By Quinn & Heather Thomas

Thanks to all who came out and helped with the Hi Desert Round Up. We ended up leading approximately 60 to 70 vehicles over the Devil’s Loop. I think that we all learned a lot during this weekend. We ended up with 15 trail hands for the event. Thanks to all of you! You know who you are.

On Friday we started out around 8:30. With around 6 or 7 of us we went out to mark the trail. This was no easy task, as the wind was really blowing hard! We marked the trail with large orange arrows that Keith drew up at the sign party. We also put up signs (artwork by Heather, Jennifer Lamar, and Dana) at some of the obstacles that had names, such as "Devil’s Hole" and "Heather’s Squeeze." We ended up at the end of the trail around 2:30. After we were done with the setup of the trail, we rushed back to camp to get registered and safety-checked. Then we relaxed at camp for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning came fast. Here we were lining up to lead our first official trail ride of a major event! I was nervous! At the driver’s meeting we had a huge crowd. Talk about stage fright, I wasn’t sure what to say! I described the trail, and warned of some of the difficult spots. After we answered questions it was time to go. Once we started on the trail I lost sight of the end of the group and didn’t see them again until the end of the day. We had a few problems with a few of the vehicles, but overall the run went great. The general report that I got back from the participants was that the run was great! There were some that thought the run was too hard, and even a few that said it was way too slow. (This was due to a certain vehicle that was totally unprepared to go rock crawling. They held up the trail at one spot for about an hour or so.) Pete and Andy did a great job of babysitting this vehicle until the unprepared driver decided to cut out of the trail early. Hence, the overall opinion was that this was a great trail! I received many compliments the next day about our trail and our club! Way to go Dirt Devils! Once again, thank you participating Dirt Devils, for making a great trail ride and showing all what a great club we are!

On Sunday we all participated in the games and festivities. We played games such as, "Potato Race," "Blind Man’s Bluff," the "Articulation Ramp," and the "Wet Lap Race." The ramp was great fun! Andy, Frank, and myself all scored over a thousand and had to go back for the ramp-off! Heather’s TJ scored a fantastic 872 even though it is stock (other than the tires of course)! It was also great fun to watch, and play, Blind Man’s Bluff. Corey and Dean actually got second place in this event. Corey was the blind-folded driver and Dean was the spotter. Great job guys! Heather and I tried real hard but just couldn’t stay inside the cones the first time around! It was harder than it looked. The games were all so fun - and great fun to watch.

Sunday night brought the awards and the raffle. This was a long and drawn-out event! Too Long. After the raffle we all took off for home --- well most of us. Kory Merrill blew a head gasket and ended up stranded at the Slash X. Dean was there and called me on the ham radio. I was in Barstow on my way out of town. I rushed back to help out. We decided to drive as far as we could until it got hot, then let it cool down and go some more. We took it easy and made it home safely! Wow! What an adventure! Thanks to Dean for sticking with us the whole way through the wee hours of the morning! It’s teamwork like this that makes this club the BEST!