VERMONSTER 4X4 - Bradford Mud Races - May 2012

Kevin, Kate, and I headed to Bradford, VT for the Vermonster Mud Races.  Monster trucks, head to head mud racing, the trench, the tuff truck competition, and rock crawling. 

Before the events started we looked at the show trucks competition.  

The monster trucks are big, loud, and have huge engines.  They roared around and jumped over several cars and a school bus. 

One of the Monster Trucks rolled over but no one was hurt. 

The trench was not as deep as last year.  This gave more trucks the opportunity to complete the run.  The fastest time wins in each class if you make it to the finish line.   The distance is also measured in case no one in the class makes it to the finish line.  There were several bumps in the trench.  I was thinking they must put logs in several spots to keep the mud in that section of the course. 

 

Many trucks bogged down and would dig deep holes.  That would make it more difficult for the trucks that follow.  Several drive shafts broke and it is clear 2 wheel drive vehicles don’t do well in the mud.  One truck made a loud bang near the finish line sending parts flying through the air. 

I can tell you there were 3 vehicles that were so fast and powerful they hit those bumps and went airborne coming out of the trench. 

The driver of this Ford Mustang was going very fast, lost control, climbed up the side of the trench, and tipped on its side when it hit and moved a concrete barrier.  The front right suspension was damaged.   Neither the photographer running away nor the driver was hurt.

Some of the drag races were very fast and close.  I was taking pictures of a rock crawler when this driver lost control.  His truck flipped and the front end was torn off.  They said there are safety switches to cut the electric and fuel so the driver was not hurt. 

Rock crawling was fun to watch.  Several close calls with trucks almost rolling.  One guy thought speed was the way to get through the course.  He has a license plate on his truck so probably drove it to the event.  Needless to say he damaged a front quarter panel, rear quarter and broken tail light, then damaged the drive train.  He had to be dragged off the course and pulled to the parking lot.  It didn’t look like speed was the way to go after all. 

The Tuff Truck competition was fun.  The course they set up had several jumps, big bumps and a large.  I liked trying to take pictures of air born vehicles.  As the red truck passed by us it hit the bumps hard.  The loud pop we heard was the steering wheel and passenger airbags being deployed.  Wearing a helmet helped the driver so he just kept driving the course.  Two trucks had front tires come off their rims and a couple just stopped running in the middle of their run.

 
The weather was nice and we had a great time.

Search Blog Archive: September 2012, May 2011 & September 2011 - for more Vermonster 4X4

Beaver Brook - A Trek to the Pond ...

I have been doing a fair amount of hiking in the local area this spring.  Through some exploring I have found some nice loops that are several miles long.  

I found a couple remote ponds.  One I have been to 7 times and have only seen a couple other people pass by walking their dogs.  The end of March I saw many geese and quite a few ducks. 

I am no expert when it comes to waterfowl.  The Canadian Geese definitely sounded off when they saw me and would slowly swim away.  The ducks were pretty skittish and would fly away.  I guess the trick is a stealth approach … and a zoom lens.  I saw Mallards, Wood Ducks, and I was told a Hooded Merganzer.  The ducks seemed to stay close to the grass and I wasn’t able to get very close.

Stealth worked with the geese and I was able to get closer.  I spotted these 2 turtles on a log.  They were checked out by this goose but stood their ground.

Several weeks later the geese disappeared and no ducks spotted.   

I spotted this Great Blue Heron with it's wings extended.  Question: Is this heron sunning itself ... praying ... drying off ... covering up its kill … What? 


After a few minutes it brought its wings back in.  As I moved closer it spotted me and flew off.  I repositioned myself under a big pine tree.  10 minutes later I was surprised to see 2 Blue Heron flying together circling.  It was a bad position on my part being under a tree with my camera on a tripod.  I was only able to get one picture of them flying in the same frame before they disappeared.  I also saw these two geese mating.

I spotted this Heron and moved closer.  I watched it fishing in the shallow water.   As I watched it a duck came out of a duck box nearby and sounded off as it flew away.  I didn’t know ducks could fly so fast.  

I did not get a picture of the beaver swimming before disappearing under the water.

Walking through the woods I have seen a beaver, hawk, deer, porcupine, turkey, and an owl.  I would like to see and get a picture of a bear (they are now searching for food), fisher, fox, and a bobcat.  

My treks to more ponds continue …

Shooting at the Range

I challenged Matt to a shooting contest before he was deployed to Afghanistan.  He finished his tour and has been home on leave.  I called Mr. Pete to set things up before Matt goes back to NC.  I told Pete to tell Matt to be prepared for a Smack Down by Me!!  Matt told me "No crying when things don't go my way".

Now, Matt was selected for a special Marine Unit because of his shooting ability (especially with pistols).  He proved his ability last time he was at the range by taking Pete to task. 

I told Pete I had an idea to load a special clip for Matt with some reloads.  I would: 1) vary the power amounts in the reloads.  2) Use hot power in some but not in others.  3) Use a variety of bullet weights using 115 grain, 124 grain and 147 grain bullets.  I am pretty sure Matt’s shot pattern would be inconsistent.  It was a good idea and we laughed about it.  However, it sounded more like a nervous laugh on our part. 

We met Pete and Matt a the Manchester Firing Line Range.  I brought my 9mm and the .22.  Pete brought his 9mm. 

Matt didn’t have his military issue pistol so he used what we brought.  You would think that would make a difference.  When you shot as many rounds as Matt has it only takes a couple shots to figure out and adjust to the guns accuracy.  

The new range was excellent.  We filled out the paperwork and rented 2 lanes.  You can bring everything with you or rent guns, buy ammo, targets, eye and hearing protection, etc. 

I only had 50 rounds for the .22 so Kevin shot them.  We brought 550 9mm rounds for the 4 of us.  We were all shooting pretty well.  I decided to shoot the bottom of the bullseye from the target to intimidate Matt before our competition.   I told him I was going to shoot the top of the bullseye from the target which I did also.  He just laughed and with no hesitation said “Get Ready”.  The man was Ice …

Matt and I saved one target for our little competition.  3 shots at a time, the closest shot wins.  Matt said “Let’s shoot at the #7 on the target”.  Could I see the #7 at that distance??  Sometimes!!!

We started … #7 at 6 o’clock, Brian wins.  #7 at 9 o’clock, Matt wins.  We let Kevin shoot at the #7 at 3 o’clock.  #7 at 12 o’clock … Now the controversy.  Matt shot and was close.  I shot next and we thought I won.  When we pulled the target it looked to be a virtual tie.  Matt's shot is just to the left of the 7 and mine is to the right of the 7.

In an effort to prove a closer shot, Matt put his finger through the bullet hole making it bigger and thereby closer to the 7.  OH WAIT!! … I DID THAT.  I was thinking Matt has youth and good eyesight.  Shouldn’t any tie automatically default to the OLD GUY with none of the above? 

Matt has better shooting form and technique than I do.  He’s had excellent military training and much more pistol shooting experience.  No Doubt, he’s a better shot.  I am quite confident he would outshoot me the longer this went on.  I think he was going easy on me anyway … He gave me some good advise to improve my pistol shooting.

The 4 of us continued shooting.   With 12 rounds remaining we each took 3 shots at the bullseye.  Due to the mental strain of our competition Matt and I came close but didn’t shoot a bullseye.  Both Kevin and Pete shot a bullseye.  Guess we were lucky they weren’t in the competition. 

Results:

Brian and Pete … “Old but still a threat”

Matt … "In his Prime, Stay Away”

Kevin …“Great Shot and a Rising Young Star”