Please excuse the delay in getting this out.  Shortly after getting home, we had some “heavy weather” as did several.

As folks arrived in Harrison, we had wet weather all around us and approaching our location. As Friday dawned, we woke up to dry weather, reasonable temperatures and pleasant breezes.

We had a mini convoy from the hotel to the jump off at Camp Jack to avoid heavy traffic on the main thoroughfare. The Harrison police department aided us by blocking traffic and getting us on our way.

We made scheduled pits tops at the Pruitt Trailhead and Steel Creek. Our main “brunch stop” was at Jasper where we were able to remain for about 1 ½ hours so folks could get a bite to eat and explore the square.

Our route went as planned with the exception of an impromptu side trip to Boxley Valley led by our own Steve Smith. Coming back out of the valley, Steve slowed to take a photo of an Armadillo relaxing on the roadway with his drink in hand.

We had a few unscheduled delays to allow folks to gather back up after some long pulls and to make sure the group was intact.

We had one vehicle that turned back due to a brake issue for safety reasons. We had one vehicle that had a mechanical issue but that was resolved and continued.

We arrived back at Camp Jack at about 3:30 in the afternoon. I think the more relaxed pace and schedule made the convoy even more enjoyable.

A group decided to make the run back through Jasper and on to the Cliff House Inn for dinner.

Our static display on Saturday was back at Camp Jack. Matt Russell with Camp Jack estimated we had about 200 folks visit. We had an enjoyable day and perfect weather.

I want to thank the folks that made the journey to Harrison for participating in the convoy and the static display. Some folks couldn’t stay over for the static display. Likewise, we had some that couldn’t make the convoy but came for the static display.

Thank you also to Matt Bell and Richard Sciarra with the Harrison Convention and Visitors Bureau who did a lot of leg work in advance to make our event simple and easy. I also want to express my appreciation to BJ Johnny Smith who made more than one trip in advance to Harrison and helped with planning and dry runs. We had numerous phone calls to finalize planning as well.

Further thanks to Les Branson and Clint Dorries who provided traffic overwatch for our departure from Jasper and John and Marilyn Pojunos who took care of traffic when we departed the Pruitt Trailhead. They also served as tail-end charlie and watched our backs.

Thanks go out to everyone that participated. I hope all of you had a good time. I did. I enjoy the social aspect of this event as much as anything. As I have mentioned numerous times in the past, I’m always impressed by how many folks are willing to drive to Red Ball, so they can drive some more.

We did have some wet weather for the folks who departed Harrison on Sunday, but everyone made it back home safely.

For those of you who planned on participating but were unable, we hope all is well and we missed you. Hopefully, you can make it to the next Red Ball or another event.

I mentioned in our pre-convoy drivers meeting safety is my primary concern. For future Red Ball events I expect that to be the “driving” factor. We’ll continue to explore options for Red Ball to keep it safe and enjoyable.

Thank you again for supporting Red Ball and

Keep ‘Em Rollin’

Jerome