2008, What a year!

It sure was. I am blessed to have had such an outstandingly wonderful year full of adventures, journeys and superb memories.

Starting it off with a BANG was Argentina for 2 months

Was honored to be in Jay and Nicole's Wedding

Then Chihuahua, Mexico with Dad for the Chihuahua Express car race

Drove to Calgary with Krystalle in May

Nancy and I visited Matt in New York City in June

Showed Sonny through the summer

Worked for Moo U at the State Fair of Texas in September-October and met some amazing people!

Got to spend lots of time with my handsome Godson

Lost an election :(

Kicked up my heals in Reno

Lived it up in Vegas

It was a very Merry Christmas

And looking forward to an exciting 2009!

Good ride!

Merry Christmas

I have a new-found respect for photographers who deal mostly with animals and/or children. Trying to take our Christmas card photos with the dogs was pretty tricky!

And my Godson, Carson Brixey Bell, is an example of just how challening kids are to take pictures of...

Awards

Awards at the Governor's Palace

I think Sunday evening was the first time in a few days that I was able to breath a deep sigh of relief. What a crazy week! Sunday night we all had to get down to the Governor's Palace for the final awards.

The Palace was beautiful and the awards ceremony was in the center courtyard that was open to the sky above.

Dad and Shields came in 2nd in their class - Original PanAm.

And they ended up 3rd overall in their class. Pretty good for only getting times for half of the entire race!

In the Unlimited Class, Kevin and Mark from L.A. led everyday of the race and took home the top honors -

Here are the fabulous Vancouver and Seattle racers at dinner after the awards. They were all so much fun. Thanks for the great memories and lots of laughs!

To sum things up...What an adventure! I see how this racing business can get you hooked, I already can't wait for the La Carrera Panamericana in October! Everyone was so nice and helpful that it made all the craziness enjoyable. However, it was a long time on the road and I was very glad to get home and have a good nights sleep! Dad and I pushed it home to get back to the ranch in 2 days. It was a wild adventure.

What a ride!

Racing Day 3

Day 3

The last day of racing. Plan of attack: keep the car on the road and in one piece!

Riding with me today are racers John and Chrislana Gregory from Vancouver. Unfortunately their Studebaker decided to really hurt itself on Saturday and instead of putting a whole new engine in for just one more day of racing, John and Chrislana played it safe and drove Servicio with me! And what a blessing they were to have along.

Shields, Chrislana, John, Dad, Dyana

The course for today's race was to the east of Chihuahua, with some breathtaking vistas of dramatic rock formations and jagged mountains amidst the brittle landscape. The only car that needed our assistance on the way to the servicio stop was Jorge and Dyana in the white LT Special...they, like Dad, had a "fuel issue." Fortunately, I had gas in the cans in the back of the truck (learning from not having any before!).

Dyana and Shields:

We were able to see a few of the starts of the speed sections. It gave me goosebumps to see and hear the countdowns and then the impressive roars or the engines as they laid rubber and drove off into the horizon.

Then, on the 2nd half of the day, some troubles started to hit the tired cars. Lars and Felipe were prey to knarly turns. Their beautiful car ended up sideways in a ditch on the right side of the road (which was the lesser of the two evils because the left side was about a 100 foot drop off).

They were able to retrieve the Studebaker and load it on a trailer. Hopefully they'll get her all fixed up for La Carrera in October!

So on John, Chrislana and I ventured to keep up with the race. And who else do we stumble upon, but Stewart and Linda, the other couple from Vancouver, and they fried ANOTHER alternator! I think this was their 3rd, and John helped them switch to the 4th. Ay yay yay! The good news was that it was fixable and that it happened on the last speed section of the race. By this time of helping so many people we were having a good ol' time:

On the road again after getting they up and running and we came across Alan from Seattle and their Volvo. They had completed the speed sections, but then blew a piston while hauling ass back to town. Way to go guys! :) Fortunately there was one more Servicio with a trailer so we pushed the Volvo onto the trailer to get it back to Chihuahua.

And yet again, I arrived DFL back to the hotel. I think I am going to start my new racing team: DFL Racing!

At least we can count our blessing that no one was injured today.

Day 2 of Racing

Day 2

Today was the day to race to Copper Canyon, which is Mexico's version of the Grand Canyon, only deeper and narrower. Left the hotel earlier because it was to be a long day of racing.

The drive took us into some beautifully wooded country in high elevation - over 7,000 feet. Needless to say it was a windy drive.


We caught up with the race cars at the first servicio stop in a little town called San Juanito where the racers had to fill up with gas because there wouldn't be any stations up the hill nor at the Copper Canyon stop.


Dad and Shields were racing well, all except for having no power stearing because for some unknown reason couldn't get the power stearing belts to stay on. So they wanted to try some different sizes. Off I went in search of a car parts store in this little town! I did find one, and they had belts, but the sizing system is different in Mexico so I had to hold the old belts up to the new ones to get some a little smaller and a little bigger. The clerk must have thought I was nuts, what in the world would a girl need so many belts for?!?! But they were cheap and I bought bunch.



The next speed section was the start of the very windy road. As I was following in the back of the pack with the other servicios, this is what we came up on:

HOLY SHIT IS RIGHT!!!!!

It was two guys in this Studebaker (that appropiately had flames painted on). They had skidded off the road, FLIPPED and then land right side up then burst into flames. Fortunately they both made it out safely and unhurt.

It really goes to show how serious the racers take the safety precautions - 5 point seatbelts, helmets, Haans devices, fire proof racing suits and fire systems in the cars, fuel pump shut-offs and very technical roll cages. And because of these safety measures, when accidents like this one do happen, the drivers are able to walk away safely.

The race then made its way up to Copper Canyon to the lunch stop without any more problems. And the view from the top was worth the effort to get up there!

And then...the curvy race back down proved even more perilous and several more racers fell victim. A Left 3 wrecked havock on several cars. One of the fastest cars, Doug Mockett's Oldsmobile, creamed off the guardrail, but was able to keep going down the road. Several other cars also had incidents with the same corner, further weakening the precarious guardrail. Then came Joe Harding, an Englishman from San Diego. He skidded off the road where the guardrail was damaged, his really neat Ford Falcon Sprint rolled upside down, creamed through the forest, trees didn't even slow it down, hit a pile of rocks, flipped back over, and burst into flames. They both got out alright, but Joe (the driver) had a broken leg and foot. This is what the scene looked like:

WOWZER.
We continued on after making sure the drivers were out and safe. But talk about being shook up and I wasn't even in the race!

Then I see skid marks going straight into a rock wall and a guardrail and said to Denise (who was in the truck with me), "Oh wow, someone hit the guardrail there!" Continuing around the tight right turn we look up and see Dad and Shields! The skid marks were theirs! And here's why: They had gone through a series of 3 and 4 turns (the turns are ranked 1-5, 5 being the most severe and VERY rare) and Dad was muscling the car through without power stearing. Then they went from a 1 to a 5 - very sharp turn to the right. Dad just couldn't get the car turned and just barely kissed the guardrail with the front left bumper and fender. But, at least the car still runs and both Dad and Shields were ok! Ay yay yay! Because they took time to check the car and get going again, they missed the rest of the speed sections for the day, but all things considering, we were all happy that the car was still in driving condition at the end of the day.

I tell you what, the whole day was one of the wildest, nerve-wracking, extreme experiences that I have ever had! Driving behind the race and seeing all of the carnage that was left was unbelievable. It really made me grateful for all of the safety precautions that the drivers and co-pilotos and race officials take very seriously.

That night when we finally arrived back to the hotel (DFL again!) I was wondering what else could possibly happen...

Day 1 of Racing

I guess I didn't really know what to expect from this racing trip when I first signed up, but I sure have been pleasantly surprised with what a most excellent adventure it turned out to be!

So here we go with action packed Day 1 of racing from Chihuahua to Madera and back to Chihuahua:

Since we had the truck filled with supplies and spare parts, I thought it a good idea to meet the race at the servicio stop at midday, taking a different route that was direct and less curvy than the race route. That was Plan A.

However, the night before, the power steering belt blew when Dad drove the car to dinner. They had an extra in the car and fixed it, but that meant that I had to go find an autoparts store to get more spares. So Friday morning we were off to the closest AutoZone. (There were 3 of us in the truck - me, John and Denise who is another racer's girlfriend). We got the extra belts but then realized that we were now headed the opposite direction from Plan A and that there was bumper to bumper traffic on the highway that we needed to take. Thus we devised our new plan - to go the race route, we were ahead of the racers at this point anyway, and park on the side of the road to watch them race by and then file in the end of the pack with the other service vehicles.

We found a good place to watch the race go by and even made friends with a burro who brayed at the cars as they flew by. It was a blast to see the cars in action and to hear the roars (and some sputters) of these magnificent machines.

After the last car and the control cars and ambulances went by, we filled in behind. We weren't but 2 turns down the road and we came across a beautiful Mustang GT 350 that had crashed into the guard rail, but fortunately the piloto and co-piloto were ok. THEN, we came around the next turn and THERE WAS DAD! They were pulled over with the hood up. OH NO!

They had been having some troubles and thought there were problems with the carburetor. We got it all apart and made sure the injectors were clean, but still couldn't get it started. So the only other option was to tow the car with a tow strap behind the truck into the nearest town, 20 miles away.

We rolled into this little pueblo and asked if there was a mechanic around and we were pointed toward a tractor mechanic. I went and asked him if he knew anything about carburetors and he said he only knew about tractor parts, but that there was a gas station a mile farther. So we went to see if there was a mechanic there.

As we pulled up, out came a Mennonite man (huge Mennonite colonies around) dressed in bib overalls and a big straw hat with several silver teeth. I asked him if he knew anything about carburetors, he took a deep breath and said, "we'll see."

In the mean time, Shields filled up a gas can and put gas into the fuel cell and immediately the fuel pumps started making a healthier noise and then the car started right up!!!

I know, we couldn't believe it either!

Dad and Shields were able to speed off and catch up with the rest of the race, while I thanked the mechanic very much for his help

We went through beautiful country and into the wooded region of Madera and then back to Chihuahua.

Thus went day 1!

Race Website

http://www.chihuahuaexpress.com/

Arrival in Chihuahua

After 3 long days of road-tripping, we finally arrived in Chihuahua yesterday afternoon! The race starts tomorrow (Friday) morning. Today are tech and health inspections for the cars and racers.



It was a nice and safe drive down. We pulled in to El Paso on Tuesday night and met with the American group of drivers who were also driving their cars down. Gerry Bledsoe, the North American Coodinator organized a dinner for us all to schmooze with Mexican and American border officials, who made our crossing run very smoothly. Then Wednesday morning we were up early to all caravan to the border.



It has been really neat to see all of the other race cars, there sure is a variety! I have been taking pictures, but since I didn't bring my laptop down, I won´t be ablt to upload them until I get home. But all of the other racers are sooo nice and fun to be around.



We crossed at Santa Teresa, a much smaller crossing than Juarez. It is mainly an industrial crossing and when we got their around 9, we were the only ones there (all 40ish of us). It was a confusing process, because everyone was transporting at least 2 vehicles across - tow trucks and trailers and then the race cars. And where it gets tricky is that one person can only cross one vehicle in his name. So guess what! I am now the proud owner of a '54 Ford racecar!!! haha! We had to put it in my name because the truck is in Dad's name. I'm sure Dad will change that as soon as we get home (or he'll give me all the bills and then I'll gladly hand it back over!).



It took 2 hours for us to get through customs, but it was very pleasant because we had so many Mexican officials helping us.



The drive south into the city of Chihuahua was only 200 miles, but took all day because their were some major wind storms that were swirling around dust clouds that were so thick that at times we could only see 50 yards ahead of us. But we forged ahead cautiously on our great adventure.

The host hotel for the Chihuahua Express is the Westin and rest assured, it is very safe and beautiful!

We went last night to one of the best restaurants in Chihuahua (so they told us) and it definetely lived up to it's reputation. Of course we had to sample some tequila! It was a night full of lots of laughs from the stories from Dad and Shields (Dad's co-piloto) from the last race in Mexico.

Fortunately, the winds have died down today and it is beautiful and warm. We´re about to head to downtown to get some lunch and see some sights. ¡Hasta luego!

Leaving for Mexico!

Now for the next adventure! I get to practice my Spanish again!

I made it home safe and sound from a most excellent time in Argentina. However, I'm hitting the road again!

Tomorrow morning Dad and I are leaving little Los Alamos and heading for Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico! Dad and his co-pilot are driving in the Chihuahua Express - a 3 day road race around the city of Chihuahua. They are driving the same car - a '54 Ford - that they drove last October in the La Carrera PanAmericana race through Mexico. And they loved it so much that they decided to do another one!

So Dad and I are leaving Monday morning, picking up an old friend of Dad's - John Aspra - and we're road tripping to Mexico. It'll take us three days to get there. Monday night in Tuscon, Tuesday night in El Paso area and meeting up with a bunch of other people and their cars, and then crossing the border on Wednesday and down to Chihuahua.

The race is Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then we head home Monday the 14th.

So that's the news! I'll try to do daily posts, depending if we have access to a computer at the hotels at night (I'm not taking my own computer this time) and then I'll post pictures when I get back to Los Alamos next week. But not to worry, of course I'll take tons of photos!

Here are some pics of the car from the last Mexican race:

Quila Quina

One of the last days that I was in Argentina, I spent an afternoon at a beach and park called Quila Quina. It was only a 20 minute boat ride from the pier in San Martin, across Lago Lacar.

When I got off the boat, I was walking around the little beach area to get my bearings and met 2 other kids my age. They were looking for the waterfall and asked me where it was (like I know anything)...so I decided to venture off with them to find it too. They were very nice and realy fun. Pablo was from Buenos Aires and Denise was from Germany. They both spoke perfect English and regularly practiced all of the swear words.

So we went on the walk through the Mapuche village to go on the waterfall hike to see the cascada. It was a short 20 minute walk and very serene. Because it is summer and all water levels are very low, the waterfall was not very impressive. But the big boulders and fallen trees that were stuck in the river were really fun to climb on, so we entertained ourselves for a while by exploring.

Going across Lago Lacar


out the window of the boat


Coming into the dock at Quila Quina


the waterfall (or lack thereof)




Denise, Pablo and me

the beach at Quila Quina