[RallySnake]

(Part Two, Continued}

Bouquet Canyon Road twists alongside a stream running through a 15-mile canyon. Running up it reminded us of a previous rally where we had come around a wicked switchback curve to find a small pickup truck upside down across the road. This time the route was clear, but Checkpoint 11 was another dreaded minimum speed ordeal. It required 40 mph again, but that’s OK, we had our procedure down pat. We cruised the measured .4 miles at exactly 45 mph for a 2-point penalty. Not too bad!

It was totally dark now and the temperatures were finally dropping. We were much more comfortable making the 20 mile loop around to Pine Canyon and Checkpoint 12. We had enough time to stop for cold Gatorades on the way and still got there on time.

The HID headlights and 240 Watts of spot light power were put to the test looking for Checkpoint 13. It was way past the point the compass told us it would be. The Cobra was roaring through the flat desert landscape. For a second, I thought I was seeing mutant fireflies. As we got closer, it was a bicycle rally going on in the middle of nowhere and we were seeing their red, blinking LED taillights. It was the easiest pass of the day though.

After a "Don't spare the ponies" from Ron, we finally got to Checkpoint 13, 67/100ths late. This could cost us the rally, but we had to persevere. Munz Ranch Road is brand new and the pristine asphalt undulates through Willow Springs Canyon like a rollercoaster. It was a joyride into Checkpoint 14.

If you like decreasing radius curves, you’ll love Spunky Canyon. We passed a blue Subaru before turning onto it and worked hard to catch another WRX ahead of us. It was not easy and the tires were singing as some incredibly tight turns got tighter. It took a few minutes, but finally, the second WRX was in the sights and the Cobra struck on the next straight. I had a big smile on my face as we turned up to Checkpoint 15 on Bouquet Canyon. Checkpoint 15 was a passage control, so off we went in search of 16.

The Rallymaster must have decided everyone would be tired by this point and made Checkpoints 16 and 17 fairly easy. Some teams were late anyway. Checkpoint 16 was on Avenue M-8 and required a loop around to get to it in the proper direction. We were in Palmdale now and took the safe way around to 17 on Elizabeth Lake Road. After eight hours of pounding around canyon roads, I was taking it all pretty easy at this point. It’s a good thing too as I came up on a County Sheriff in a Yukon going my way. We slowed and waited for our turn for the last checkpoint as the Sheriff drove on down the road. It’s a good thing he did too, because a couple of minutes later the Porsche team came flying in very late and very fast! We knocked out another zero at 17 then headed for the finish at a local restaurant with a total score of about 70 points.

Denny’s is not my favorite place to eat. But, it’s one of the few places open late in Palmdale. I have to say after a full day of driving, the “Moons Over My Hammy” and the rally stories were excellent. No one had crashed or been arrested, but everyone had problems following the course. When the awards were announced, there was a lot of applause for the winners of the Novice, Regular and Expert Classes. When they got to First Place, Expert Class, the Rallymaster got out the words, “You may have seen a little red rocket ship on the course”, and everyone knew. The team in the undersized, primitive, uncomfortable, overpowered, beast of a car, had pulled out a win.

Paul