Jeep Jamboree

Last Saturday Bob and I took part in our first Jeep Jamboree. What fun! In July I traded in my beloved 2001 BMW Z3 for a Jeep Sahara. Z3's just aren't quite cut out for some of the driving to get to the best painting sites. I needed 4WD and a vehicle with more space for the materials needed for plein air painting. Now I LOVE my Jeep! They are quite a bit more sophisticated these days. The Sahara is designed for commuting and off-roading as opposed to the Rubicon which is focused on off-road. I have electric windows, locks, cruise control, etc. and a wonderful sound system that includes a GPS, hard drive to store music, pictures, etc. All the bells and whistles!

The dealership we purchased through, Airpark Chrysler Jeep in Scottsdale, sponsors an annual Jeep Jamboree. We signed up with very little idea of how the day would go! The Jamboree is run like a poker run with challenges for extra prizes at the 5 stops. We arrived at the dealership a little after 8 am. We signed in and received the directions to the various challenge points. We got an offical hat and a bag of snacks and headed out to the parking lot for the first challenge and first draw for our poker hands. The first challenge was a race to put down and back up the soft top on a Jeep. Bob and I decided to pass as we have a hardtop and have no idea the steps involved. We decided to just draw our cards. My first card was the queen of clubs. Bob's was a 2 of hearts. Off we go to the next challenge point. What a sight to see a huge line of jeeps of various years, colors and shapes all headed down the road!

Soon we were in the outback of the Tonto National Forest bumping over rocks and negotiating gullies. We went up a steep hill with an even steeper and rockier downside, certainly the steepest I have done so far. One couldn't begin to see over the Jeeps' hood to see where we were going as we headed down. Ah, the adventure!! A short distance further our little caravan came to a stop. We had made a wrong turn! Back up and down the hill and back on track. No wonder it was such a steep hill....we were not on the main road!

Our little caravan soon hooked up with the line of Jeeps that had not gotten lost. However, it wasn't long before the long line of Jeeps came to a halt. Soon the word came back that we had made another wrong turn! What fun to watch about 60 Jeeps turning around on a 2 track in the middle of the desert! We soon made it to the second challenge point where the challenge was horseshoe throwing. Here I got the jack of hearts. Bob got another low card. Off we go through the desert to the next point. We actually made it without getting lost this time. The third challenge had the deck of cards tacked to a piece of plywood face down. You shot at the cards using a paint gun. Whichever card you hit was your draw. My aim is not so good with a gun....but the third try I hit a card....the 9 of hearts. Boo. Bob continued to draw low cards that were not related to each other....although it only took him one shot.

Our next leg was predominantly down the river bed of Camp Wash which when wet feeds into the Verde River. Wow! Talk about some beautiful scenary between towering cliffs on each side. Definitely will be back to paint there! This fourth challenge was Bob's favorite. The driver....me...puts a bag over their head and the pilot...Bob....verbally guides the driver through a figure 8 around cones. Other than the fact I started feeling a little nauseous under the bag turning the circles, I did great! Here I drew a Joker which meant I could tell them what I wanted so I took another queen to give me a pair of queens.

The final challenge was a steep hill....up and down. We had to wait in line for our turn on the hill. Unfortunately the large number of jeeps was blocking the entrance to the campground along the river. Just when it came my turn they announced they had to cancel the challenge. The forest rangers were not happy we were blocking the road and were ready to ticket the dealer reps. Oops! I did have to go down the final hill section to leave which is about an 80 degree decline. I was praying we did not turn over when we finally got front wheels beginning to level back out! The hitch even scraped as we levels out! Yes...I would say it was steep!

Back at the dealership we got our final draw and I got another Joker. I chose another queen....but even 3 queens did not win the $1000 prize. Oh well! We did greatly enjoy the BBQ that awaited us along with the live music.

The Jeep Jamboree showed Bob some of the beautiful territory I have been out painting. He really enjoyed the day. I greatly enjoyed the day as well....and have several spots that I plan to return to and paint.......if I can find them again!!!