2003 Sportsmobile Rally !!!!
This is the story of Jack and Lorri's recent (June 26 to July 7, 2003) trip to the Park City area for Sportsmobile's 6th Annual 4X4 Rally. There are seven pages including this one. Each page has a navigation bar at the top and bottom. You can go directly to each page by clicking below.
1. This Page - Las Vegas and Park City pre-Rally
2. First Rally Page - Our Olympic Challenge Team
3. 4X4 Challenge Photos from Competition Island
4. The Road Rally and Scavenger Hunt
5. The Face-off - Hot Seat Photos!
6. Various Van Photos - Camping at the Rally
7. 4th of July in Park City and Utah Olympic Park
Hopefully I haven't violated some copyright law by using the above image, but it really does show what it was all about: 4x4 driving, spotting, fixing stuff and generally having a good time.
Lorri and I (as usual) made an expedition of the Rally trip, stopping in Las Vegas and spending time in Park City both before and after the Rally. In Las Vegas we stayed at one of our favorite places (cheap rooms on the Strip and convenient over-sized vehicle parking) the Flamingo Hilton. Arriving on Thursday, June 26, we spent most of the next day lounging around the pool area reading and sipping the occasional mai tai. Here is a view of the pool area from our 14th floor room.
(NOTE: PLEASE CLICK ON THESE "THUMBNAILS" TO SEE THE FULL SIZE PHOTO)
On Saturday we took off in the desert heat (110 degrees) and headed to Park City, 400 miles or so up I-15. There we were lucky enough to stay in a condo that belongs to our neighbors and happened to be available not only the weekend before the Rally but also the weekend after - 4th of July weekend! The condo, actually half of a duplex, was within a short walk of Main Street, the "downtown" area of Park City.
Park City
Here I am relaxing at the condo after a long day's drive from Las Vegas. On the right is the van parked in front of the condo. There was a nice size garage but with the roof rack, the van was a little too tall.
We had some time before the Rally to do a little hiking. Out the front door of the condo and to the south up the hill were some great hiking trails. To the right was the town area with great restaurants and drinking establishments. This was my kind of place!!!
Some of the trails were dirt roads used now for utility access mostly but formerly for mining access. The area is peppered with old mining structures, tailings, falling down cabins and the like. In the photo on the right we were walking along the ridge of some tailings looking down at the van.
Here are few of the abandoned mining buildings we saw. The photo on the left is an entrance to a tunnel with the word "EXPLOSIVES" molded over the entrance. We didn't try to break in.
Along one stretch of the trail there were several rusted out vehicles and collapsed cabins and a lot of bright yellow roses.
Here are some views of the Park City area. The two on the right are of Main Street.