Dixon KennerOVLR’s Annual Birthday Party
By way of some background, Ottawa Valley got its start in 1974; the establishment of the Ottawa chapter culminated with the first “Birthday Party” in June 1984.
Since then, the Birthday Party has earned mythic impressions across North America. For its first decade, the location selected, near Almonte, was the site of the first attempted “Diefenbunker,” a Cold War headquarters for the Canadian military. OVLR abandoned that site when they realized they could not pump the water out fast enough from where the initial hole was dug. It also made for a unique off-roading experience where those juniper bushes might hide a drivable pile of rocks or fire hydrants, that with an almighty CLANG! halted progress.
In the mid-1990s, the club chose a large site near Silver Lake Provincial Park. Mixing Canadian Shield with rock, bogs and cedar forest, this new venue offered up light, medium and heavy off-road activities. The nascent Internet attracted Americans from the LRO (Land Rover Owners) email list, as accounts of the event spread far and wide. Especially when there were beaver dams, water crossings and some spectacular landscapes to drive through — oh, and a few bugs — enough that might carry you away some years.
By OVLR standards, these rallies were quite large. Posts online and an active club newsletter contributed to a growing event. So did challenges like the “Heavy Off-road” which was only completed once, and a “traditional light off-road;” both became memorable journeys. The event even attracted 110 Land Rovers one year, though it is now smaller and more personable. Despite some moves farther north, the current main site is a mere dozen miles from Silver Lake Provincial Park in
MacDonald’s Corners.
The 2025 edition of the Birthday Party maintained that pleasant, accessible size. It took place in August so as not to conflict with other ANARC events. This year’s edition had lovely weather, as opposed to late June when the temperature (and bug count) could be rather high.
While geographically, the Birthday has generally been centered on Silver Lake for the past 25 years, the “Main Site” has moved around a little bit. The Silver Lake Provincial Park provides a great site for sleeping, but the main site and locus of activities is wherever the Club’s Expedition trailer, affectionately known as “The Albatross,” is located. This piece of kit is the envy of many Land Rover Clubs.
Off-roading opportunities abounded over several trails. In addition to the traditional light off-road, the 2025 Birthday Party offered “Levant Mountain.” It’s a most aggressive trail that traverses some rather rugged terrain (water crossings, large rocks, deep mud, steep inclines and side slopes to 30 degrees); it’s a trail that requires aggressive tire treads and low air pressure. And don’t forget your traction devices! The traditional light off-road that parallels it, an abandoned rail line, could best be described as “rather dry.” The section just past the remains of a beaver dam, where it tends to be a foot or more deep for several hundred feet, was six inches deep at best and only a couple hundred feet long this year. Hopefully, there will be more snow and rain to expand next year’s trail.
To help people improve their off-roading skills, Ottawa Valley had three trained stewards who went through this past Spring’s ANARC Steward’s Training camp down in New Mexico. Kevin Newell, Dave Westhaver and Dave Pell gave a pair of demonstrations on Friday and Saturday afternoon, after folks got back from off-roading, to demonstrate proper winching techniques and how to use some of the excellent equipment from Safe-Xtract.
Another annual highlight was the RTV, with kit provided by Rovers North. Run for 30 years in various guises, this year’s challenge was not to lose your navigator. Yes, some individuals, who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons, lost points when their navigator (also their girlfriend at the time) got out of the vehicle (this was allowed at certain points on the course) to spot, then were left behind as the driver sped away, leaving them in the forest. Not cool, they thought, and expressed loudly, with much mirth from the spectators.
OVLR, a founding member club of ANARC, enjoyed partnering with ANARC to create a memorable 42nd birthday.