Jeffrey AronsonGemologists have dictated that the emerald celebrates a 20th anniversary. Last Spring, SCARR celebrated its emerald anniversary as a halo event for Texas Rovers. SCARR (South Central Area Rover Rally) has appeared on a lot of enthusiasts’ bucket lists, and deservedly so. The 2024 edition lived up to SCARR’s standing as a “must attend” rally on the national scene.
Once again, the Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area and its 1,850 acres served as the event site. Barnwell offers many advantages: an extensive trail network, camping ranging from primitive to fully equipped, a large pavilion for communal meals and presentations, a handful of rental cabins, a multiplicity of camp sites with Texas-sized distances between them and other well-maintained amenities such as showers and toilets. Texas Rovers caps registrations at around 140 vehicles each year to keep the event manageable for the volunteer organizers, led once again by the indefatigable Laura Shacklette.
This year’s volunteers deserve even more accolades than usual as they stepped in when volunteers from previous years became unavailable. Laura commended Christopher Pullen and Texas Rovers Treasurer Kevin Didion for their organizational aid, with a special shout-out to Trail Leader Arto Pullinen. Their work with the Barnwell Mountain administration and trail grooming staff happened behind the scenes but, as always, proved critical to the event’s success.
Off-roading on Barnwell’s miles of trails again became the center of the event; with groups at all levels driving in both morning and afternoon sessions, SCARR needed many trail leaders willing to give up their personal enjoyment of off-roading to help other enthusiasts drive off-road, and to instruct and marshal where necessary. Over the three days of the event, I jumped in with several of the trail leaders to photograph the fun. A special thanks to Mark and Sarah Caldwell, Caleb Lourias, Sean Sweeny, David Dousay, Mike Neal, Joe DiSalavatore, Chris Kelley, Mark Andregg, Lloyd Stearman and Darrell Oliver for their gracious volunteering.
Mother Nature played a significant role in making the volunteers’ tasks more challenging this year. Erosion has taken its toll on Barnwell Mountain’s topography, washing away the clay soil cover to expose boulders and terraced ledges; that left some novice trails out of the picture for this year’s trail runs. Trail Leader Arto Pullinen had tough choices to make as he pre-ran the trails before opening day; what had once been novice trails now had intermediate-level sections, and extensive gullies and exposed rock faces forced the closure of a few expert trails.
I enjoyed jumping in and out of different Land Rovers on a trail ride led by Darrell Oliver. The range of Land Rovers on the trails added to the entertainment factor. First came a ride with Kyle Horst in his ’17 Discovery Sport, followed by a long examination of Mickey Slade’s custom Discovery pickup (which benefited enormously from Mike Neal’s welder on his Bowler and Travis Kwait’s skill as a welder). For a time with the finer things in life, Alex Breaud, Pensacola, FL, let me relax in his ’20 Range Rover. I delighted in seeing James Drake’s Series IIA and returned closer to the present in Jay Carpenter’s ’03 Discovery II and Scott and Melody McCann’s ’21 Defender 110 L663.
Don Collins, president of Texas Rovers, said that “I would like to thank all the volunteers and officers of the club who helped stage such a fantastic event. This event would never be as successful as it has become without continued support from our sponsors as well. We look forward to this growing in the future and having SCARR still be the fun family event that it is today.” The kid-to-adult ratio always seems higher at SCARR than other national events. Most every family sets up camp and the multiplicity of campsite options, from RV sites to primitive camping, where one can enjoy everything from the soothing zephyrs of soft breezes to raucous late-night parties (i.e., The Fun Zone), offers kid-friendly opportunities for all ages.
Laura Shacklette and Sarah Caldwell created the first Barbara Toy Tribute Run in 2016; the ladies-only event has become a staple at SCARR. The trail ride honors the legacy of adventurer Barbara Toy who, in 1950, drove from England to the Middle East in “Pollyanna,” her Series I; this was the first of multiple solo journeys that Toy eventually continued – at the behest of Land Rover – in a Series II. She undertook some of these voyages in an era and to locales when a woman driving solo often required written permission from the ruling authorities.
Laura and Sarah chafed at the reality that while many women attended Land Rover events, all too few actually took the wheel off road. They envisaged the Barbara Toy Tribute run as a way to change that. As Laura said to this year’s participants, “A man at a bar told Barbara Toy she could not drive alone across a desert. Within two weeks, she bought a Series I Land Rover and booked her Channel Ferry crossing. In that spirit, we want to empower women to create their own stories.”
In preparation for this year’s Tribute run, Sarah provided trail etiquette tips, reviewed the preferred hand signals and explained the value of developing trust in your spotter. Her experience as a trail leader and instructor served the group well. Congratulations to Kimberly Akuna, St. Charles, MO; Lisa Tranquill and Michael Ravin, Boerne, TX; Amy Viejo and Chris Smith, San Antonio, TX; Jennifer Dousay, Ft Worth, TX; Brandy Vasquez, Prairieville, LA; Dawn Luna, Ft Worth, TX and Liv Luttner, Gainesville, TX, for taking this year’s challenge.
Of all the daily trail rides at this year’s SCARR, the largest convoy lined up to honor Allen Avery, the founder and principal of North Texas British in Dallas, a major sponsor of SCARR and supporter of Texas Rovers. Allen died unexpectedly last January while visiting family in Adelaide, Australia. Allen’s Range Rover Classic, named “Strange Rover,” kitted out for extreme off-roading, had been a source of delight at SCARR for years, exciting attendees every time it overcame an obstacle. My first sight of Strange Rover, with Allen behind the wheel, bouncing over and walking up boulders on the ironically named “Green Lane” trail, has stuck with me for decades.
Christopher Pullen served Texas Rovers as president for 13 years and worked with Allen at North Texas British. He recalled, “I’d been a customer of Allen’s since 2000. When he asked me to work at his company, we agreed to ‘see how it goes and have a talk then about the future.’ Six and a half years later, we still had not had that talk. I miss him terribly as both a work colleague and a friend.” The lineup for the Allen Avery Run stretched out to over 40 vehicles. Participants could sign the North Texas British banner that hung from the rafters of the Barnwell Mountain Pavilion each year. To Janet Avery, “The sheer number of enthusiasts who wanted to make the run is a testament to Allen’s impact.”
You always eat well at SCARR. If you go from campsite to campsite with a beseeching look on your face implying imminent starvation, someone will always offer food. If you prefer, Roz’s Eats food truck provides decadent beignets, delicious wraps and powerful coffee or soft drinks. Every Saturday, there’s a superb BBQ banquet under the Pavilion. This year, Saturday evening featured a new, musical activity to add to the always-entertaining raffle and auction (Thank you, Mark Caldwell). If you attended the ANARC Diamond Jubilee, you enjoyed a concert by “Texas” Pete Gerbine III and Joey Pitts who, indeed, travelled from Texas to Cortland, NY. Back on their home turf, Pete’s “3 AM Band” gave a rousing performance on SCARR’s outdoor stage. In addition to Pete and Joey, the band included Tiffany Lewis, Justin Elrod, Jesse Crawford and Jody Harrod. D’Ann Gerbine ran the sound board. (Lead Guitarist Matt Holmes could not participate because of a medical condition, and Texas Rovers enthusiasts donated generously to help with his expenses.)
As the sun set on the Saturday night banquet, Chris Duke, Endeavour Expeditions, New Braunfels, TX and Chris Jones, Houston, shared their ambitious plans for next year’s SCARR. They hope to lead a group of Land Rovers that would travel from the southern border to the northern border, departing on the last day of SCARR 2025. They’re looking for participants who might want to join them; so far, five enthusiasts have indicated their interest. Now that’s a Texas-sized endeavour!
[To learn more about the north-south adventure, email Chris Duke at chrisduke1049@gmail.com]