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to be included here.

This Jamboree started off a little odd, I had dropped off the main trailer at the camp site but had to go back home for the flatbed that we were to use as a stage.  My wife followed with the Jeep, towing the tent trailer.  As we pulled into the campsite, we could see that most of the group was there and well into setting up camp.  Taco picked up a camp stove and started to move away and dropped one of the grills, Pete, AZFJ, reached down and picked it up and started to “dance” away?!?!?!  Where the grill had dropped was a 2.5 to 3 foot rattle snake, right in the middle of camp!!!  Luckily Pete heard the warning and moved as he started to strike and was missed.  After several attempts to remove him from the area and considering the number of kids we had, Scott, Razuki, took care of him with the point of a shovel and the camp got back to setting up. 

The evening was calm after that with some greetings and a bit of fellowship before most headed off to bed down for a cool night.  A few of us remained around the campfire till the early hours; I finally peeled off about 2:30, just in time for a gentle rain to start off and on.  Somewhere early in the morning the coyotes started to howl and one was CLOSE, if not in camp.  The camp came to life early Saturday morning and people started to mill around, get breakfast and admire the Pinzgauer that Dan and Jessica had driven in somewhere in the middle of the night. We spent some time making sure everyone had been introduced and then started getting vehicles ready for the first trek into God’s country. 

Yes, we did have the essentials!!!                                  The groups ready to go!!

The plan for us was to wheel up to the Coke Ovens which is normally about a 4 hour run.  The people that remained in camp were planning a bible study and time to fellowship.  We started the journey with 13 vehicles including three quads, one two wheel drive and everything from a Sami to a Land Cruiser and the ever popular Pinzgauer!!  As we made our way down the trail, people took the opportunity to play on various side obstacles and we got a chance to meet a few other wheelers and spread the Word

.  Our first and only REAL challenge of this run was the staircase.  This challenge has three main routes down, (1) Reasonable, (2) Well if you think it will and (3) Are you KIDDING!  The Pinzgauer, the two wheel drive taco, the bone stock 4x4 Jeep and 4 door Chevy took the Reasonable route, Pete took a modified combination of the easier of the two while deacon and I took the less sane route. Taco, Pat and Razuki however, took the body damage route!!  We spent a fair time playing in this area to get everyone one and let everyone watch the fun, then we continued on towards Box Canyon and playing on side obstacles. 

About halfway thru is the turn to head up to the Coke Ovens and we stopped here for a break and everyone decided to have a bite to eat.  At this point we considered how long it had taken to get here and how much farther it was, it took far longer than our original planning estimate so it was decided that we would turn around here and head back so we could be back in camp by 4pm.  I must say, next year we will have a better idea on the times for the runs and will have a better schedule laid in for the Jambo, anyway, to continue. The other part of the decision to return the same way was that many in the group wanted to tempt fate on the staircase going up!  The two wheel drive Tacoma and the 4 door Chevy decided to continue on thru Box and out to the highway as they had other engagements and the rest of us turned around and headed back to test our skills.  We spent a long time at the stairs again with the vehicles going back up in the same areas they did coming down but with a lot more tire spinning. 

The last one to go up was Razuki in the Sami…..Well, I guess I will leave it to the video to explain, he definitely has a different driving style than any of the rest of us!!!!  Unfortunately he ended up breaking it and after I winched the Sami the rest of the way up, he limped it back to camp.   

The oil was cleaned up and we headed back to camp. On the way the way there, Ben and Steph, riding on one of the quads, were pulled over by a Ranger, also on a quad, for going to fast and for pulling off the road while turning around!  Interestingly though, the Ranger pulled WAY off the road to have a "discussion" with them about their infraction!?!?!  Well, he let them go with a warning, checked our permit and then let us go on our way. 

Part way back to camp, Ryan had a close encounter of the boulder and wall kind on his quad and we took another short break to test our front end alignment skills...they were not real good!!  We did get him loaded into a truck tho so he could get back to camp and make repairs.

Some of the group headed on back to camp and a few of us swung right at the wash and headed in to play at Lower Woodpecker for a bit but ended up watching some well built Jeeps cross the V.  We hit a tad bit of rain on the way back but it was very short lived.

Then it was on to the raffles!!  There was over $1500 in gifts donated by

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We need to give a special thanks to these sponsors and remember them when it is time to spend money on upgrade parts for your 4x4's.  Most people won something in the raffles and everyone seemed to go away happy, or at least amused.  By this time it was getting on about 9:30 and several of the families headed off to bed.  Some of the remaining group decided to do Woodpecker Mine Loop for a night run and set out to prepare rigs.  The group consisted of Taco and Mandi, Deacon, AZFJ and myself with Ben (Samurai Bean), Steph and Luke (Sid the Sloth) riding along.  This is a taxing trail by day but a whole other world at night.  We pulled out of camp about 10pm and unfortunately my camera was MIA so there are no pictures.  It was an incredible run and damage was not far off.  At the start of the trail, AZFJ took out the passenger running board on the Cruiser and then, on the same rock formation, Taco punched a dent in the rear door.  The rest of the trail was damage free but very complicated and slow going till we arrived back at camp around 3:30am.  Camp woke early again on Sunday and those of us from the night run, drug ourselves out to find the Cruiser with a flat tire and my Jeep with a lower control arm bolt almost out, scary to thing what would happen if it had come out on the trail.  The morning was spent getting breakfast and then taking time to fellowship before breaking camp and saying our goodbyes and hopes to see each other for another run soon.

Hopefully this was just the first of many years of Florence Junction Annual Jamborees and we hope to see you all at the next one. 

God Bless

Kreation Krawlers