Winter Fun Fest 2001 - Grass Valley California	Short Cuts
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By: Randy L. Wheeler & Vance Anderson - 2/2001

Let the Games Begin!
 

The River Bottom games are an event held the Sunday after the main snow runs.  These events give people a chance to socialize and have a relaxing day along the river. Most come for the actual events while others come to watch and just play around the rocks and sand. 

Greenhorn Creek and the River Bottom Games

Registration was first on the agenda for most. This was held on the upper plateau overlooking the river bottom. Once registered, you could choose which events you wanted to run and simply waiting in line for your turn. There was no limit on the number of times you could run each course.  

There were several different events scheduled for the competition. All events were timed. First was the cup rally. The driver had to traverse a a series of cones stopping long enough at each one to let the passenger grab a cup stuck on a pole sticking out of the cone. The driver then had to head down river through the first half of the course, turn around and come back through, this time with the driver having to put the cup back on the stick. Another event was the potato sticking run.  This was a circular course in which the driver had to stop at a series of cones while the passenger reached out the side of the rig with a prong to spear the potato.  Fastest time won. This course had one steep uphill which some rigs managed to catch some air, then down the drop off again.  The cone at the bottom was a bit hard to stop for since the driver had a lot of momentum going back down the hill.

The cone event.	River Bottom Games	Can you say "Truck Wash" ?

The last event was by far the most entertaining.  In this event, the driver was blindfolded while the passenger yelled out the navigation commands.  Talk about backseat driving!  Some rigs were more cautious than others while some of the rigs looked like they were competing in the Indianapolis 500!  ORN Managing Editor Randy Burleson and his wife Kammy had the opportunity to run the course in the new Isuzu ARB Project Rodeo.  Randy seemed to have a bit of a problem negotiating the course due to some driver errors and not being familiar with an automatic transmission.

Kammy Burleson on the Blindfolded run.	Fun in the Sun!	Stick the Potato run

All the events were run in a professional manner with safety rules enforced at all times. Wearing seatbelts was firmly enforced throughout the events.  For those not wanting to compete in the events, there was still plenty to do and see.  With this event so close to Grass Valley, it's an easy drive for most people.  Rigs of all types seem to show up for this event.  There are rocks to play on, water to splash in, and steep sand hills to conquer.  While not part of the River Bottom games, one obstacle in particular seems to draw a crowd each year.  This obstacle is located just upriver from the games and features a narrow slot where the river has carved its way through.  Depending on the amount of flow, this obstacle can be pretty challenging. 

Sand Hill Climbs	Running the "Notch"	Crossing the River.

A special thank you goes to CA4WD for hosting this great weekend. The lunch at noon was great, and once again the infamous River Bottom Stew warmed the the hearts of all who were fortunate to enjoy some.