2006 Bogus Basin Bacchanalia (BBB)

BBB ’06 (Mary Thode)

So BBB ’06 is in the books. I think it’ll probably be called the Year of the Big Snow when we sit around the fireplace reminiscing about previous years. It started out nicely enough on Friday. We had a slightly smaller crowd than usual and with a new (to us) timing system to use, it seemed like a smaller group would be easier to work through. President Walt Thode opened the after-dinner meeting with a few remarks about how the week-end would go and Bob Pentecost distributed the first of some very nice door prizes. Those of you who know Bob and Vicki won’t be surprised to hear that wine was a featured prize. Hillmeister Dan Spindler ran the drivers’ meeting and then we adjourned to prepare, each in his own way, for the driving event next morning.

We wound up with two run groups of 14 each. We used stop watches and radios to start the cars and time them. A rotating group of volunteers worked the stop watches, recorded the times and informed each driver of how the runs had gone. Two women especially, Linda Bein, our Zone Six Representative, and Becky Grover, who brought the two big containers of cookies, sat through all the runs in some very cold weather, enduring rain and snow, to get the times. We were able to get in three runs for the morning group and had switched over and gotten one run in for the afternoon when it really turned cold and the consensus was to break for a while and see if conditions would improve, as the road was getting slippery. The break was timely as snow moved in and the few flakes that had been swirling turned to a steady fall. In fact it snowed for the rest of the afternoon and evening, causing some consternation about the condition of the road down the hill for the next morning’s rally. Some folks who’d planned on staying for dinner decided to get down the hill into Boise while they still could.

Those of us who stayed had a nice barbeque dinner, more excellent door prizes and played the mystery event that Jay and Kimberly Jobes prepared. Jay and Kimberly put approximately 30 items on a table, and without telling us what the next step would be, gave us 5 minutes to look a the objects. Then, they covered them back up and passed out sheets of paper. The goal was to jot down as many of the items as you could remember. So simple, yet diabolical!

Next morning we woke to about a foot of snow covering everything. The Bogus Basin snowplow had passed through the condominium parking lot and the road down was merely wet and slushy. Nine cars showed up for the rally that Jack and Ellen Keifer had provided for us. For the next three or so hours we drove through some nice, windy country roads, enjoying the scenery and mostly following directions. All nine cars reached the end and everyone was still smiling. We handed in our scores, got a light lunch and prepared to drive back up the hill for the awards dinner. Those of us who’ve prepared rallies or even tours, know who many hours go into them, especially ones that run smoothly, as this one did. For every hour we drove, Jack and Ellen and other volunteers had put in ten.

After another good dinner with salmon and prime rib, and more door prizes, the awards were handed out. In the Mystery Event, Mike and Jan English were awarded third place, Larry Sandusky and Soeurette Chambreau second and Walt and Mary Thode first. The actual awards this year were glass cutting boards with the event, year and place.

Jack and Ellen then handed out the rally awards. Scores ranged from 1199 to 496. The award for best checkpoint for a car not winning an award, a bottle of wine, went to Chad and Susan Kepner, with Susan driving and Chad navigating. Third place went to the Pentecosts, driving the only Cayenne entered, with Vicki driving in a rally for the first time (automatic transmission!) and Bob navigating. Walt and Mary Thode got second place, with Mary driving and Walt navigating. First place went to very new members, Dave Brown and Cathy Nuxoll, who recently purchased Kent Carnie’s old car. Cathy intended to drive but the electric seats wouldn’t cooperate that morning, so she navigated and Dave drove.

Next Walt and Dan handed out the hill cross awards. They are better shown in a table, so I’ll only say that there were many different classes and, with a light turnout, many drivers received awards.

The Travelling Trophy, which goes to the region that sent the most members the furthest distance, was awarded to High Desert Region. Bill and Linda Bein accepted the trophy as the other High Desert participants had left.

The BBBBBB (Bogus Basin Bacchanalia Biggest Boo-Boo) award – the dreaded yellow toilet seat, was bestowed on the weatherman who brought all the snow. And the set of tires, everyone’s choice of door prize, was won by Kristen Denker.

We would like to thank Linda Bein again. She spent the whole weekend working – at the timing table for the hill cross and two check points during the rally. I hope she knows how much we appreciated her work.

A good time was had by most and the snow will get deeper as time passes. Join us next year and start your own memory bank of BBB experiences.

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