[RallySnake]

Part 2

The police in the little town of Arvin are notorious for writing tickets for the most minor infractions of the law. Some competitors on past rallies have had long delays while officers take their time writing up citations while multiple vehicles are waiting. We passed through town with the engine at the lowest possible rpm and a couple of digits below the posted speed.

Standoff two was cleverly positioned in the center of a ring of “hot” roads. One wrong turn could bring us into a Checkpoint way ahead of time. After getting our compass bearing, we headed up Caliente Bodfish into Walker Basin, one of the most beautiful valleys on God’s green Earth. The two lane twists through the hills covered with amazing displays of greenery, flowers and rock formations complete with waterfalls. It was also the route of the first rally that Ron and I had run together and brought back many memories. We caught up with car 13, a Mitsubishi 3000, and after a few curves, we had enough of a straight to get by. It was the first of many passes on twisty two-lanes during the rally. I was hoping that Hank and Rob would keep up or run with us, but they were content to keep their pace, unlike another competitor later in the rally. If you like running autocrosses you’d love Caliente Creek. It’s famous for having moving pylons, AKA cows. This time they remained stationary as we zipped by. But a big black Brahma bull, in the middle of the right lane, turned his head enough to give us a very dirty look. Makes you feel very vulnerable in the open car.