By Travis Shrock
Travis Shrock passed on a few months after this article was written.

What can I say about High Desert Round-up (HDR) except WOW!  What an exciting weekend.
Friday night was supposed to be a regular night run for the Dirt Devils.  We somehow got all mixed up and scattered as we headed for the highway to harass the people stuck in traffic by driving faster off road than they were on the freeway.  There we were just flying around bushes and rabbits and kicking up a lot of dust and having a great time.  We stopped and regrouped but when we took off again, Tim (Bungee) bottomed out his FJ40 on a dip and exploded one of his rear U-joints.  I guess the joke was on us. Tim was able to Band-Aid it together enough to get back to camp in front wheel drive.  We heard later that we caused enough spectacle near the highway to cause a huge backup from spectators. One guy stuck in it recognized Mike's yellow Cherokee and told him the next day.  Saturday’s run, led by Jesse, was slated to be an easy "green" run.  We actually suffered as much breakage as any other run that day.  The first big hill saw a Wrangler snap a front u-joint.  They were close to the front of the 21 vehicle group and had the spare parts, tools and trail repair know-how to fix it in time to take the go-around and meet us on the backside of the hill and get back in line.  Congratulations to those guys on a fix-it job well done. The second big hill right before lunch was a loose, rutted series of "teeter totters" that caused numerous problems for several people. Another Wrangler suffered a broken front axle shaft and had to head back to camp. We had lunch in the shade of a single piece of scrub brush the size of a walnut. (It was hot) After lunch we were off thru the washes, up and down, up and down.  Toward the end of the run several people's vehicles were running hot and they turned back to camp.  We got a little mixed up because several vehicles in the middle of the group turned back and the people in back lost sight of the leaders.  The tail missed the last hill climb, but we all got regrouped and headed back to camp.  The other thing happened on Saturday is that I nearly got bit by a rattlesnake.  This snake was a little over 2 feet long with about 6 rattles.  He was underneath my Jeep and scared me silly when I went to get something from my Jeep.  I remember yelling "get back", to my wife, at the top of my lungs about 3 times.  Pete and I chased it away from camp and eventually it went away.  I hate snakes!
Sunday was fun!  Lisa got to drive in the games for the first time.  We really had a lot of fun watching her push that Grand around the potato race track to take a second place trophy.  Several other Dirt Devils did very well in the games. Jesse and Dan took first place in the potato race, Allison and Sara took second for short wheel base in the same race.  Kory took first on the Ramp travel event. If I’ve forgotten someone I apologize. I am writing this from memory and I have slept since then. We look forward to next year and Lisa is planning her strategies for the potato race so she can get another trophy!

Back to Run Reports