Expedition Trophy 2007

[Kimem]

Kimem

My first time out and it was a real blast! From the unexpected ice cream on a 95 degree day to a Singapore Sling! Thanks to all those that worked their fingers to the bone to make the Trophy what it was. Now I have my work cut out to get my T4R in shape for next year.

 

[kcowyo]

Always transport your hilift jack with the lever in the "raise" position.


Can I come next year? eepwall:

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

You are now first on the list, KC. Unless you just read that on Mark's signature lne.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Always transport your jack with the lever in the up "raise" position. :shakin:


Nope, got that one wrong.

 

[kcowyo]

Unless you just read that on Mark's signature lne.

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.......

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Always transport your jack with the lever in the up "raise" position

Close enough to make sense, Brad!

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know......

Ah . . . you remember the Emerson.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Maybe, but what happened to the Hilift and where did I find the letters U and P?

Must be brain dead from reading 300 emails after being gone for a week.

 

[DesertRose]

Agreed. There definitely doesn't seem to be a lack of interest. I would be confident in teaching some driving skills as well if the need is there.

Windy, that's awesome.

At any rate, maybe those of us who did all the playing this year can help organize next year, thus freeing up some organizers to do a little playing themselves.

:wings: Cool! Can't wait til next year. We are already cooking up some fun stuff. Send me your email by PM. And give Carter a scritch and a dog biscuit for me.

 

[DesertRose]

Just a quick note to thank everyone for such an incredible time. This is such an awesome group of people who come together for an incredible event in a spectacular location!

Things I learned at this year's Trophy:

1. Primitive camping in the desert is AWESOME! (Thanks Fat_Man)
2. Packing out your waste isn't as bad as you think.
3. Appreciating a good cigar requires instruction. (Thanks 1LegLance)
4. Even snails taste good when cooked in garlic and butter. (Thanks Graham)
5. Everything tastes better wrapped in bacon.
6. Airing down your tires may save your kidneys.
7. Sometimes driving a little faster improves your ride through rough terrain (Thanks Windy)
8. Spending a little time with this group WILL change your outlook on life.
9. Westerners are incredibly friendly.
10. You can spend an hour looking for a laminated piece of paper in the desert even when you know exactly where it's supposed to be.
11. Overlanding is another word for freedom.
12. I have individual responsibility for the decisions that I make and their impact on the ecosystem.
13. Scorpions glow when you shine a black light on them. (Thanks Chuck!)

There are many more, but I can't think of them right now (I've been on the Interstate all day).

Although the competition was very exciting, my favorite event was the appetizer and cocktail competition. There's no better experience than walking through the desert on a cool evening with a drink in one hand, a cigar in the other, food coming from every direction and amazing people to converse with around every turn. I will NEVER forget that.

One other thing I'd like to mention as a new participant in this community - Even though the organizers were incredibly busy making this event happen, every one of them took time to meet me and have several conversations with me.

Wow, Big_Geek, I just wanted to say this post brought tears to my eyes - making the experience worthwhile to the participants is everything you hope to do when organizing an event. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

And the pleasure was all ours - welcome to the community.

 

[DesertRose]

Thank you so much to all the people that took an obviously substantial amount of time to put this event together. You all did a genuinely amazing job. But, also, thank you to all the people that attended. I tend to not be a "large group" sort of guy. I don't hate people, but I usually tend towards much smaller groups, partially because there is always "that one guy". You know, that one guy who acts like an ass, is too loud, trys too hard to impress everyone else, and in general acts like an idiot. That guy wasn't at the event at all. Absolultly eveyone I met was great. Nice, approachable, easy to talk to, friendly, and down to earth. I was totally impressed to not only see multiple presentations on conservation, but to hear the whole audience (most of the people there) actually cheering sincerly at the end.
In short I was blown away. Blown away by the people who put this together and blown away but the caliber of people who attended.

So, from a first timer - Thank you to everyone. It was all way above and beyond what I expected.

Thanks, Tyler - it was great to meet you. We'll try to be weirder next year. We were on good behavior.

Well, except for Thursday night.

I actually saw Jonathan, in his de-rigeur khakis and Akubra hat and Col. Littleton belt, walking along with Scott Brady - both with little paper umbrellas in their hats, both smoking Cuban cigars. Jonathan was, um, weaving a tad.

I don't quite recall how I got up the ladder to the Technitop on the Land Cruiser. Shoot - was it even our Land Cruiser? All the guys smelled like cigars . . .

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Well, that explains why I had so much room in bed that night.

 

[etbadger]

Our thanks as well to all who helped put it on, showed up, and participated in any way. We had a great time, learned a bunch, and met a whole crowd of really cool people.

I'll get some more photos up on our site when I have a chance, but since most of the shots so far are of the action, here's a shot of the camp a little while after we pulled in Wednesday...

-Erik & Amy

 

[elcoyote]

Just piping in to say that Scotty and I had a wonderful time at ET. We felt so honored to be in the presence of such an incredible group of people. Having never put on a clinic before and listening in on the others, we sure learned a lot. Kudos to the organizers who put it all together and kept everything rolling. You rock!

Most memorable:

1. Pasquatch! Priceless
2. Competitive Happy Hour: Pauls' Tiki lounge and Bert
3. Umbrellas in Scott's hat
4. The Milky Way
5. Chuck during his presentation: "I'm not trying to scare you or anything..."
6. Hors d'oeuvres: Grilled shrimp with jalapeno & cream cheese wrapped in bacon...isn't that illegal in the lower 48?
7. Sunrise at Bloody Basin
8. Our responsible law abiding leader recounting illegal activities at Hoover dam
9. Fluorescing scorpions
10. This should be first: THE CAMARADERIE!

See you all next year for more.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Our thanks as well to all who helped put it on, showed up, and participated in any way. We had a great time, learned a bunch, and met a whole crowd of really cool people.

I'll get some more photos up on our site when I have a chance, but since most of the shots so far are of the action, here's a shot of the camp a little while after we pulled in Wednesday...

-Erik & Amy

Nice shot of the camp Erik. Thanks for posting it up. :jumping:

 

[articulate]

Erik, that shot is waaaay cool.

When I told Brooke about the fun and folk, she too said that she wants to compete on a women's team. Grrrrrrrr.... That's going to be cool.

I'm only halfway through my photos, but here are a couple of highlights: