| On Saturday, October 14, 2006, the Young Explorers teens went on their first road rally. They solved clues, completed tasks, and went through nine clues to find their way home. Each clue location was marked with a 4-H clover and a clue number. Each team was instructed to bring a life jacket, $5.00, a county map, XL pair of men's undershorts, rubber gloves, a cd player, a training bra, a bag of M&Ms, a flashlight, and hand sanitizer. |
| The teams started at the Massey house and followed clue one to the Gobles Grocery where the teams were required to buy jerky. Then, they solved a math clue to arrive at Horse Leader Jennifer Chandler's house. At Jenn's barn, they were required to move horse manure by hand (good thing they were instructed to bring rubber gloves.) |
| From the Chandler barn, they traveled to Merson Corners Outpost store where they were required to give a secret password to receive their next clue. The password was "Mary had a Little Lamb", and several teams went through 20 nursery rhymes before finding the secret one. Next, they traveled to the Clear Lake public access outhouse for their next clue. |
| Teams then listened to the songs "Orange Blossom Special, Locomotive Breath, Long Black Train, and Play Chicken with the Train" to lead them to the Bloomingdale Train Depot. From the Train Depot, they listened to songs "One Piece at a Time" by Johnny Cash and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", to lead them to McPikes Junkyard in Bloomingdale, where they were required to identify classic cars - Mustang, Charger, and DeLorean. |
| After leaving McPikes, the teams traveled to the Glendale Cemetary, then the Sport Court at Armstrong Corners, and finally returned to Ninos Pizza in Gobles. To win, the teams were required to turn in all of their clues, jerky, a bag of M&Ms, and something that held the image of a buffalo. Some teams returned with buffalo coins, others just drew tattoos. |
| All of the teams stayed for pizza and pool at Ninos. Then, the two winning teams went back through the race, collecting signs and clue bags. Thank you to the fantastic clue helpers and wonderful parents who escorted the teams. Just wait until next year. |
