Because Arizona is mainly a desert, and monsoon season is generally in August or September, no one expected the Arizona State Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs’ 27th annual jamboree to be wetter than a Mississippi flood plain. An unexpected rainstorm decided to confuse the hell out of all of the cactus as well as all of the Jeepers who showed up for a fun, dry Arizona weekend of ’wheeling.
Saturday morning went great with a few light sprinkles here and there, but nothing more than a splash to keep the trails exciting. An hour or two after lunch was scarfed down, the real interesting stuff started. The bottom dropped out of some wayward rainstorm which left many a CB call going out for Noah and his ark to come along and save them from a series of rocky gullies filled with rapidly moving toilet-colored water sweeping Jeeps and Jeepers alike down the drain. Well, not really. To our knowledge, no one got washed away, but it sure seemed like we were all in for an exciting evening of wading through the muck.
Most of the trails are located in dried-out washes that twist and climb through the hills near Florence, Arizona, so you can imagine how the driving lines changed when 8 to 12 inches of water were carving their way down what most thought would be a dry dusty trail. Those who forgot their tops were pulling on jackets and super-modified garbage bags while the people with bikini tops on their Jeeps found out that sometimes rain can fall sideways. Cherokee owners rolled up their windows and hit defrost with a smirk, as we all got doused. To see what kind of fun we had despite the unexpected weather, check out our pictures. Oh, yeah! It probably won’t rain next year, so if you want in on the action get in touch with the ASA4WDC at 602/258-4BY4, or check out the Web site at www.asa4wdc.org. Bring an umbrella and a raincoat just in case.