Click on a thumbnail sketch to see the full size picture.

Going to Klamath Falls

	Before heading to Klamath Falls, we created a wind deflector for Theo. That's Theo Van Go, brother to Vincent. The idea was to reduce our gas consumption. Result? Gas usage slightly higher. Sigh...

Dave and I were proceeding to Klamath Falls without a pit crew, a deficience we were deeply aware of.

Breaking up the drive to Klamath Falls, we stopped in Oakridge for a bite and leg stretch. As Dave was checking out a flea market and I was checking that Igor, the trailer, was in good order, I was approached by a young fellow wearing a backpack. Glen was friendly and personable. Before he asked, I asked him if he wanted a ride to Klamath Falls. Dave and I occasionally pick up riders, so this was no big deal for me. And Glen didn't seem like an axe murderer. But he was very surprised. He was about to ask exactly that. I showed him KangaRex, the Spinner, and Quadraped. And I asked him if he would be our pit crew in Klamath Falls. He wasn't quite sure what that entailed, but was game.

When Dave wandered back I introduced him to our new pit crew. He was amazed and delighted at our rapid change of fortune.

A couple of girls were hanging around the park when we arrived the evening before the race. They couldn't stay for the race the next day, but we encouraged them to ride our creations.

The Race -- June 28

	Riki encourages kids to scream for 'I Scream'. She then gives them Ice Cream. The girl on the right was very enthusiastic. And loud.
This Kinetic Caddy was known as Counterfeit Bluesmobile. Eliot brought it along with several other KSRs. He recruited several locals to race it.		Speaking of Eliot, here he is in his Pear County Chopper
	This is Broken Leg Bear, formerly Mullet Bullet		This is Beth in Parkie
Here's Dave and me in KangaRex
	Magic Dragon. Psychadelic, man!
The Whymcycles. There's Peter and Jerri, his wife. They are from Davis California. Laura, on the right, is from Corvallis.			Ganesha Taxi is from the Eureka California area.
	Kinetic Cross Bones
		John Lisenco, a Kinetic Kop. Plus another official.
	self portrait of Glen, our pit crew and photographer		Kinetic Caddy or Counterfeit Bluesmobile
	In the foreground we see a nice shot of the Eliot in his Pear County Chopper. But notice the policeman behind him. Notice the smirk on his face? Notice that I am attempting to squirt that policeman with my super soaker. He had just zoomed past me and squirted me with his water bottle. In fact he was very good at this. He got me several times that day. And I don't think I managed to get him even once. It was quite a surprise and definitely a pleasure to find a policeman who didn't take his job so seriously that he couldn't fit a little fun into it. Unfortunately I never got a chance to talk with him. He was always moving too quickly. But I have since learned who he is. Dr. Shelley Gale is volunteer policeman and pastor in Klamath Falls. Seems like a great guy.
	Beth in Parkie		Ganesha Taxi
Everybody slows down to climb this hill. It's steeper than it looks. That's Caddy and Bucking in the foreground. KangaRex in the background			Ganesha Taxi
	Beth's chain broke on the hill. I repaired it, with a chain supplied by Ganesha Taxi and help from Dave.

At the sand we had a problem. Alas we had forgotten a vital socket wrench back in Corvallis. Without it we couldn't change the wheels to sand tires. And we were so close to getting a Pelican award.

After quizzing everybody around, and multiple announcments over the PA system, finally a guy came forward with the right size socket. We were getting downright desparate. Minutes before it would have been too late, we got our wheels switched over and we zipped thru the sand.

As Dave said "we wanted to PEL in the worst way, which is exactly what we did".

	At lunch we were serenaded by a bluegrass band		children in KangaRex
picture by John Liczwinko	KangaRex, obviously a major malfunction. We had a little trouble. The water gear wasn't installed correctly before we entered the water. As a result we were unable to get fully up onto the pontoons. I decided we were in no danger, so we proceeded. The disadvantage was that I was getting wet since my butt was in the lake. And we were much slower than usual. But since normally we are so much faster than the other race vehicles, this slowdown meant we were about the same speed as they were. Oh well. But we were pretty much committed. If we had backed out and tried again we probably would have lost our Pelican awards. Those are for vehicles which complete the race without assistance. There are also special requirements for water transitions. For instance your feet cannot touch the ground under the water until your vehicle is completely out of the water.
	Kinetic Cross Bones exiting the water
		Deep Blue and Blue Jay
We often have gotten trophies at the Klamath Falls race, but never before a Pelican. This year we got a Roadrunner, for best time; and a Pelican for not getting stuck anywhere.			Every year in the past the mud has stopped us. They have had killer mud which eliminated all but a few of racers. This year, there was a problem arranging for mud. So we were able to complete the race without needing a push.

After The Race

	Glenn riding the Quadraped. Giving rides in KangaRex
That evening, Jerri and I took the Pear County Chopper out into the lake. Since I was taking pictures, only Jerri is shown. She was practicing for her next race, where she would race the chopper. I was just screwing around.
next morning		Dave's pneumatic tent. When he took the poles out, it deflated very slowly.	We then drove to Ashland. But that is a story for Science Works 2008.

During our stay in Klamath Falls we met a woman who was camping in the park. Like Glen, she had been riding the rails. Unlike him, she was arrested for it. Evidently the Klamath Falls gendarmes were not too kindly about this. Since the reason Glen was traveling to Klamath Falls was to catch a train out, I suggested he continue to travel with us to Ashland. And after further consideration, made arrangements for him to travel with another Kinetic Sculptor all the way to Sacramento. This was to both his benefit and to ours. We got the continuation of his pit crew services at ScienceWorks in Ashland. And he got an even better railway entry point.

That was back in June. I am writing this in August. I haven't heard from him. I hope he didn't end up in jail. He is working on a photo journal book. (He was studying Journalism in college.) I would like to hear that he is continuing that.

No kangaroos were harmed making this Kinetic Sculpture Racer.

Unless otherwise noted, all pictures above were taken by Glen or by Allen Brown.

Copyright © 2008 C. Allen Brown