Ryno XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Murrieta, CA
Here is the newspaper article covering our event on Saturday. The article was in Sundays "The Californian".
MURRIETA: Jeepy Crawlers
Off-roading enthusiasts raise funds and hair
By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 26, 2008 10:51 PM PDT ∞
MURRIETA ---- Common sense might dictate that a person drive around a mound of granite boulders.
"Crawling" thinking would mean driving over them.
At the Rock Garden OffRoad Club, a private club to flex sport utility vehicle driving skills, there were more than 50 Jeeps and other all-terrain vehicles taking part in a special fundraiser Saturday afternoon.
Dave Borel, co-owner of the Rock Garden property, said his family has owned the Murrieta-area site since 1886. Now, the family owns about 200 acres, 25 of which are used for the Rock Garden’s crawling trails.
There are about 20 obstacles that drivers could attempt to drive their vehicles through, Borel said. Among the more challenging parts of the track are two rock features called "Tommy Can't Make It" and "Mini-Rubicon."
The course isn't of Borel's design. The boulders are in their centuries-old resting spots of choice, which makes setting up the event track rather easy.
"We have not touched them, except to drive over them," he said of the rock obstacles.
He said it's a combination of "let's try that" and "I bet you can't" that leads to someone trying to crawl over a new challenge.
What's the point?
"That you can drive through just about anything," he said as he watched his nephew maneuver a white Jeep off the edge of a boulder, resulting in a three-foot drop.
Dean Rumpilla, of Murrieta, said his advice was to keep as much of the tire on the ground as possible. He said some drivers come out with their customized vehicles, while others bring their street-legal standard SUVs.
"Everyone has a hobby, it just depends on how far you want to take it," said Rumpilla.
Brian Magni, 35, of Menifee, said when he first started rock crawling five years ago, he was driving his "everyday" Toyota truck. He has since traded that vehicle for a Jeep ---- though he claims he never totaled the truck. He said rolling over and turning the vehicles on the side is common with the sport.
"When you tell people that you've rolled over, you get the 'Oh my gosh' reaction as if you rolled while traveling 40 miles per hour," he said. "But when you're crawling, you're going so slow that it's more like just tipping over."
On the property Saturday, across from the French Valley Airport, participants paid $25 per vehicle to roam the rocks. The drivers and passengers of the 50 vehicles that spent the better part of their day traversing some of the most unnatural driving conditions were benefiting Friends of Johnson Valley, an advocacy group that wants to preserve the usage rights for drivers, land sailors and model-rocket enthusiasts, to name a few, at Johnson Valley in San Bernardino.
Rick Rethoret, of Borrego Springs, and an access liaison for Johnson Valley, said there are plans for the U.S. Marine Corps to expand its training areas around Twentynine Palms for more military exercises.
"They want to know who they might affect, which is why we have started to band groups together so they can discuss why they seek access to the area," he said.
Rethoret said the rock crawlers want to be able to keep an area of the reserve known as "Hammers ---- the mecca of rock crawling."
"There are other places like this," he said of the crawling activities at the Murrieta Rock Garden. "But there is nothing like Johnson Valley."
For information about future runs at the Rock Garden, visit www.rockgardenoffroad.com.
MURRIETA: Jeepy Crawlers
Off-roading enthusiasts raise funds and hair
By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 26, 2008 10:51 PM PDT ∞
MURRIETA ---- Common sense might dictate that a person drive around a mound of granite boulders.
"Crawling" thinking would mean driving over them.
At the Rock Garden OffRoad Club, a private club to flex sport utility vehicle driving skills, there were more than 50 Jeeps and other all-terrain vehicles taking part in a special fundraiser Saturday afternoon.
Dave Borel, co-owner of the Rock Garden property, said his family has owned the Murrieta-area site since 1886. Now, the family owns about 200 acres, 25 of which are used for the Rock Garden’s crawling trails.
There are about 20 obstacles that drivers could attempt to drive their vehicles through, Borel said. Among the more challenging parts of the track are two rock features called "Tommy Can't Make It" and "Mini-Rubicon."
The course isn't of Borel's design. The boulders are in their centuries-old resting spots of choice, which makes setting up the event track rather easy.
"We have not touched them, except to drive over them," he said of the rock obstacles.
He said it's a combination of "let's try that" and "I bet you can't" that leads to someone trying to crawl over a new challenge.
What's the point?
"That you can drive through just about anything," he said as he watched his nephew maneuver a white Jeep off the edge of a boulder, resulting in a three-foot drop.
Dean Rumpilla, of Murrieta, said his advice was to keep as much of the tire on the ground as possible. He said some drivers come out with their customized vehicles, while others bring their street-legal standard SUVs.
"Everyone has a hobby, it just depends on how far you want to take it," said Rumpilla.
Brian Magni, 35, of Menifee, said when he first started rock crawling five years ago, he was driving his "everyday" Toyota truck. He has since traded that vehicle for a Jeep ---- though he claims he never totaled the truck. He said rolling over and turning the vehicles on the side is common with the sport.
"When you tell people that you've rolled over, you get the 'Oh my gosh' reaction as if you rolled while traveling 40 miles per hour," he said. "But when you're crawling, you're going so slow that it's more like just tipping over."
On the property Saturday, across from the French Valley Airport, participants paid $25 per vehicle to roam the rocks. The drivers and passengers of the 50 vehicles that spent the better part of their day traversing some of the most unnatural driving conditions were benefiting Friends of Johnson Valley, an advocacy group that wants to preserve the usage rights for drivers, land sailors and model-rocket enthusiasts, to name a few, at Johnson Valley in San Bernardino.
Rick Rethoret, of Borrego Springs, and an access liaison for Johnson Valley, said there are plans for the U.S. Marine Corps to expand its training areas around Twentynine Palms for more military exercises.
"They want to know who they might affect, which is why we have started to band groups together so they can discuss why they seek access to the area," he said.
Rethoret said the rock crawlers want to be able to keep an area of the reserve known as "Hammers ---- the mecca of rock crawling."
"There are other places like this," he said of the crawling activities at the Murrieta Rock Garden. "But there is nothing like Johnson Valley."
For information about future runs at the Rock Garden, visit www.rockgardenoffroad.com.