2017 JK-Experience (Big River)

iRonin

Member
Dream come true, y'all. Those following my build thread know I've been building the rig with JKX as a top goal. Year 3, I was lucky enough to be selected. Huge part of the inspiration came form this forum and the Wayalife videos of past events, so before we get into the pictures... THANK YOU Eddie & Cindy!

Our trek began in a small suburb just north of Austin, TX.
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A good wheeling friend of mine (@chuck.converse) flew down from CO to run as my co-pilot.
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Day -2
Originally, we were going to sync up with Randy and CJ and convoy out together as the TX crew but timing between work, flights, etc didn't pan out. So Randy left a few hours before we did, and CJ would leave later that evening.

At ~837 miles to Hannibal, MO, we made it to Little Rock, AK for a late dinner and to see where folks were at. Randy had made it up to Osage Beach and CJ was on the road but quite a ways back. We decided to toss back a few Monsters and press on to Osage (~300mi) to catch up. We made it, and it was also pretty clear we found the right hotel:
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It was after midnight at this point so we pretty much went straight to bed and caught up with Randy & Terri @ coffee in the am.

Day -1
We decided to scoot a little closer to Jefferson City for actual breakfast so we loaded up and rolled out. This was my first time getting to test the PCI Race radio as most folks I know only have CBs- to my relief, it worked perfectly.
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Which was cool because when Randy mentioned wanting to scoot a bit closer to town for breakfast, I wasn't all THAT worried that we had arrived late last night on 'E'? Buuut after 10+ mi on the road I just had to radio for a pit-stop, otherwise I was gonna have Chuck refuel is off a rotopax, on the move, Mad Max style.

So we got gas, breakfast, and continued on into Hannibal, which is the hometown of Mark Twain, and the starting point of the Big River JKX.
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After lunch we did a bit of exploring. The town is really neat, right on the Mississippi River, with plenty of history peppered about lots of lively spots to eat & drink.
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That afternoon more folks arrived- CJ made it in so the TX crew was finally united:
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And it was finally time to meet some new (but familiar) faces:
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Everyone was super cool, super friendly. We hit up one of the local breweries where we could all get to chatting more as evening set in:
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Annnnd a few of us burned a bit of the midnight oil:
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I know the tradition calls for American Honey, but Sailor Jerry's was the import from Austin that night, and as smooth as it is for a 92 proof spiced rum, it served up a memorable evening with lots of laughs.

Day 0 (Check In)
The next day we were off to an open lot down by the river for vehicle and driver check-in. It was... pretty exciting seeing the Nitto trailer parked, awning out, shading the stacks of sponsor stickers and swag bags and folks bustling around.
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By this point pretty much everyone was there and it was the first time we got a full look at all the rigs in attendance for the week.
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After safety checks it was onto decals. Bit bummed that I had to scrape non-sponsoring stickers but I understood why. Decals turned out super straight and supper good looking on the SuperLiner treated doors:
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Folks from the crew helping to keep placements consistent:
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Rigs all looked great. After check in we had our first driver's meeting and things finally felt official :)
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We finished out the evening with tasty pizza, and a few of us did a bit more conservative socializing at a couple spots nearby knowing we had to be up and ready to go by 8 am. :drinks:

Day 1
First thing in the morning, we staged some cool exit footage as we left Hannibal. Crossing the Mississippi, we headed towards Flat Nasty Off Road Park in Dent County.

Mostly a shake-down run to start with, the trails we ran here were more scenic than technical, which was a good idea to get folks into the wheeling mode, reorganize gear, etc. Still a fun park with nice twisty trails and plenty to see:
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At the end, we were treated with a fun technical obstacle aptly named "Can Opener", which I'm guessing is named after the gnarly crevice that wants to catch your rear passenger wheel:
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I took a stab at Can Opener as well, but this was where the first indications that the front ARB was struggling to remain engaged under load. With the front driver wheel either being in the air or with minimal contact, power was being directed/lost to it and speed was not an option with the risk of slipping the rear into the crack. So we used the Warn to suck the front end down and help crawl it up. :idontknow:
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After everyone who wanted to try Can Opener made it up, we finished out the trails and hit the road again.
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Our destination was a private property with a bit more wheeling and one very special treat:
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CMMG was kind enough to load us up and let us rip with a host of AR-15s in various chambering up to .308 and all of them... fully auto. Ya buddy.
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Beyond the the full auto part I was stoked to get to shoot the AR platform as I just-so-happened to be putting together a build list for one of my own back home. How convenient is that? :D
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Oh, and I think Randy found his next vehicle interest:
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That evening was a pretty cool bonding experience. A few folks had some minor breakage here and there so it was the classic camaraderie of sharing tools and knowledge while working on our rigs. It was also my first exposure to the mind of Dr Durham as he conducted a brilliant suspension clinic on Smokin' Dave's rig.
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Day 2
After some morning road miles, we arrived at probably my favorite park of the week, the Southern Missouri Off Road Range (SMORR).

The park itself is gorgeous, compete with bathroom facilities, camping, RV hookups, and enough trails at all challenge levels to keep even the bouncers and moon buggies entertained.

The park also features a couple trails that qualify for the Jeep BadgeOfHonor deal if you check in on 'em. My reception was terrible, so I didn't get a chance to check in - can I just send photo evidence? ;)

It was pretty smooth going the entire day so unfortunately I didn't have much down time for pictures, but I managed to snap a few and get some screenshots off some vids that were sent to me:
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After SMORR we hit the road again and finished out the evening in the very scenic, very eclectic Branson, MO. Guess I was too exhausted to get pictures but the main strip reminded me of a mini-Reno with lots of lights, shows, etc. Our hotel for the evening was the Chateau on the Lake, which offered very scenic balcony views that I only realized the next morning:
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Day 3
More road miles as we cruised towards what would be our camping destination, a spot called Hot Springs ORV (formally Superlift) in Arkansas.

Mel had us line our rigs up for a winch challenge which was fun, and the winners got to claim an extra cabin to sleep in for the night.
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After the challenge we were set loose to pick a spot and set up camp. The weather was holding up so I had the opportunity to try out a hammock I'd gotten as a space-saving alternative to a tent.
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Chuck had a 3 man tent which was plan B if the hammock sucked, and everyone else set up to make the rest of the neighborhood:
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After setting up camp and ditching weight/gear, we hit the trails until dusk, splitting into 2 groups. This wheeling was again pretty non-stop, so I didn't get much by way of pictures, but the park was super fun and similar to SMORR offering a wide range of terrain with plenty of challenging rock gardens and obstacles.
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After wheeling, it was back to camp until dinner. As cool as it was for everyone to have their own space...
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...the place-to-be was back over by the Nitto trailer, where a nice campfire would usher us through a spaghetti dinner and another great night of friendships and stories over brews.
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How did the hammock work out, you ask? Well, here's literally the view I woke up to (sans bug net which worked amazingly):
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I slept like a baby in it with just a sleeping bag and a pillow (no pad), and I will for-sure be rocking this method every time I camp solo (still gotta rock the tent for the Mrs)

Day 4 & 5
Early that same morning there was an optional second run back out onto the trails, but we had skipped trying to go to bed early (and sober) enough to try to make the run, and instead opted to burn more midnight oil with good conversions and sleep in a bit.

Later that morning, we packed up and rolled out, and this was when we discovered at speed that I had somehow managed to bend the flange on my rear passenger semi-float shaft (XD-60). I'll spare the details here as it's covered in the build thread but essentially the wobble was slight enough that I felt comfortable being mindful/careful with it but continuing on the road to the next spot.

Our destination: West Monroe, Louisiana - home of Skyjacker. As you probably saw in the teaser video, we were treated to a police escort through town to the owner's very lovely property down by the river:
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Out front, a set of built crown jewel skyjacker jeeps including this rig:
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Off to the side, an amazing pavilion/patio deck with even more amazing views. It was large enough to host us for a super tasty fried catfish dinner complete with dessert and all the trimmings. It was very kind of the McCurry family to welcome us in!
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After dinner it was back to the hotel to gas up, tune up, and catch some much needed rest.

Day 6
Ok the road again and making our way further south, our next stop was the now famous Duck Commander location for the hit show Duck Dynasty.
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The building itself is a bit unassuming but the interior has been converted into a museum with guided tours outlining the family history leading up to the show.

No photos allowed but I did pick up a fun souvenir for a buddy back in TX that loves him some belt buckle:
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Back to more wheeling, we arrived at a cool spot called 4x4 Life Offroad, a private guided park with some nice twisty, muddy, steep trails, more beautiful scenery, and a really cool clearing down by the water where we would be treated to some delicious Jambalaya and White Beans & Rice.
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As the sun set it was more of the same - good friends hanging out, troubleshooting, reminiscing about the week, but the vibe down on the sand bar was a bit more bayou-beach, so that meant rock lights and lightbars :)
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4x4 Life left us with muddy souvenirs, so the last order of business as we returned to civilization was to hit the power washer.

Thanos was.. pre-tty dir-ty....
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Thankfully, Chuck was willing to tag team in, and after a couple shifts, we were all back to clean.
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Back at the hotel, Brown Santa had arrived, delivering a replacement shaft for the rear, which was super cool of Mel and Steve to coordinate the day prior.

So the evening finished up with some good old fashioned parking lot axle work to ensure Thanos would safely make it home with all the highway miles left ahead.
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Didn't get many pics since Chuck, Chris and I were busy wrenching, but despite the work it was another nice gathering of folks chatting it up and talking about the week that made the time fly. The after hours hangouts were probably some of my favorite moments of the trip :)

Final Day
With Thanos and others good to go, we hit the road bright and early and continued towards our final destination... New Orleans!

Along the way, we stopped by the Oak Alley plantation for a tour of the historic house and some lunch outside on the beautiful property.
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After the tour we continued into the city, where we were treated to yet another police escort. This escort was... intense... as not everyone in traffic was all about a 20 jeep + semi convoy disrupting their day, but we had some amazing officers on duty that were making things happen with incredible control over their bikes, and I/we sincerely appreciate their time and risk in keeping us together!

No pics of the escort (hands on 10 an 2 :thankyou: ) but i'm sure it'll be in the footage. We ended downtown in a private guarded lot to keep the Jeeps secure while we walked or uber'd our way over to the hotel.
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The hotel was just a pit-stop, of course. We were given a short while to freshen up and shower before we had to be down to catch shuttles to our last excursion.... air boat tours!
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On the tour we got to learn about, feed, and even hold gators. Misunderstood critters or not, I was not brave enough to go belly rub an adult like our guide did...
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...but a few of us were brave enough to hold a baby :)
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After some great sightseeing and history of the area, it was time to head back in.
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The shuttles then took us to our last official meal together out at Restaurant des Familles (fitting :drinks: )
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The vibe was bitter sweet knowing things were coming to an end. After a jam packed week of wheeling, road miles and excursions, the exhaustion was catching up, but at the same time you don't want it to be over 'cause it was such a blast.

With full bellies, the shuttles took us back to our hotel in the French Quarter... but again this was just a pit stop. As the sun set, the infectious energy from the street and the people was more than enough of a second wind to cap the night off proper with a group trip down to Burbon St to let loose and celebrate.
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We had such a great time singing the night away, and a handful of us even survived long enough to make it to Cafe du Monde for some late night Beignets before turning in just a few hours shy of sunrise. Great way to end the week for sure!!

The next morning, Chuck and I caught a bike taxi back to the lot, and began the 500mi drive back west towards TX.
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The ride home was a constant hilarious recap of the week and everything that had transpired- pretty much 7 hours of good memories and good music and grins from ear to ear.

There's more to it all, of course, but I didn't want to spoil the official coverage too much. (I was also literally super busy driving 99% of the time or wanting to just experience the experience without getting touristy, if ya know what I mean :yup: )

So I hope this taste of the JKX week finds y'all in good spirits, and have a great weekend!
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It looks like another amazing JKX! Thank you very much for the in-depth thread describing the entire event with all of the stops and pictures!


'07 JKUR
 
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