Ralph Schorbach and his wheeling...
Ralph Schorbach and his wheeling canine, Buster, enjoy spending time crawling in the rocks near their home in Laverne, California. They made the distant drive to Arizona in Ralph's '75 Bronco that he's been wheeling and wrenching on for about a decade.
Each spring, the members of Arizona Classic Bronco hold their Bronco Stampede. The 17th annual event was held the second weekend of March 2008 in the Table Mesa area, about 20 minutes north of Phoenix. The club rolls out the welcome mat for local and out-of-state wheelers alike with an invitation to join them for a few days of wheeling and camaraderie.
When we got the invite to join the crew and ride along, we hopped at the chance. Camp for the weekend was situated adjacent to the Rock Springs Caf, and when we arrived, we were treated to the sight of a wide array of the Ford utility rigs in all manner of modification.
The club had a number of runs planned for the three days, ranging from easy scenic trails to some fairly difficult rock trails. With a weekend tally of rigs nearing 80, there were a lot of Broncos out exploring the nearby terrain.
A reflector night-run game on Friday had players following a dark trail with spotlights ablaze looking for reflectors hidden in locations near the trail. Along with a fun trail ride, participants were challenged with locating as many reflectors as possible and recording their numbers on a score sheet.
There was also lots of activity at the main camp with owners swapping parts and telling trail tales. Saturday night started with a catered dinner and was followed with a substantial goodies raffle for a multitude of prizes. Rest assured, there was a little something for everyone in camp, but we've saved most of the space here to give you a healthy dose of cool Broncos out running the trails.
If you want to join the fun, meet some great people, and wheel with a bunch of other Bronco fanatics, then you'll want to consider the 2009 event. For more information, check out the Arizona Classic Bronco website at www.azbronco.org.
 David and Rhonda Pelletier...  David and Rhonda Pelletier get a bit of spotting across an off-camber line. |  Todd Zuercher was the Moore's...  Todd Zuercher was the Moore's Gulch trip leader for our Friday run. His '69 Bronco, like many of the classics, evolves continuously as time and ideas permit. Todd swapped in a Mustang motor that's a few decades newer than the body along with a 700-R4 tranny and Atlas four-speed transfer case. |  With a reasonably wet winter...  With a reasonably wet winter season, the Sonoran desert still has standing water in some of the lower washes. Danny Bogner of Big Bear, California, burbles his '71 through one of the many water obstacles we'd encounter over the weekend. |