iRonin
Member
Dream come true, y'all. Those following my build thread know I've been building the rig with JKX as a top goal. Year 3, I was lucky enough to be selected. Huge part of the inspiration came form this forum and the Wayalife videos of past events, so before we get into the pictures... THANK YOU Eddie & Cindy!
Our trek began in a small suburb just north of Austin, TX.
A good wheeling friend of mine (@chuck.converse) flew down from CO to run as my co-pilot.
Day -2
Originally, we were going to sync up with Randy and CJ and convoy out together as the TX crew but timing between work, flights, etc didn't pan out. So Randy left a few hours before we did, and CJ would leave later that evening.
At ~837 miles to Hannibal, MO, we made it to Little Rock, AK for a late dinner and to see where folks were at. Randy had made it up to Osage Beach and CJ was on the road but quite a ways back. We decided to toss back a few Monsters and press on to Osage (~300mi) to catch up. We made it, and it was also pretty clear we found the right hotel:
It was after midnight at this point so we pretty much went straight to bed and caught up with Randy & Terri @ coffee in the am.
Day -1
We decided to scoot a little closer to Jefferson City for actual breakfast so we loaded up and rolled out. This was my first time getting to test the PCI Race radio as most folks I know only have CBs- to my relief, it worked perfectly.
Which was cool because when Randy mentioned wanting to scoot a bit closer to town for breakfast, I wasn't all THAT worried that we had arrived late last night on 'E'? Buuut after 10+ mi on the road I just had to radio for a pit-stop, otherwise I was gonna have Chuck refuel is off a rotopax, on the move, Mad Max style.
So we got gas, breakfast, and continued on into Hannibal, which is the hometown of Mark Twain, and the starting point of the Big River JKX.
After lunch we did a bit of exploring. The town is really neat, right on the Mississippi River, with plenty of history peppered about lots of lively spots to eat & drink.
That afternoon more folks arrived- CJ made it in so the TX crew was finally united:
And it was finally time to meet some new (but familiar) faces:
Everyone was super cool, super friendly. We hit up one of the local breweries where we could all get to chatting more as evening set in:
Annnnd a few of us burned a bit of the midnight oil:
I know the tradition calls for American Honey, but Sailor Jerry's was the import from Austin that night, and as smooth as it is for a 92 proof spiced rum, it served up a memorable evening with lots of laughs.
Day 0 (Check In)
The next day we were off to an open lot down by the river for vehicle and driver check-in. It was... pretty exciting seeing the Nitto trailer parked, awning out, shading the stacks of sponsor stickers and swag bags and folks bustling around.
By this point pretty much everyone was there and it was the first time we got a full look at all the rigs in attendance for the week.
After safety checks it was onto decals. Bit bummed that I had to scrape non-sponsoring stickers but I understood why. Decals turned out super straight and supper good looking on the SuperLiner treated doors:
Folks from the crew helping to keep placements consistent:
Our trek began in a small suburb just north of Austin, TX.
A good wheeling friend of mine (@chuck.converse) flew down from CO to run as my co-pilot.
Day -2
Originally, we were going to sync up with Randy and CJ and convoy out together as the TX crew but timing between work, flights, etc didn't pan out. So Randy left a few hours before we did, and CJ would leave later that evening.
At ~837 miles to Hannibal, MO, we made it to Little Rock, AK for a late dinner and to see where folks were at. Randy had made it up to Osage Beach and CJ was on the road but quite a ways back. We decided to toss back a few Monsters and press on to Osage (~300mi) to catch up. We made it, and it was also pretty clear we found the right hotel:
It was after midnight at this point so we pretty much went straight to bed and caught up with Randy & Terri @ coffee in the am.
Day -1
We decided to scoot a little closer to Jefferson City for actual breakfast so we loaded up and rolled out. This was my first time getting to test the PCI Race radio as most folks I know only have CBs- to my relief, it worked perfectly.
Which was cool because when Randy mentioned wanting to scoot a bit closer to town for breakfast, I wasn't all THAT worried that we had arrived late last night on 'E'? Buuut after 10+ mi on the road I just had to radio for a pit-stop, otherwise I was gonna have Chuck refuel is off a rotopax, on the move, Mad Max style.
So we got gas, breakfast, and continued on into Hannibal, which is the hometown of Mark Twain, and the starting point of the Big River JKX.
After lunch we did a bit of exploring. The town is really neat, right on the Mississippi River, with plenty of history peppered about lots of lively spots to eat & drink.
That afternoon more folks arrived- CJ made it in so the TX crew was finally united:
And it was finally time to meet some new (but familiar) faces:
Everyone was super cool, super friendly. We hit up one of the local breweries where we could all get to chatting more as evening set in:
Annnnd a few of us burned a bit of the midnight oil:
I know the tradition calls for American Honey, but Sailor Jerry's was the import from Austin that night, and as smooth as it is for a 92 proof spiced rum, it served up a memorable evening with lots of laughs.
Day 0 (Check In)
The next day we were off to an open lot down by the river for vehicle and driver check-in. It was... pretty exciting seeing the Nitto trailer parked, awning out, shading the stacks of sponsor stickers and swag bags and folks bustling around.
By this point pretty much everyone was there and it was the first time we got a full look at all the rigs in attendance for the week.
After safety checks it was onto decals. Bit bummed that I had to scrape non-sponsoring stickers but I understood why. Decals turned out super straight and supper good looking on the SuperLiner treated doors:
Folks from the crew helping to keep placements consistent:
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