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  #1  
Old 09-30-2001, 04:59 PM
DC DC is offline
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Back From ARCA Extreme Rock Crawling Nationals at Farmington NM

Hello everyone,

Well, my wife and I got back last night from the ARCA rock crawling nationals at Farmington. As Blaine indicated earlier, he and Kathryn will probably not be back home until late tonight (since they planned to leave very early this morning, with a 14 hour return drive ahead of them).

Since this was the first ARCA (or anything offroad) competition that I ever attended, I learned a number of things. Here's a brief list in no particular order ...

1) Automatics ruled standard transmissions in a big way, especially in their ability to achieve higher wheel rotational speeds in a given situation (as Blaine pointed out several times). I have always been a big auto-over-stick supporter for offroad purposes, but the evidence was even more graphic in this most extreme competition.

2) Those competitors that didn't air down sufficiently, did not get a good bite and never gained good traction on the rocks (this one surprised me, as I thought anyone worth their 4x4 "salt" employed this fundamental technique to good effect).

3) Excellent teamwork and effective communications were the exception and not necessarily the rule. The Currie team exhibited the best of both attributes and the positive results were obvious.

4) Some competitors employed the "brute force & sheer power" approach to some of the more challenging obstacles ... and sometimes this worked (although typically at the cost of a lot of carnage and rollovers). However, although some might consider it boring, those that finessed these obstacles with some "elegance", scored more points in my book (and again, the Currie team was on top in this category as well).

5) I shot 316 digital photos over the two-day event. One must remember to recharge the battery pack overnight (which I overlooked). If I had, I may have shot 416 pics. (A back-up lower capacity lithium ion battery, charged last April let us limp through the last half of the second day, after my wife was good enough to go on a hike to-and-from our truck).

6) Although we came prepared (as we live in the desert), a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water is a must for the 8 to 10 hour days out in the sun (and there isn't a heck of a lot of shade around either). You also get plenty of exercise hiking up and down the various ridges and canyons.

7) Most importantly, I got a chance to finally meet the Johnson's in person ... to have a couple of meals together, and to get to know them better over the course of the two days of competition in Farmington. I can now state first hand what the rest of you folks already knew ... and that is that Blaine and Kathryn are first rate people ... irrespective of the Jeep connection (although that is certainly a major bonus).

8) And Kathryn's TJ is awesome. As soon as we met, I got under her Jeep right in the motel parking lot to check all the goodies out ... very nice indeed!

-----------
One of the highlights of the competition was Chris Durham's attempt at obstacle B7 ... "Blitzkrieg" (which was the most difficult obstacle on both courses, IMHO). The competition judges and marshall moved a lot of the spectators well back of the ropes, because Chris is apparently known for attacking such obstacles with "vigor" (and therefore might end up taking a "less-traveled" line). Sure enough, he attempted the most difficult line (that I never saw anyone take before or after). After a couple of radical attempts with a lot of bouncing and falling back down the severely inclined rock face, he snapped his front driveshaft. With only a few minutes left on the obstacle before timing-out, he and his spotter went into a kamikaze trail repair. Parts and tools were flying everywhere ... and they got the driveline replaced in less than 2.5 minutes! They got resituated for a run at the more "normal" line (if you could call it that), and after a couple of attempts, Chris made it up in time. That was a mindblower.

I'll leave the more detailed account to Kathryn, but in short, the Currie team did very well both days with no rollovers (and there were many overall), and no carnage to speak of. Day one was their best on the "A" course (they only knocked-down one flag, and overall penalty points were at a minimum). However, on day two, they got into trouble on "B1" (which didn't strike me as that difficult an obstacle), where Jeff Waggoner took out two flags (20 penalty points in practically one shot). Since we left before the awards ceremony last night, I don't know whether the Currie team pulled-off the national championship or not (they were in first place by only 4 points going into this final competition for the year). I tried to find out today who won by looking at the ARCA site, the Currie site, other boards, and even on-line newspapers in New Mexico, but there hasn't been any info whatsoever on the results. I am sure Blaine & Kathryn know at this point, so we can all wait to hear the outcome from them.

By the way, going back to my digital pics ... I plan to email the best of my Currie associated pics to Kathryn for her use. But there are a lot more. Scott ... is you past offer still good in terms of providing me with some space for these? If not, since PhotoPoint seems to have fallen out of favor with many, who do you recommend at this point?

Anyway, we had a great time, and all I can say is that the competition, vehicles, and driver/spotter teams were all awesome. We really enjoyed ourselves and highly recommend that any of you that can make one of these ARCA competitions in the future do so ... you won't be disappointed.

Don
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  #2  
Old 09-30-2001, 05:21 PM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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We are home now.

Highlights as I see them. Meeting with the Curley's was wonderful. I very much look forward to it again. As Don said, it was hot, the obstacles were very far apart, and shade was a premium.

Jack's u-joint is strong enough to twist not one, but two 4340 Moser stub axles in half. The joints themselves were hammered on mercilessly by two of the competitors and survived without even losing a bit of their machining tolerances. In other words, they were still as tight as when they were installed. Lance Clifford from the Pirate board was drooling over them, as he owns the rig that ruined two of the ones from HAD. I managed to convince Jack that it was in his better interests to stay away from that crowd. I had my instincts proven later on by an incident I was a witness to.

Did I say the Curleys were great company yet?

The Currie team came in third in the final event which was good enough to win them the overall championship. Hurray for our side!!! I am very happy with that result.

Interesting notes- Several competitors apparently have been paying attention. Many rigs have been cloned to resemble and function like the Fire Ant. Leaf springs are flying off of rigs at an alarming rate and being replaced with coils. Two of note are Jason Bunch and Rich Hudson. Jason was already on coils but he narrowed the rear of the tub and tubed it like the Fire Ant.

Many places in Farmington are "limit of adhesion" obstacles. The automatic allows you to keep your tires just at the edge of spinning and losing traction. This, with the ability to increase momentum as needed when the traction gets better, was a big advantage for several rigs.

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  #3  
Old 09-30-2001, 05:38 PM
DC DC is offline
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Blaine,

Glad to hear you and Kathryn got home safe & sound. Man, you either got up super early this morning, or you must have been flying home on afterburners!

Anyway, it's great to hear that John, Jeff, and the Fire Ant took the ARCA championship for the year! Even though this was only our first attendance at the competition, it certainly seemed like they deserved it.

Don
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Old 10-01-2001, 02:37 AM
Tumbleweed Tumbleweed is offline
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Great to hear that the Currie "Team" pulled it off!
DC- you now know what some of us do about the Johnsons-you can't find a better couple of folks!
Blaine-Hope your hand is not too bad. Time for a little rest now? Please pass on my best congrats to John C.
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  #5  
Old 10-01-2001, 06:03 AM
mrblaine mrblaine is offline
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Don B.- No rest yet. We are getting ready for Rocktoberfest. The brakes on the truck are acting funny, Kat's rear track bar is acting up, I have to pack a few wheel bearings, and HB needs some axles installed if and when he gets here.

I will pass on the congrats to John and Jeff.

It is not who you know, It is who knows you
Jeeps do not make jeepers, jeepers make Jeeps.
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Would you rather be animadversional or curmudgeonly? Can you be animadversional without being a curmudgeon?
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  #6  
Old 10-01-2001, 07:17 AM
TJRON TJRON is offline
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Glad you all had fun. I would imagine the big words got a work out with you two carrying on. I would probably need a dictionary to understand anything said.
Maybe Kat will have some pictures and a trip report when she has some time?
Blaine, get to work!
Ron
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  #7  
Old 10-01-2001, 07:34 AM
TObject TObject is offline
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Welcome back!

Good thing – Currie’s won! I was very pleased to lean about it. Currie Team certainly deserves the victory.

Kat, I am looking forward to see your pictures!

Don, I am looking forward to see your pictures too! I bet if you select five pictures you like the most out of 316, these will be some very kick-ass pictures!
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  #8  
Old 10-02-2001, 08:01 AM
JeepKat JeepKat is offline
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What an adventure!

I got to meet two really terrific people, Don and Janet. Don great write-up on the event, you might try this website for posting your photo's.

http://www.cartogra.com/home/home.asp

I'm working on the pictures now and should have some to share later along with a short write-up of our trip.

Kat
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Old 10-02-2001, 09:26 AM
Scott Hill Scott Hill is offline
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If any one needs space to post picts just lete me know.


Glad to see you all made it hime safe.

a little TJ with a few mods check her out at www.real-jeeps.com
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Old 10-02-2001, 11:26 AM
DC DC is offline
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HP Cartogra is a No-Go for Me

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JeepKat:
Don, you might try this website for posting your photo's.

http://www.cartogra.com/home/home.asp

Kat[/quote]

Thanks Kathryn ... that definitely was an adventure. By the way, I tried the HP Cartogra site for my pics, but it won't work for me. They either limit you to three photos per album, or else you have to download HP's Photo Manager software, which is only compatible with PC-based operating systems (Windows, etc.) ... and I have a Mac. I will follow-up with Scott at this point.

Don
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Old 10-02-2001, 11:46 AM
DC DC is offline
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Space ... the Final Frontier ...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Scott Hill:
If any one needs space to post picts just let me know.
[/quote]


Scott,

You've got mail (on Scott@pvmtsux.com).

Don


[This message was edited by DC on October 02, 2001 at 12:55 PM.]]

[This message was edited by DC on October 02, 2001 at 12:55 PM.]
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  #12  
Old 10-02-2001, 03:10 PM
Scott Hill Scott Hill is offline
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I got your mail and test picture so send the rest with a little story and I will add it to the site.

a little TJ with a few mods check her out at www.real-jeeps.com
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