As it turned out only three vehicles joined the tail-gunner. Our group of 4 included our leader Todd Hoffmaster in his gun metal gray Tacoma, Rick Neil in his stretched red CJ, George Padilla in his white S-10 Blazer, and myself (Lance Morin) in my black Tacoma. One of the first things you notice in Uvalde are the smooth, white riverbed rocks ranging from golf ball to softball size. These rocks were very much like quick sand and dubbed "quick rock" by most whom attended. The rivers were very low this year, and much of the water was not a factor Friday. Most of the challenges were obstacles of rock formations, ledges, dirt hill climbs, and "quick rock" whoopties. Anybody with at least one locker could enjoy most everything offered in Uvalde, while open trucks had that much more fun trying. Much of the action was scattered around the obstacle sections of the river, while the riverbed rocks guided us from section to section. Our Friday group of four finally intersected with the main group. We picked up several more vehicles as we went to explore the rest of the trail. Included in our now expanded group were Jeff Harris (Trooper) and Marc Haught (Samurai). The next section of rock was more of a challenge than they appeared. In fact, our fearless president was gracious enough to plop his big ol' Jeep right on top of large boulder. There he stayed until Marc and his Sammy were kind enough to pull him off. The following rock section was very scenic and challenging as well. The larger formation offered a variety of options for just about any type of vehicle. This time Rick got to play the hero as he used some good old fashioned horsepower to help free a Scambler that was wedged in the rocks.

It was now about 5:00pm and time to head back to town. Some people chose to take the short route back to the highway, while the rest of us followed our trail leader down the scenic path through the riverbed. This part of the trail was supposed to be about an hour back to town, but the "quick rock" delayed that a bit. We came to a annoying little section of riverbed rock whoopties. I (Lance Morin) forced those behind me to stop dead in their tracks as I misjudged a climb. I had to drive back down the hill to gain momentum for another try. About this time Jeff Harris' Trooper sunk down on a crest and was unable to gain any traction. I figured I would just back up and strap them out. The back up and strap part went just fine. It was the "out" part that didn't work so well. I immediately sank up to the frame as my front end was on the next peak. Now there were two of us stuck in the "quick rock". For some reason we thought the open differentials of the S-10 Blazer could set us free. He immediately sunk in as well. Our trail leader made his way back down to us and strapped onto the other side of my Tacoma. I was now free and on solid ground to help the Trooper along. The trail leader then pulled the S-10 out to higher and more stable ground. As I proceeded to help guide Jeff and his Trooper to solid ground we both managed to sink in again as he was very mighty close to a little pond. Rick immediately backed into place and pulled us both out. The rest of the way the two open trucks used desert racing tactics to avoid sinking into the hilly riverbed rock. At each hill, they would get a running start, flying over the top like Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart or something.

Mike Klinke in his YJ

George Padilla in his Blazer

Marc Haught in his Sammy

Rick Neil in his CJ-5 (yes, CJ-5)

Moving right along...