Last minute travel plans changed. Instead of spending a quiet weekend camping in the woods alone, I changed course and headed north to Ohio and Powerline Park to watch the rock bouncers compete.
If you have spent any time on YouTube checking out off-roading videos, I’m pretty sure you have seen some of the crazy’s at work in their high horse power, big tire rail buggy machines bouncing up insane hill climbs and sometimes rolling back down on their lids. The action in the videos got me pumped to see it in person and when I found the next event was only a few (OK 5) hours from home I had to go and check it out.
I was there
Arriving in the dark at the Park, I found an empty spot in the field of trail rigs, campers, mud trucks and rock buggies and pitched my tent. Camp fires burned, drinks were flowing and ATVs ran up and down the road late into the night. I enjoyed the evening with new friends sharing a campfire, a little whiskey and lots of truck talk.
Rock Bouncers Time
In the morning, the crowds followed the signs to the Rock Bouncers hill climb. The Ohio hill was not of the caliper of some I’ve seen in the videos, but the hill was still steep enough that they had ropes for the track officials to use climbing the hill. These boys rocked the hill catching air at the top of the first hill and spewing large clouds of dust as they tore up the rest of the climb. Most of the drivers made good time up the course. However we were not without mishap with a few rollovers and one buggy making an unplanned left turn into the trees. After the two rounds of watching the big machines at work, I had to hit the trails in my own truck.
That’s me in the Toyota Tacoma following the big monster around in the mud. Beginning at 1:35 you can see me in my Toyota Tacoma enter the mud pit and follow the big tractor tire truck around. I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings none with my “little truck”.
The rest of the day, I explored the trails of Powerline Park. The build of the Tacoma had just been completed two weeks earlier and this gave me a chance to test out the new suspension, skid plates and rock rails. While exploring the trails, I pushed my Tacoma to its limits on hill climbs, off camber trails and deep mud holes. Then I came upon Cattail Pond where the big mud trucks played. I had to hang out and watch for a while.
I enjoyed the horsepower play, but after two days, I was ready for some quiet mountain time. So, I left early Sunday morning, turned the truck south and in a few hours was parked at my favorite backwoods camp. While it felt good to be back in the quiet of the woods, sometimes a guy just has to feel the rumble of horsepower, watch crazy drivers in rock bouncers and share a few shots with fellow rednecks.
