Bridge Building with the Camel Trophy Guys

At the Overland Expo 2012

By Grace Howard

In the past, I have gone on trails, driven Rovers, gone camping and spotted vehicles, but I never thought I would build a bridge with Camel Trophy guys.  This year at the Overland Expo I did.  On Saturday, after teaching and a good lunch I went over to the Camel Trophy Area.  There Andy Dacey and Duncan Barbour taught me how to build a bridge.

Duncan and I lashing two logs together.

The first step is to cut four logs about the same length.  Then put two next to each other.  Next you tie a timber hitch around one and start wrapping the rope around several times.  Then you frap it.  While frapping one person beats on the rope with a stick and another person pulls on the rope to get it even tighter. Two of the four logs had already been lashed together.  I found out that other AZLRO people had lashed those logs together.  The people that helped in the morning were Ryan Hemphill, Bob Kolander and Craig & Davin Ludwig. 

After frapping you use a winch to move the logs into place.

Here is some "Man Heaving"

  Otherwise you, “Man heave it!” as Duncan put it.  Duncan is funny!   

As we were working over a trench, one person said, “I would just drive my car around the trench!” and someone else said “That’s not how we do it when there are Camel Trophy guys around.”  Some people just don’t know how to have fun!!

They winched the two set of logs across and we fastened them to the ground. I worked with Duncan to show everyone how to fasten the logs in place. 

I helped Andy make sure we placed the logs in the right place, by measuring the wheels of the Defender.  I used a rope and measured from the center of the front tires. 

Then my Mom, Dad and I worked on another set and fastened it in place.  It was fun to work together as a family.  My Mom and I were the only girls who helped with the bridge.

Then they drove a Camel Trophy Defender across. 




Then they drove a remote control Camel Trophy Defender across as well. It was really funny when they let Duncan drive the remote control car.  The remote control car was looking like it was going to fall off.  So, there were lots of comments like, “Camel Trophy guys never give up,”  “Camel Trophy guys never go backward.”  To this Duncan said, “Save your vehicle, not your pride!”  It was one of my favorite things I heard all weekend.  So many times guys are macho on the trail and do crazy things. 

It was great fun!!  Something I never want to do for real, but I now know how to tie a timber hitch and overhand knot, I know what frapping is, and I got to spend a great afternoon working as a team with awesome people. 

Viewing the Sun Safely

Warning!  Do not look directly at the Sun with your remaining eye!  Seriously, you can lose your eyesight by looking at the sun, especially if you do it through binoculars. 

There are several techniques for viewing the sun safely.  One of the best is eyepiece projection, which we used to view the partial solar eclipse at the 2012 Overland Expo near Flagstaff, Arizona. 

A pair of binoculars were placed on a tripod.  A screen was made by taping a white sheet of paper to a box lid, and placed in the shadow of the binoculars about 3 meters back.  The binoculars were pointed at the sun (NEVER look through them when you do this!) - this takes some fussing but you can tell where they are pointing by the way the shadow of the binoculars looks on the screen.  Once the sun is found, you will have two images.  Cover one of the lenses with a cap if you find this annoying.  To improve contrast, a cardboard shield with two holes in it can be added around which casts a shadow on the screen.  Finally, adjust the focus.  You may see some black spots on the image.  These are sunspots, and each one you see is much larger than the size of the Earth. 



Grace demonstrating eyepiece projection.  Note the image of the partial eclipse on the screen.



Overland Expo 2010, April 16-18, 2010

Getting off of I-19 on Friday afternoon, there was a stereo “Wow” from both Grace and I when we saw the Overland Expo. It was amazing there were tons of vehicles and people. We knew at this point that we were going to have a good weekend.

We found the Arizona Land Rover Owners (AZLRO) camping area. Several people were already there. We set up our Rover then headed over to the Expo.

There was a Snow Peak demonstration at 4 pm that I really wanted to see. Grace was whining about it taking too long. I was really interested in seeing their Japanese Dutch Ovens. I have been cooking with my Lodge Cast Iron for years and was wanting to see these in action. Much to my surprise, the Snow Peak guys were using an American cast iron pan on the Snow Peak stove. So, I assume if they were not using them, then they are not very good. But they did have the Snow Peak cooking table set up. The table set up is very nice! I would love to have one of them with all the accessories. It sure would make cooking a lot easier. Once the food was done, Grace was no longer complaining. I forced her to try my lamb chop. She immediately went and got one of her own. They also had grilled pineapple and bacon and goat cheese wrapped dates. We all enjoyed the demonstration. The funny thing was they did not have any products to sell on the spot. You had to order them and they would send them to you. They do not understand impulse purchases. I really wanted the small BBQ box.

Soon our friends with children arrived so we headed back to the camping area. I use the term camping area very loosely. It was just a dirt lot, and it was very, very dusty. Everything we own has a fine layer of dust on it. One cool thing was Chuck, our resident archeologist, quickly took the kids for a walk and found a metate. A metate is a stone that was used by Indians to grind corn into flour.

That night we were treated to Carne Asada cooked by Laura. Laura is an amazing cook. She was a cooking mama the whole weekend. Thanks Laura!! That night I decided to make a cobbler in my dutch oven. Usually this is one of the first things people experiment with in their dutch ovens. They are supposed to be simple and yummy. The reason I have never made on before is James does not like fruit. So, I didn’t want to make a big cobbler for just Grace and I. With all the people camping with us this time I decided to make a Peach/Cherry Cobbler. It was good, and everyone got a little. Jon Christianson donated a bottle of good Champagne to the cobbler which was a great way to finish the meal. The Expo had a happy hour at the bar. Those of us with children were unable to attend, and I discovered the reason the AZLRO does not camp next to a bar with a happy hour.

The next day we woke up to a sunny, hot day. The Expo had an “Experience” package that included driving type classes. The “Experience” cost around $500 for a couple. It was supposed to include day care for the kids, but the day care provider was a no show. We contemplated purchasing the “Experience”, but I was told that I could teach most of the classes, so we just got a day pass. I would have been SO upset if I had spent $500 and there was no childcare. One of our friends in the AZLRO had won the “Experience” in a raffle at the Arizona Land Rover Rally in March, and they have three kids. The rest of us volunteered to watch the kids so they could go to their classes.

Six adults took eight kids ranging from age 2 to 9 to the Expo. This was not the best decision we have ever made. It was around 90 degrees and the kids were melting. Soon we found “The Oasis” and it had a water hose. The kids doused themselves and were much refreshed.

James, Chuck and I spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the Expo. Everyone else headed back to the campsite. It is amazing how many different kinds of trailers, roof top tents, and awnings are available. It all started to run together. Fifteen years ago when James and I were first looking for an off-roading trailer, there were none. So, we ended up with a pop-up tent trailer. Now there are at least 10 companies that make them. We also saw the new Unimog. It was huge, and only cost $750,000. One vendor was selling South African “Potjie Pot”dutch ovens. They were a very interesting design, and they wanted a $100 for the small one. I am real interested to see how they cook, but not forthat price. Everything was pretty pricey, and when a group of Land Rover Owners sit around and complain how expensive things are, then you know it is pricey.

I have to talk about the campground. A novice would drive by and think it was full of pretty simple and cheap campers. But they would be mistaken. That dirt lot had more money sitting on it than most campgrounds filled with Class A Motorhomes. There were Unimogs, EarthRoamers, G-Wagons, Sportsmobiles, Hummers, Range Rovers and other expensive vehicles. In addition, there were at least a couple of dozen roof top tents and decked out trailers. I think most people spent as much time in the campground as they did in the Expo. If I had a dollar for every picture that was taken of our Dormobile, I would have at least $200. Lots of people came by and asked to check out our Dormobile and of course we were glad to show them. We met one couple from Canada who own a Dormobile and spent two months in Morocco in theirs. I said if they can handle two months together in that car then their marriage is sure to go the distance. By the way, they are thinking of selling their Dormobile. One thing we all found interesting was that there were more Land Rovers than any other car. I was expecting to see more Toyotas and Jeeps. After a discussion I learned that Jeeps are too small for Overlanding, but I did expect more Toyotas.

On Saturday night, we had another great dinner. Then Linda used her dutch oven for the first time. She made a dump apple cobbler, which was more like an apple crisp. It was very yummy. Great job, Linda!!!

Sunday morning we were woken up by a symphony of dog barks. This only reinforced our resolve not to get a dog. Many people were up and out of the camp early, and only the “Rover Divas” and their three families remained. We got some good Rover Diva shots and then we all parted ways until the next trip. Great weekend spent with great people!