Mountain Rendezvous 2014 Road Trip – Conclusion
The feral howl that shattered my deep slumber was very loud, and also very close. Definitely a coyote, and it was clearly a challenge call. No doubt everyone in camp – and every dog present – had heard it, unless they were remarkably deep sleepers. The howls didn’t last long though, and I soon rolled over and fell right back asleep.
Last year in camp it had been the whole pack of the local coyotes that had taken up the early howling, but it was just the solo critter this time around. Later, a few of us conjectured that it may have been playing the role of lure, a common coyote pack tactic. One coyote will play that role to try and convince a dog to come out after it, while the rest of the pack lies in ambush, waiting for the unsuspecting victim. Fortunately, the pets at Mountain Rendezvous either know better or they’re tied up.
A bit later we reluctantly climbed from our warm sleeping bag, got dressed and got the coffee going for another big day at MR14. This morning we had a free breakfast to look forward to, provided by Mojoe Outfitters. Brekkie consisted of blueberry hotcakes – the best I can ever recall having – as well as some really good bacon. Some of my favorite things! Cam and crew impress not only with their griddle product, but their cooking skills as well. The fact that they could pull off not just such tasty goodness, but for 200 people, is impressive.
Content with full bellies and happy taste buds, it was time to move on to my big project for the day; making the rounds, socializing and checking out the rigs and camp setups. Allison would be along for part of the time, but also was working on an important new business – selling rocks with her new friends. We’d stayed in touch with our FRS radios when she wasn’t at my side.
And so we walked around, chatting with friends old and new, checking out the many variations on hand: pop-up campers, motos, VWs and Land Cruisers, Land Rovers and Tacos, Jeeps and FJs and pickups and even a Pinzgauer. The gathered overland community here has such varied personal needs (and wants) for how they get out and about, and there’s great mutual respect for what the next person is doing. If you’re genuine and getting out there, you’ll fit right in no matter how you choose to get it done.
I had a fun time checking out the vehicles and geeking out on the various camping gear too. Solar panels were a common sight, as well as tents (ground and rooftop), awnings, and all manner of kitchen setups. I also enjoyed having more opportunities to talk with people, some I hadn’t seen in a year or more, as well as meeting others for the first time. Eventually we took a break for lunch before I resumed my photo tour, until it was time for the big afternoon/evening gathering.
The Dutch oven cooking got underway and the event t-shirts were handed out. People, camp chairs, and cooking gear started to fill the main fire ring area. Just before dinner (Dutch oven cookoff and potluck) everyone gathered for the traditional group photo by Brent Haywood. Then it was time for dinner, and wow, what a dinner it was!
Supported by the fruits of no less than twenty two Dutch ovens and the vast potluck offerings, we feasted like kings. Our plates were full, even though some of the Dutch oven offerings were completely gone by the time we reached them. There was still plenty. I was so busy putting together my own plate, small amounts of as many samples as I could manage, I didn’t even notice that Allison had filled her own dinner plate with about 95% desserts. Sneaky little monkey!
The food was fantastic, and a dish we’d not managed to get any of – sesame seed chicken – was voted winner of the DO cookoff, winning the cook a nice Tembo Tusk Dutch Oven cook stand, which was a great prize.
Soon it was time for the highly-anticipated raffle. And it’s no wonder that the attendees looks forward to the raffle every year because the donors really pull out the stops to offer up a vast quantity of nice prizes: Snow Peak titanium mugs, Surefire flashlights, Adventure Tool Company map cases, suspension components, gift certificates, and so much more. The huge crowd would “oooh” and “aah” as the prizes were announced, and applaud as each happy winner claimed their goodies.It’s always fun and exciting, even though I didn’t win anything the previous two years.
This year however my luck was good – I like to think it was because Allison was there – and I won another Snow Peak titanium mug for my collection. Nice! I gave Allison the ticket so she could go claim the prize and she was very excited.
The raffle concluded well after dark, and the assembled crowd broke up, with most returning to smaller gatherings spread throughout the site. Many were up late into the night partying and socializing, but Allison and I got to bed at a reasonable hour. Just as well as Dessert Girl woke me up at about 10pm to announce that she had just puked in our double sleeping bag. Luckily it was a very small amount of mainly water it seemed, so a good field cleanup of the spot was accomplished without too much effort. Allison felt a lot better and I was able to cover the damp spot in the bag (thankfully on her side, heh) with a camp towel and soon we were back asleep without further incident.
The next morning we were slow to extract ourselves from the warm bag, but eventually prevailed and got breakfast and coffee going. Thankfully, Allison was feeling fine although she still had a cough that had been bothering her from time to time along the trip. We ate and watched as vehicles rolled out of the event past our site. After breakfast we packed up and made our goodbyes, and around 9 or 10am we too headed out for the long, long drive home.
As we left, I asked Allison how she’d liked Mountain Rendezvous, her first overlanding event. She just looked at me and enthusiastically said “DESERT RENDEZVOUS!!!” I’m not certain, but I may have created a monster… And I’m OK with that.
I’m reasonably certain that this was the biggest Mountain Rendezvous ever, with over 100 vehicles and 200+ participants. The event raised nearly $3,000 for the Boy Scouts, and generated countless smiles among this special overlanding community. One guy traveled all the way from Texas to join in. Not bad for a free, community-supported event.
To see a full list of sponsors, to participate in related online discussions, or to sign up for these events, visits the forums at the American Adventurist site.
This wraps up my road trip report. I want to again thank Dave (and Nori) Bennett for putting these events together, and of course the many volunteers that make them happen, folks like Cris, Apryl and Mitch, Stuart, etc. Also thanks to the sponsors and donors for their contributions and participation, which definitely do not go unnoticed! Also my personal thanks to everyone I chatted with, you all really are a huge part of what makes these events so enjoyable.
I’ve got the two final photo galleries below, one being the big vehicle gallery and the other is a small wrap-up that concludes our road trip.
I’ll be doing a post on some of the gear I used along the way, as well as four Drives posts covering the trails we ran on the way to MR14, so there’s more related material still to come. I hoped you enjoyed this series of reports on our road trip. We certainly has a blast living it. Cheers!
Mountain Rendezvous 2014 Road Trip – The Big Vehicle Photo Gallery