movie

The logs had me worried for a second.   The first two were no problem but the last one was pretty big around.  I got over it just fine.

Movie

Movie

The guy behind me tried to make it straight on.  No Dice!

Hill climbs are high on my list of fun things to do.  This one was interesting because you drove down into a deep trench first, then had to pretty much start from a dead stop at the bottom.  Todd and crew were busy keeping the red clay nice and wet so guys like me would have something to do...   I let the kids out and Tom promptly slipped on the clay trying to walk up the hill holding hands with me and Ted.

I got them to the top and set up Ted with the camera.  I went back down, plopped it in third gear (4-LO) and crawled down to the bottom of the ditch.  When I got to the bottom, I punched it and flogged it up the hill first try.  The kids thought I was going to run them down but they were safe - No children were harmed in the making of this film!

Movies

The guy behind me also made it first try!   By ten o'clock, we were done at the playground. 

But not before trying the Teeter-Totter!  It was fun but I didn't manage to balance for much more than maybe a 1/2 second.  Practice, grasshopper...

We picked up Maria who had stayed at the entrance to visit with Paul and Harvin, then went back to the main camp. 

Camp Jeep

We did a little more sight seeing.  Truth be told, by now, Maria and I were hot, bored, and tired.  We were also overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things to see, the size of the crowd, the heat and dust, and of course the never-ending needs of the kids.  But aside from the trail rides that I was guiding, the rest of the event was all about providing something for the kids so we made the best of it.  Needless to say, I could be happy all day looking at the prototypes and antique vehicles, but the kids got bored with that quickly.

Anybody who went to the event knows that the kids (and adults) had neon green water guns.  Some of the event staff had them and were surreptitiously squirting people who walked by.  The kids were more direct, preferring the frontal assault.

One of the things I was happy to see was the Tomb Raider Rubicon.  Not the factory version for sale at fine dealers everywhere (ughhh!) but the movie version.  It is very nicely done and has some interesting features.  The roll bars are the most noticeable modification, but the interior and several other items have been changed.  It would be interesting to know the story behind the SoBe Rubicon because it appears identical to the Tomb Raider movie version, but is painted and decorated in the SoBe theme.

Then there were the Jeeps that probably never see a trail...

Then we got to the top of the hill with the skateboards, BMX and mountain bikes.  We got the kids signed up for the BMX bikes, Maria for the Rubicon Challenge, then we went to lunch at Vito's across from the Village Inn.

Lunch

We beat the crowd and got seated.   The kids wanted pizza so that's what we had.  It was very good, and the price was easy on the pocket.  Vito's gets my vote (again).  Then we drove back to Camp.

BMX Bikes

We were running tight for our scheduled times so I turned Maria and the kids loose while I buttoned down the Jeep.   Everything has to be snapped off and packed into a bag I keep for that purpose, then secured out of harms way.  Sometimes it sucks having a vehicle that cannot be adequately secured.  But realizing that, everything of value in mine can be removed in a minute or two and tucked away. 

When I was done with that, I huffed it to the top of the hill to find Maria outfitting the kids for the BMX bikes.  We learned that the bikes do not have coaster brakes like the ones the kids have at home so I was concerned that this would lead to problems.   Additionally, the bike was too big for Tom so he had problems from the get-go.   Neither of the boys had any experience with BMX tracks so that added another dimension to the formula.  This was going to be interesting...  Can you say "Carnage"?

Ted was the first to crash.  When he got to the banked turn, he went straight up it and rolled back and fell off.  Twice.  But he was determined and after one more minor spill, got the hang of it and happily made his way around the course several times without incident.

Tom on the other hand started out pretty well.  His first spill wasn't too bad and he was willing to be coaxed back on the bike.  He make it through the next turn then had a bad crash coming around the loop.  He whacked his face on the handlebars and chest on the bike frame.  He let out his signature "I am really hurt!" cry that pierced through me, even from across the field. 

Maria and the activity manager went over and got him untangled and out of the way of the other riders.  They cleaned him up and gave him a couple minutes to collect himself.  But he was done riding for the day.  He got a bloody nose and later two black eyes for his trouble.  Something tells me he will be back for revenge!

Movies

Movies

Rubicon Challenge! 

Maria signed up for the Rubicon course.  It consisted of a fleet of Rubicons and an obstacle course designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the vehicles.  Can you say "Marketing!"?  No matter, it was a chance to drive a Rubicon and the event was "sold out".

She got in line to sign up the day before and got in line a half hour before her appointed time, to wait for nearly an hour and a half for her two minute drive around the course.  The kids and I sat in the bleachers provided waiting for her turn to come up.  While we waited, the SoBe booth started giving away ice cream, so we had three different flavors of ice cream.

Despite the disparity of wait to drive time, Maria enjoyed the course.  I prompted her to "punch it" at the bottom of the rock garden, hoping to get her launching off the other side.  But alas it was not to be as the instructions were to leave it in 1st gear, which prevented getting any real ground speed going.  The best she did was to clear the pile without any hesitation, and perch solidly on the top before easing down gracefully.

The kids decided to go with her at the last minute and apparently enjoyed helping Maria with some of the finer points of off-road driving.

Movies

Kids tent III

After that, we agreed to take the kids into the kids tent again so they could have another visit with Tugger.  I won't tell you it was really because the tent was air conditioned...

 

Picnic

We ran out of energy around 5:30 and hearing that they were serving supper, made our way over to the food tent.  The line had not yet gotten long so we got our food and sat down to eat. 

For those who read my trail write-ups, you know that I seldom make negative comments about my experiences.  This is partly because other people are often involved and I don't like to talk bad about people.  So it is with some reluctance that I relate my disappointment with the food served at Camp Jeep. 

This meal was just nudging up to "fair".  I realize how hard it is to prepare food for large groups of people.  It is tough to have it all cooked and kept warm, and there are very few meals that stand up to waiting hours to be eaten.  This usually results in one of two possibilities.  Either the meal planned is cold and kept on ice, or it is done in shifts so that smaller quantities can be laid out hot. 

This meal was neither.  The chicken was scary looking; the baked potato was luke-warm, and the salad was just lettuce.   Free drinks took the curse off of it, but there were already so many people eating that many people didn't get a table to sit at. 

My thoughts went back to Jeep Jamboree 2002 and what a wonderful job they did with the food.  While it was a much smaller crowd there, it is proof that it can be done successfully.  We got three meals included in the package price - breakfast, a boxed lunch, and a large dinner.  Of all the things at Camp Jeep, this was the most disappointing.  But I am grateful that we got something to eat and it did save us the cost of a meal since it was included in our package.

As we prepared to leave, the weather turned for the worse, with rain starting while were made our way out. 

 

I had been wanting to stop at the OK4WD tent all week so I pulled in for a couple minutes to see what they had.  The workers there were beginning to pack up so I made a quick pass through and headed back to the Jeep.  Jeff and Roy from OCC pulled in looking for air for a low tire so I cranked up the OBA and got some air into one of his tires for him. 

Then we hit the road for the hotel.   We skipped the concert and the fireworks because of the rain and because we were bone tired.  I aired up on the way to the hotel (my OBA is a little slow compared to a shop compressor so I general use it on the trail when no other option is available.)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5| Day 6

 

Timeline
Day Date	Event	Location	Event Time	Duration
Saturday 7/17/04		Trail I
	Start	(Hotel departure)	5:43:51
		(Muster field arrival)	6:19:45	0:35:54
	Start	(muster field departure)	7:54:18	1:34:33
	Start	(trail head)	8:14:27	0:20:09
	End	(trail head)	9:12:45	0:58:18
		Playground
	Start	Entrance	9:13:44	0:00:59
	End	Exit	9:53:43	0:39:59
	Start	Arrive Camp Jeep	10:10:39	0:16:56
		Depart Camp Jeep	12:23:38	2:12:59
		Lunch (Vitos)
	Start	Arrive	12:31:41	0:08:03
	End	Depart	13:37:02	1:05:21
		Arrive Camp Jeep	13:51:18	0:14:16
		Leave Camp Jeep	17:35:19	3:44:01
		Arrive OK4WD	17:56:44	0:21:25
		Leave OK4WD	18:07:50	0:11:06
		Arrive Air-Up	18:16:34
		Leave Air-Up	18:26:17	0:09:43
		Arrive Fuel	18:48:06
		Leave Fuel	18:52:41	0:04:35
		Arrive Hotel	19:04:50	1:29:31

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5| Day 6