Booger Mobile - 2012 Camp Quality esCarpade!

2011 esCarpade video highlights...

2012-01-22T20:08:00.002+10:00

Ever wondered exactly what goes on on the Camp Quality esCarpade, and just how much fun it is? Wonder no longer!! The Camp Quality esCarpade crew have put out the official 2011 video highlights package... it's 18 mins long, so grab a drink, get comfy and strap yourself in for the ride of your life!!

Booger Mobile makes a few sneaky appearances in the background - and you can see Damian in his bright green shirt at the end of the video after they announce the total raised...

Enjoy!

And so it starts again...

2012-01-01T19:55:00.001+10:00

Happy New Year everyone!! Having taken a month or so off from all things Booger Mobile related, Damian figured he'd kick off the new year by getting back into the shed and getting the ball rolling for the 2012 Camp Quality esCarpade preparations!!

First of all, back in with the bottom half of the rear seat, after a good vacuum to remove more dust from last year's event...

Next, out with the racing harnesses and in with the lap seatbelts (which make it much easier to travel around when not on the esCarpade).

Off with the air cleaner to check out the state of the engine. Looks like not too much dust went into the carby, but the rest of the inlet manifold looks a little untidy. This might warrant a little more investigation when the head comes off...

Off with the bash plate...

Ewwwwwwwww grotty!!

Doesn't look like much damage underneath - needs a good clean though!!

Just in case you have forgotten, here's a few shots of the Camp Quality signage... the mighty number 64!!

The 2011 sticker...

Celebrating 20 years of esCarpade!!

And the rear windscreen...

Just a small blog tonight, but now that the new year has started, the pace will increase over the coming months...

Stay tuned!!

2012 esCarpade Route Announced!!

2011-11-25T12:00:00.001+10:00

And the 2012 esCarpade will be heading... *drumroll*

From Newcastle to Canberra!!

For full details, check out the Camp Quality esCarpade official event page here: http://www.campquality.org.au/public/escarpade/the-event.aspx

So what's been happening?

2011-11-09T20:33:00.002+10:00

So, no doubt regular blog followers are wondering what the punchline from the 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade was... So here goes!!

Damage report.

There was no major damage that has become apparent at this point in time. Damian decided to wash Booger Mobile and do a bit of a stocktake on the condition...

One front tyre is completely stuffed - clearly the wheel alignment wasn't quite perfect, which isn't surprising given it wasn't redone as Damian was waiting for the new suspension to arrive first, which didn't happen in time. (The wear indicates the camber isn't correct.)

The roof-rack moved AGAIN... Clearly something will need to be done about this prior to the 2012 esCarpade...

Booger's head got very dirty - not so much a problem but a minor annoyance. Damian is keen to have a completely new roof-rack ornament for next year... stay tuned for that one!! (Chances are he'll run out of time again and use good old Booger!!)

And all shiny, back in the shed.

There are also a couple of annoying engine issues to look into - the head gasket continues to weep ever so slightly, the tappets are slightly noisy (need adjusting) and there was a minor oil leak at the rear of the tappet cover, which is understandable given the rear tappet cover bolt is broken - of course it didn't leak with the old tappet cover gasket, only when Damian "did the right thing" and replaced it with a new one!!

So the engine looks like it's going to continue to be a source of annoyance for Damian heading into 2012 - hopefully once the weeping head gasket is resolved (and while the head is off, removing the broken tappet cover bolt), that will all be sorted.

Lastly, there are a couple of very minor annoyances - the passenger brake light has an earthing issue... it worked fine, then after hitting a bump it wouldn't work, then it would after hitting another bump... good times!!

Anyway, enough of that, there'll be plenty of blog posts about the car in the lead up to the 2012 esCarpade!!

Fundraising for 2012 has now commenced!!

On Friday 4 November 2011, Damian headed to the Jagera Arts Centre at South Brisbane for the first ever Gotta Swing Lounge, being run by a couple of Camp Quality volunteers Quintin McLeod and Mark O'Brien.

As the sun went down and the tent went up, the barbeque was lit.

Damian posing with Quintin.

And cooking the BBQ.

Quintin showing off his dance moves!!

Attendees at the dance paid a minimum gold coin donation for their sausage sizzle, with all proceeds going towards Booger Mobile's 2012 Camp Quality esCarpade fundraising total.

The Gotta Swing Lounge is open to all comers who like swing dancing, and will be held on the first Friday of each month at the Jagera Arts Centre, South Brisbane.

So that's the state of affairs for Booger Mobile. Damian has been having a well earned rest away from the car, but it will soon be time to get back into it in preparation for 2012.

Stay tuned!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 8 - Bright-Home!!

2011-10-22T23:23:00.000+10:00

Bright - the final morning of esCarpade had arrived... Booger Mobile looking resplendant in the early morning light...

The view from the motel...

The shenanigans continued, even though it was the last morning!!

Heading down to breakfast in Bright...

Damian stopped at the BP and cleaned off the tyre that had gone flat overnight in Warrnambool and pumped it back up... hopefully it was only that the bead had been broken causing the slow leak.

He then parked down at the Riverside Cafe for breakfast.

The babbling brook beside the carpark.

Around 7:30am, Team Booger Mobile, Snot Rocket, Shark Mobile and 808 said their goodbyes and headed towards home...

Snot Rocket disappeared into a tree tunnel...

Past a windmill that Damian was sure they had passed on Friday following the route notes...

Nice scenery...

Volvos were heading home, overtaking the boys...

Through historic Yackandandah...

Past the Yak Hotel...

Snot Rocket bringing up the rear...

Apparently this is the beginning of a 100 zone... who'da thunk it?

Jet stream in the clear sky...

Teddy wearing a little flower apron...

The final day self portrait...

A horse and rider on a stick...

Being stalked by a Shark (mobile).

808 were having some starting problems again - out came Damian's jumper leads...

And file...

Meanwhile, the others waited patiently...

This monument is, well, monumental!!

There's a dish off to the side there somewhere!!

Look, there it is!!

Damian loaded it onto Booger Mobile to take home...

Self portrait with the dish!!

A photo of Graham taking a photo...

Past these planes again... seems like this trip is a reverse of the trip down!!

Gilgandra!!

It looks like rain on the windscreen, but it's actually a heap of tiny bug-splats!!

Stopping for an RBT in Coonabarrabran...

Oh, no, not again 808!!

Day turned to night... lots of kilometres travelled, but lots of rest stops due to the enormous 45 litre fuel tank in Booger Mobile requiring filling every 250km or so!!

Stopping for an RBT in Moree...

Heading down and around a corner, apparently!!

Jo is home safely!!

Damian is home safely!!

After an epic 21 hours, Damian had arrived home safe and sound in Booger Mobile.

There were a couple of scary moments on the trip - once when stopping at Goondiwindi and the engine started making a nasty ticking noise (the oil had gotten a little low), and then as they drove out of Warwick, they nearly cleaned up a kangaroo... Ironic really, given the hundreds of kilometres of kangaroo-strike country they had earlier driven through, they nearly hit one in suburbia!!

The 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade is now done and dusted... time to clean Booger Mobile, take stock of any issues and begin preparing for 2012!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 7 - Deniliquin-Wangaratta-Bright

2011-10-21T22:32:00.001+10:00

Day 7 - the final driving day of the Camp Quality esCarpade for 2011.

One of the first to arrive at breakfast...

A good time for a stylish self portrait!!

Other cars started rolling in...

The Team BSL Kombi Van had been wrapped in plastic overnight, but who did it???

Breakfast time...

Followed by driver briefing...

Damian looks through the briefing notes...

Second cab off the rank - a record for Booger Mobile!!

But, 69 took a wrong turn at the first instruction and Booger Mobile ended up in the lead - a position it would hold for the first 18 instructions!!

Damian and Jo - number one!!

Bitumen driving...

Oh look, a corner!!

Dirt driving...

Past a nice old pub...

Across a river, with a nice old bridge in the background...

More tarmac driving...

If you are ever looking for Mywee, this is where you'll find it!!

Turning the corner - Booger Mobile had politely pulled over earlier to let a line of cars through...

Very dusty along this road!!

Even dustier behind!!

Stop and check for trains!!

Past the excavator being loaded onto a truck...

And arriving at the morning tea location - 10 minutes early!! Another first for Booger Mobile!!

Looking the goods!!

The sweets put on at morning tea were divine!!

Peta and Alice rev up the crowd for a puppet show!!

Deano (Peta) and Kylie (Alice) doing their thing!!

The esCarpadians sing their special song...

Jo getting into the esCarpade spirit!!

After morning tea, car 445 had it's bonnet up - earning them a guest appearance on the Booger Mobile blog!!

Following OV7 (Puppet-mobile) to the next school for a school visit...

Numurkah... nice little town...

Turning into the school road...

Fred smoking it up for the crowd...

The hungry hordes descend!!

esCarpade cars lined up...

Snot Rocket living up to it's name!!

The kids headed in for a puppet show...

Getting settled in...

But the esCarpadians were told to hit the road!!

Snot Rocket coming past some roadworks...

Back onto dirt - this happened a fair bit again today - on the dirt, off the dirt, on the dirt, off the dirt... rinse and repeat!!

Past an old windmill and water tank...

Into Broken-Boosey forest...

It started to sprinkle - not enough to settle the dust or wash the car, just enough to be annoying!!

A fallen tree attempts to make friends with Booger Mobile...

Small, but surprisingly deep creek crossing...

More dirt...

Into Wangaratta...

And to the pub for lunch!!

Outside the pub, Damian met some of the family of the guys from Limo 64 - apparently they had been following the Booger Mobile blog to keep tabs on esCarpade, so a big shout out to them, and all the other blog followers!!

Back up into the hills...

Past this little car with no doors, with an old digger sitting inside waving as the parade passed by...

Past old machinery...

To a shallow causeway...

Through goes Booger Mobile...

You'd get a surprise if you fell off the edge!!

Continuing upward in the forest...

Up, up and away!!

Great views from the top - pity it was an overcast day...

Back on the bitumen for a while...

Collecting Snot Rocket off the side of the road on the way past...

One half of the hill had been cleared recently...

And back onto dirt!!

Up, up, up...

Past the Russell Hotel... (Points for the musical reference - leave a comment)

And down the other side!!

Damian suspects the rear tyre is flat, and calls OV5 to confirm...

Of course it is!!

It's only flat on the bottom though!!

Off with the old...

Yep, looks good!!

And on with the new!!

Jo wondered how many blokes it takes to change a tyre... The answer is of course just one, but with four others for moral and emotional support!!

Back on the road, and down the winding dirt road...

The flat tyre happened only about 5km from the end of the esCarpade driving!!

The last night formal party and awards night...

Balloons on the table...

Damian and Jo with their awards and bottles of wine!! Team Booger Mobile topped the $12000 mark with their fundraising in 2011!!

The grand total raised by all entrants in 2011 was a record 1.4 million dollars!! A champion effort all round!!

And that brings to a conclusion the 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade... all that is left is to have some breakfast in the morning, then head up the highway for a snappy 1700km drive back home!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 6 - Mildura-Swan Hill-Deniliquin

2011-10-20T22:53:00.001+10:00

Waking up bright and early in Mildura, it was time to hit the road and head to breakfast.

Nearly the entire motel was booked out with esCarpadians!!

The food van - breakfast was a bacon and egg roll and a cup of coffee... yum!!

Cars lined up on both sides - morning school visit cars on the left, others on the right!

Close up of Booger Mobile...

Kermit's artwork that Damian somehow managed to miss on previous occasions...

Damian speaks to the puppeteers to find out how many kids are at the schools being visited today...

Time for driver briefing...

Damian studiously scribbling notes...

Snot Rocket heading out for the day...

Great to see Car 49 back on the road!!

Team BSL Kombi Van looking sweet as always!!

Cars lined up waiting to head to the school...

Damian helping Peta the Puppeteer make a special delivery into the bin!!

Heading to the school in convoy...

Looking out the back window - Booger Mobile was mid-field...

Turning into Nichols Point Primary School.

Parking on the oval, Booger Mobile's stereo was booming, so the doors were open for full effect!!

The hungry hordes arrive...

Damian and Jo having a laugh and throwing lollies...

The kids head in towards the puppet show...

Zoe and Peta get the crowd warmed up!!

Kylie looking for Deano... he's behiiiiiiiiiiiind you!!

Puppet show finished, esCarpadians head back to their cars...

Out onto the dirt...

Then back onto the bitumen...

This pattern continued for most of the day. Some tracks had deep, soft sandy soil...

Others potholes...

Past the swamp...

Winding through the trees...

1 TON following Booger Mobile...

Jo opened the gate, and then waited to close it...

Posing with the Team Afro teddy bear...

1 TON and another car leapfrog Booger Mobile while Jo closes the gate.

Driving on Unsealed Road says the GPS... gee, ya think?

Bloke cycling through the national park...

There he goes!!

MW3 (Mechanical Workshop 3) ironically broke down and waited for another MW to turn up and help them out...

Car 22 (the Octopus car) goes past...

Teddy just hanging around...

Booger Mobile leap-frogs 1 TON when they stop to let their engine cool...

Damian and Jo's daily in-car self portrait...

Car 22 stopping to refuel... Damian decides it is an ideal location to do the same and pulls over...

Limo 64 goes past Booger Mobile, while Damian splits Booger's head...

Back half of the head removed...

Lifting down the fuel drum...

And pouring it in...

Car 4 breezes by Booger Mobile...

The tracks continue...

Some more trees...

The track gets narrower...

Turning left at the Yarraby Flora Reserve...

Car 4 stopped to change a tyre... you may remember them from an earlier photo!!

Back on the bitumen...

And back onto the dirt...

Swan Hill - the lunch destination!!

A Paddle Steamer in the car park... you don't see that every day!!

On the deck overlooking the Murray River...

And a snappy self portrait...

The mirror inside the gents toilet... interesting artwork!!

Jo standing with her man!!

Not often you see a steam train and paddle steamer in the same photo!!

Paddle Steamer...

Doc was having some problems with his car, but managed to get out onto the track and in front of Booger Mobile...

A tower in Swan Hill...

Crossing the Murray River into NSW.

Gnarly tree!

Out on the track, Doc was having more issues... no help required, but a guest appearance on the Booger Mobile blog essential!!

Whoa, a dirt road with a curve in it!!

Apparently there's a hazard ahead...

Rickety old bridge - definitely a hazard!!

Crossing another bridge...

River again...

Back on the bitumen...

And dirt!!

Past the shallow ponds... are they rice? Crayfish? Who knows?

And bitumen again!!

The smiley air freshener pretents it's a train!!

Yet more dusty dirt...

Another hazard...

Looks even more rickety than the last one!!

An irrigation canal...

Interesting tree on the left...

Being overtaken by OV (Official Vehicle) 3.

Booger Mobile beside the mighty Murray River...

Some clown ruined Jo's nature shot!!

Over another bridge...

And arriving in Deniliquin!!

Past the war memorial to check in...

After check-in, Damian and Jo found their hotel and got ready for dinner...

The roses were in full bloom next door to the motel!!

Jo stopping to check out the snap dragons in the park...

Self portrait on the bridge in the park, with Weeping Willows in the background...

Dam in the park.

A lumpy tree trunk...

Jo, Tony and Graham usurping the signs authority!!

Damian with Camp Quality CEO Simon Rountree...

Damian and Jo keeping good company - Deniliquin Mayor Brian Mitsch and his wife Shirley!

Team Afro's Rob and Darren with Peta the Puppeteer!!

esCarpade boss Ben Mildren giving Damian "the look". He looks a bit like an evil troll-doll, doesn't he?

The band played while the esCarpadians had dinner...

Mal considering joining Team Booger Mobile...

The second last day of the Camp Quality esCarpade has been and gone, and only one day of driving (on the esCarpade) remains...

The week has gone quickly, but Damian and Jo are really looking forward to getting home to see their respective families!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 5 - Mildura Rest Day

2011-10-19T21:09:00.001+10:00

Rest day in Mildura - a day for cleaning, repairing (if necessary) and resting... Damian was up bright and early, washing the mud and dust off Booger Mobile...

And through the magic of the interwebs, it's finished!!

There was also a couple of non-compulsory school visits on the rest day, one at 9am and one at 2pm. Booger Mobile attended both, of course!!

Cruising through the streets of Mildura heading towards the first school visit for the day...

Past a nice old church...

Turning into Fourteenth Street with BM735 squeezing up the outside...

The cars lined up, waiting to see if there were any late-comers to join the procession... there wasn't!!

Damian took the opportunity for a self-portrait with Peta the Puppeteer!!

The cars headed into Ranfurly Primary School and parked, handing out chips and lollies to the kids... Funnily enough, the students had just begun learning about health and hygiene, so lollies and boogers were ironic to the max!!

Inside, Rachel and Peta gee'd up the crowd ready for the puppet show...

Deano peeking from behind the curtain...

Deano and Kylie doing their thing...

Filled with sugar and laughter, the kids headed back to class, past some interesting post artwork!!

Downtown Mildura, Booger Mobile blended right in!!

Damian and Jo had Subway down by the mighty Murray River!!

The paddleboat beside where they sat...

Cars lined up ready for the second school visits...

Having passed Irymple State School in a procession of colour and noise, it was time to turn into Irymple South Primary School - the school being visited!!

Parking on the oval, waiting for the hungry hordes...

The hordes descend!!

Zoe and Alice did their puppet show...

After the show finished, Zoe dared Graham to run her down... he missed!!

Damian took Jo to a pottery shop that she had seen the sign for, only to find it was closed on Wednesdays... so they stopped at a Gem store instead...

Snappy self portrait before heading to dinner...

Post dinner ice creams...

Jo laughing so hard she had to hold onto a pole... contrary to popular belief, she was NOT pole dancing!! ;-)

The Queensland contingent in an impressive circle photo...

Ten people in a self portait... good times!!

An enjoyable rest day was had - Damian and Jo enjoyed visiting the schools, did some washing and enjoyed having a rest. They are refreshed and ready for the last two days!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 4 - Naracoorte-Pinnaroo-Mildura

2011-10-18T23:39:00.000+10:00

Waking up in Naracoorte on the morning of day 4, Booger Mobile was a little lonely in the car park.

Peering out of the hotel window, Damian could see the usual esCarpade flurry of activity with some cars below...

Jo caught a great photo of Damian leaving the hotel...

This car looked particularly shiny... probably been washed recently!!

Cars lined up at breakfast...

Poor old 49 was back on the trailer, but why??

Snot Rocket was there...

As was the Queensland contingent...

Damian took a self portrait from his vantage point...

Then had a Leonardo Dicaprio moment... "I'm the king of the woooooooooorld!!"

The crowd gathered for driver briefing...

Booger Mobile was heading out the gate early with other cars visiting schools in the area...

Oh, that's why 49 is on the trailer... that wheel really shouldn't be on that angle!!

Naracoorte South Primary School had a nice mural on the wall...

The kids were excited to get a stack of goodies...

And the cars looked awesome, if somewhat dusty!!

Alice and Rachel did the puppet show...

The esCarpadians hovered at the back...

Outside, the guys got ready for a drive by of Francis Primary School...

Another car looking a little worse for wear after a slight mishap!!

Following OV6 to Francis State School...

Past the spooky gum tree...

Down yet more roads with tree tunnels...

To find a bunch of cars stopped waiting, playing a bit of cricket...

Move over... there's a wide load coming!! (Except it turned off before it got to the esCarpade cars!)

The cars begin turning into the road ready for their drive by...

Cars turning around after doing the drive by...

Some esCarpadians stayed for the puppet show, and to hand out goodies to the kids!!

Alice and Rachel did the full version of the puppet show, which was excellent!!

Afterwards, the esCarpade cars headed via bitumen to Pinnaroo, in South Australia!!

Kermit followed Booger Mobile...

Damian and Jo got their daily self portrait...

The Golden Grain pub in Pinnaroo where lunch was served...

An interesting mural on the shop opposite the pub...

Another beautiful old pub in Pinnaroo...

Stopping to get fuel, Damian noticed that OV5 (Trevor, the official photographer) had a message on the side... We heart Booger... Nice touch!! (Damian denied all knowledge as he quickly put the window cleaning squeegee away!!)

After fueling up, Booger Mobile, Shark Mobile and 808 decided to head up the bitumen to Mildura...

More roads... this one only had trees on one side!!

Damian spotted a train (or part thereof) at a grain silo ready for loading...

In their travels, the three teams found Snot Rocket, who joined the procession to Mildura...

Yep, turn left guys!!

Damian stopped in Red Cliffs for a photo of Big Lizzie... if you want to read the story of Big Lizzie, you can find it here! http://home.vicnet.net.au/~rcdhsoc/lizzy.html

Booger's shadow beside a field of grapevines outside Mildura...

After checking in and finding their motel, Damian, Graham, Jo and tony headed across the train tracks behind the hotel and up to the dinner venue...

Settlers Mildura...

Great self portrait!!

Team Afro (Snot Rocket), 808 and Team Booger Mobile...

Damian and Jo at dinner...

Ben speaking, esCarpadians listening!!

The outside beer garden...

And finally, a bunch of recalcitrants on their way home from the pub!!

Wednesday is a rest day - a day for teams to clean their cars, themselves, their clothes and generally kick back. There are a couple of non-compulsory school visits also, which Booger Mobile (of course) will be attending!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 3 - Warrnambool-Casterton-Naracoorte

2011-10-17T22:53:00.000+10:00

Day three arrived bright and early... Damian got up to pack the bags into the back of Booger Mobile...

As per usual, some teams were under, around or in their cars looking over issues - some minor, some not so minor...

Damian walked to the passenger side of the car and saw that he had his first flat tyre in two years...

Out with one of the spares and the trolley jack...

Off with the old...

On with the new!!

Always important to tighten the wheel nuts!!

Pump hooked up, ready to inflate tyres... Might as well pump up all tyres as needed, but also, in order to get the spare on (due to the spring helpers that damian had installed), it was necessary to let the air out of the spare tyre...

More tyre pumping...

Heading to breakfast in Warrnambool...

Great parking there... it looks like Booger Mobile is alone, but there are dozens of other cars already there...

Another fabulous breakfast, followed by the daily driver briefing...

esCarpadians practicing their song for this year...

The actual Police turned up to check out the cars... They tried their siren, but alas, it was no match for some of the esCarpade car sirens!!

This was the setting for breakfast... very nice!!

Damian checking out behind 808... time for his daily breath test!!

On the road for the first stage. 808 had already stopped in town due to front tyre issues... they would make the journey on the road...

Past the dead centre of Warrnambool... people are dying to get into this place!!

Past some nice rock formations...

And a cow and calf standing beside ridiculously well topiarised trees...

Crossing a bridge...

Past the place with the stone fence...

Onto a long, straight road...

And a dirt one...

This one had a curve, and a rock wall!!

Yet another long, straight, tree-lined road...

And one with minimal trees, but some curves...

This pattern repeated for quite some time... Past trees on the dirt...

This is FAV (First Aid Vehicle) coming ot the rescue of one of the esCarpade cars who neglected to turn left at the intersection, becoming hopelessly bogged by going straight ahead!!

Yet another dirt road, with trees lining it...

This one had taller trees...

As Booger Mobile approached this point, Damian was flagged down by some of the other vehicles... Turns out there was a rather large bog hole not too far down the road, where there were already half a dozen vehicles stuck (including Shark Mobile).

A short time later, Ben returned with some alternate route notes to get the cars around the bog hole missing only the minimum amount of the course...

Here's another tree tunnel on a dirt road... this time with grass growing in the middle!!

And a straight road with sandy soil...

Damian and Jo's daily self portrait...

Making a brief stop...

Damian had avoided a low hanging tree, but hadn't avoided a branch sticking out from the side of the road - the result - a scratch across the guard and the door...

It should buff out!!

There's the culprit...

Scenery while travelling along another straight dirt road...

This road had a bend, and scenery... but it was still dirt!!

A bridge (over troubled water?)...

Interesting dead gum tree that looked very ghostly...

Another day, another straight dirt road with a tree tunnel!!

Booger Mobile's friends in car 49, who have their radiator free from mud and doing its job again!!

Arriving in Casterton...

This must be the check in... it's got the Camp Quality flag!!

Jo wanted to pose with Mario and Luigi... so she did!!

Hey Isis... look who Damian had lunch with!!

First school visit... Casterton State School!

Graham (808) and Jo handing out lollies, chips, and a good squirt with the water soaker!!

The impressive mural on the school hall...

Peta and Rachel get up to do their thing...

The esCarpadians milling around at the back of the room...

Deano and Kylie made a special appearance!!

Deano makes a good point with Kylie!!

After the school visit, Damian went to fill up and discovered the thermo fan wasn't working... He headed back to the lunch venue to check out the thermo fan (the fuse housing had rattled loose - all good now...

However, by the time it was fixed (about 5 mins), Damian found out it was too late to do the sand section of the afternoon drive... turns out this was a good option!! There was carnage on that section, with cars getting bogged left, right and centre!!

Someone found the only way to get sleep on the esCarpade!!

Heading down the bitumen to get back to the course (after the sand).

Another dirt road...

A bridge over a small river with some rapids...

The sand was getting a little deeper, but still passable!!

Past a fire spotting tower...

The amount of water on the sides of the road was increasing!!

Heading down the aptly named grassy lane!!

Parked up waiting to find out what's going on in front...

And from the other side - you can see there are people lined up...

Ah, there's the problem... a number of cars stuck in a bog hole!!

Having decided discretion was the better part of valour, Damian (and the others who were lined up) headed back onto the bitumen to get around the bog hole...

Damian decided since he was on the bitumen, he might as well stay there!!

And arriving at Naracoorte...

The dinner venue - Naracoorte Town Hall...

Damian aiming for a large self portrait with a bunch of people in it - including Eric, Karen, Ebony and Jayden - one of the local Camp Quality families who joined the esCarpadians for dinner...

Don and Sue from FAV...

The Queensland Connection... Booger Mobile, Snot Rocket, 808 and Shark Mobile!!

Day three ended in South Australia with a large number of people still out on the track late into the night... All part of the adventure, really!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 2 - Geelong-Apollo Bay-Warrnambool

2011-10-16T22:44:00.002+10:00

Day 2 begins... While driving into Geelong at the end of day 1, Damian noticed a slight exhaust leak noise... First things first - time to see if it was!!

Jo has a crack at fixing it... wrong side, Jo!!

Damian located (and fixed) the leak - the flange had rattled loose connecting the exhaust pipe to the cast iron manifold... A few twists of the 5/8" spanner and all was fixed!!

Another car (351 perhaps?) woke to find they had a flat tyre... bugger!!

Damian and Jo went on an adventure to find a BP to fuel up. First up, there was a BP at a street that Damian had googled, but it wasn't there.. then the GPS told them to go to another location, where there was a construction site, but no BP... third time lucky - they fueled up!!

Heading back to the breakfast venue, Damian and Jo-Anne noticed that they were turning down the same street that the hotel was on that they had stayed in!!

Driving through Geelong...

At breakfast, Damian did some running repairs to his sunnies... noone will notice, surely?

Lining up in the car park...

The breeze was ripping through - thank goodness for the beanie knitted by Adriana's mum Pauline!!

The local Rotary club had laid on breakfast for the esCarpadians...

The Geelong waterfront and boat harbour...

Time for the cars to leave... SPOOK looking, well, spooky!!

Filing out...

Time for Snot Rocket, Purple People Eater (808) and Booger Mobile to roll out...

Snot Rocket was blowing bubbles...

Team Afro gave Damian and Jo a teddy bear... (Team Afro are in Snot Rocket.)

Having passed his breath test and hit the road, there were cyclists everywhere!!

Heading out of Geelong, and more cyclists...

Snot Rocket pulled up alongside, so Teddy Bear posed for a photo...

Bitumen... yay.

Smily face made a guest appearance, and Damian's guitar case was dusty!!

Driving along the waterfront...

Further...

Past a wind turbine that wasn't turning...

Along tree lined roads...

To Bells Beach!!

Damian and Jo posed for a photo...

Bells Beach...

2DOGZ turning left in front of Booger Mobile.

And onto dirt for the first time on day 2!!

Past a funky looking tree...

And long, straight dirt roads!!

And some curvy dirt roads on the top of a hill!!

The roads got a little wet and slippery...

Ten-4 (Rolls Royce) getting some assistance from Mobile Workshop 3 - this entitles them to a guest appearance on the blog, despite their pleads not to!!

Teddy Bear enjoying hanging around in Booger Mobile...

Tree lined dirt roads...

Past a dam on the top of a hill... that's something you don't see every day!!

Ho hum, another tree lined dirt road!!

And back onto bitumen...

Lots of trees... and a dirt road!!

Heading down the hill towards Apollo Bay...

Water!!

Heading along the waterfront...

Past the Great Otway National Park, which is where the morning's driving took place...

And onto the Great Ocean Road...

Lots of nice pictures...

A quick stop to snap Booger Mobile...

At the Cumberland River...

Beautiful water, but the breeze was ripping through!!

Back onto the dirt again...

Then back onto bitumen...

Heading into Apollo Bay for lunch...

Great Ocean Wines - lunch time!!

Booger Mobile parked at lunch...

Prior to lunch, Damian noticed that the engine was idling far too high, around 1500 rpm. When he stopped for fuel, he determined that the problem was a sticky accelerator cable. After lunch, the Mobile Workshop guys came to have a bit of a look, sprayed some slippery stuff on the cable and declared it good to go!!

However... when they got in the car to go, Jo discovered she had lost her reading glasses!! Damian pulled the stuff out of the car - no glasses. He looked along where he thought the car was parked, but couldn't find them. Jo went down to have a look along the edge of the road, and found her glasses!!

Sadly, they had then run out of time to do the dirt stages for the afternoon session, so they headed off down the Great Ocean Road towards Warrnambool... With an obligatory self portrait!!

~~Rabbits~~ Foxes hanging on a fence... let that be a lesson for them!!

Getting overtaken by one of the Official Vehicles...

Stopping at Castle Cove for a picture - the wind was so strong, it nearly blew Damian off his feet - literally!!

See, told you it was Castle Cove!!

The view from the lookout...

And the other direction...

Looking back towards the road...

A handy reminder!!

Next stop, Gibson Steps.

More cliffs and water...

Looking towards the Twelve Apostles...

Steps...

Next stop, the Twelve Apostles...

With a self portrait to boot!!

Flash sign...

Hamming it up for the camera!!

The Twelve Apostles... this is why people drive the Great Ocean Road!!

And again...

Looking the other way...

And not so zoomed in!!

Self portrait of a wind-swept Jo and Damian!!

And back on the road, heading towards Warrnambool...

Large bales of rolled up hay... but Damian thinks they look like alien pods!!

Past Cheese World... what a shame it was closed!!

Being overtaken by 969...

At dinner, Booger Mobile and Kermit... Kermit seems to have much more ground clearance... or maybe it's an optical illusion!!

Inside the venue, the girls check out the decorations...

Damian and Jo with a great self portrait!!

Dinner time!!

And so ended day 2. A few minor, niggling issues with Booger Mobile. An indication of items that need to be looked at ready for next year, but hopefully they won't cause any great issue for the remainder of this esCarpade!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 1 - Bendigo-Ballarat-Geelong

2011-10-15T22:45:00.001+10:00

Damian and Jo were up bright and early, ready to head down to Day 1 - breakfast and the grand parade in the heart of Bendigo!

Even the moon was still up...

Booger Mobile arrived to find Snot Rocket already there... good to see the Qld teams are keen!!

Classic, not plastic!!

Other teams started to roll in...

Car 47 - Lance and Michelle - good friends of Team Booger Mobile!!

Jo-Anne's name tag... First name and car number incorrect... close, but no cigar!!

Lining up for breakfast inside the Bendigo Town Hall.

Outside, the entrants had all arrived, as had the crowds!!

The ambos and more entrants...

Booger Mobile outside the town hall...

Clowns!!

Kylie (the puppet) inside Fred and Barney's octopus car...

The entrants roll out after breakfast...

Car Ten 4 left a little something on the ground!!

The Doctor... The only person to have entered all 20 years of the Camp Quality Caper/esCarpade.

Entrants have fun with their smoke machines on the way out...

Great to see another shiny classic car made of metal!!

Onto the bitumen first up...

Ambos following Booger Mobile...

And onto dirt!!

Tree-lined roads...

Rickety old bridges...

Jo doing a fantastic job of navigating...

Damian driving...

Another bridge that has seen better days!!

First casualties of the day...

More bonnets up...

Past rolling fields...

Stopped waiting for a blockage to clear up the hill...

Waaaaaaaaaaay up there...

Line up...

The blockage is cleared!!

The line up can now move... Darren paying penance to the nuns...

Is that the light at the end of the tree tunnel?

Another old bridge...

Booger Mobile being stalked by a Shark (mobile)...

Big old train bridge...

Shark Mobile turning the corner...

Lined up at another stoppage...

Through the tree archway...

Past the piles of wood...

Into the Wombat State Forest...

Heading towards Ballarat and lunch!!

Ballarat... here we come!!

Nice old building...

Booger Mobile finds a park beside Snot Rocket...

Cars lined up ready for lunch...

And the other side...

Lunch at the Comfort Inn Sovereign Hill.

Damian and Jo line up for a self portrait...

Driver briefing before the afternoon session...

Booger Mobile, Snot Rocket and Shark Mobile... three of the Qld entrants...

And the rain came down...

Driving through the streets of Ballarat...

Past a nice old church, the rain washing the dust off...

Past a large archway...

Snot Rocket turning right...

Back onto dirt, and the sun was out again...

Line up - someone's stuck in a bog hole...

Snot Rocket stopping...

Lots of others stopping also...

Shark Mobile making way for Snot Rocket to come through...

Snot Rocket again... whose blog is this anyway???

Oh, that's who is stuck... Car 808!! Who was driving?

Tony!!

After Tony was snatched out, Damian decided to attach the snatchy first, in case Booger Mobile was also stuck...

Entering the mud pit...

So far so good...

Slipping and sliding...

And the Kumho R700 rally tyres didn't let Booger Mobile down!!

After the mud hole, Damian and Jo stopped to help car 49, who laughed at the thought of making a special guest appearance on the blog...

It seems the Commodore scooped up a heap of mud in the bog hole, which promptly embedded itself in the radiator fins...

Good thing someone had a hose!!

The second time 49 stopped, Damian went back to give them a hand again, and ended up splattered with mud...

He was all smiles again though!!

More long, straight gravel roads...

The countryside got a little hilly...

Very pretty to look at!!

Oh dear... the Limo had broken an axle in the most catastrophic fashion... hopefully they can source a replacement and be back onboard tomorrow!!

More dirt roads...

Heading for Geelong...

Through the canyon... rock pools...

Steep winding roads...

And a causeway that would be very interesting if it was flowing!!

More rock pools...

And back to rolling farmland...

A sheep truck blocked the road... Booger Mobile snuck past though!!

Self portraits are always fun!!

Rock walls a-plenty... must have been a lot of rocks in the paddocks!!

As they headed towards Geelong, the flags were flying...

Turning onto the highway...

Past Brisbane Ranges National Park turnoff (which the entrants drove through earlier)...

Heading towards Geelong...

Not the airport, Geelong!!

Arriving at dinner in style...

In the Ford Stand... nice touch!!

Dinner was at Skilled Stadium, home of the Geelong Cats AFL team...

The puppeteers demonstrated this year's song...

The boys from Car 201 - good friends of Team Booger Mobile!!

The menu...

Jo-Anne and Damian with Josie, Camp Quality's new Events Manager.

Simon's speech was so good, fireworks went off!!

Jo's expert guidance for Damian reversing!!

The first day of the 2011 esCarpade had a rough start with lots of ruts and bumps on the morning section, followed by a nice muddy boghole in the afternoon... a long day, but great fun!!

Sunday should be awesome as well... stay tuned!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day 0 - Scrutineering

2011-10-14T22:12:00.000+10:00

Friday morning... Scrutineering day!! Damian and Jo were up early and into Booger Mobile to head off to scrutineering...

Since Damian missed scrutineering in Qld due to the car still being in pieces, he wanted to get to scrutineering and get in line nice and early. Second in line!!

Behind Snot Rocket!!

And up on the hoist...

Up, up, up!!

There was a bit of concern about the coolant all over the bash plate, but Damian pointed out that he had dropped the coolant on Monday night after the bash plate had been installed, so it was likely to be from that...

Off on an adventure to find a pair of lock nuts for the spring-helpers (remember they were missing a couple?) - it took four stops to find a shop that had them!!

Damian with his locking nuts and a spanner!!

And the first one goes on...

Lock it up tight... thanks to Jo for the awesome photos!!

Second one goes on...

Jo modelling the scarf and beanie that came with the welcome kit after passing scrutineering, with the green beanie from Pauline (Adriana's mum) on top!!

Back at scrutineering for a BBQ lunch and first aid/child protection briefings...

There was a stretch limo!! Confusingly, it's number is 64 limo... Booger Mobile is 64.

People milling around in the scrutineering area...

Damian and Jo model their Team Booger Mobile hats... Thanks again to Kaye!!

More esCarpade cars lined up either side of the road...

Nedge gives the child protection briefing...

Then Sue gives the first aid briefing, including a CPR demo!!

What? You can't feel your legs or arms??

Back at the hotel, Damian retaped the mic plug to attempt to prevent it from rattling loose on the bumpy roads...

Here's a close up of the hat, beanie and name tag!!

Back to the scrutineering venue for the driver briefing...

Who's the homegirl?

Driving back to the motel, there was a tram rumbling along the tracks...

Damian has been wearing a bracelet his son Jordan made for him - every day!!

The 2011 esCarpade hat... pretty cool, isn't it?

Jo getting ready for the official welcome dinner...

The esCarpade bible...

Strike a pose!!

And a nice timer photo... turned out pretty good!!

The Bendigo Town Hall - the venue for the dinner...

They all jumped, but the camera took the photo when they landed... d'oh!!

Town Hall again...

Getting closer!!

Being one of the first to arrive gives you a choice of tables!!

The walls and ceiling were full of intricate patterns and sculptures covered in gold leaf...

The original route map from the 1992 Camp Quality Caper (which went on to become esCarpade).

Damian and Jo looking happy... Damian acquired some bling from one of the other teams...

The hall filled up...

The balloons were fun...

Damian looking happy!!

Jo and Peta the puppeteer from South Qld.

Graham (Team 808) gets a beard trim from Michael (Shark Mobile).

Oh lord, that's all kinds of wrong!!

The ceiling looked nice... a couple of balloon escapees hung around up there...

Team Afro made their mark on the balloons...

Some people decided that floating a coke can with the balloons was a good idea...

Rob and Damian with a self portrait!!

The coke can eventually floated back down again!!

Meanwhile, Ross had decided that the balloons on the table would be better joined in a line rather than a bunch!!

Then the boys decided floating a bread roll would be funny...

Ross had to trim it down...

Bite by bite... much to the hilariosity of the others at the table!!

Hooray!! It takes flight...

This floating stuff with balloons started to really take a life of its own!!

Here's another one!!

The bread roll was removed and replaced with a couple of Team Afro stickers...

Fly... be free!!

Hmmm... adults and helium balloons... what could possibly go wrong??

Damian giggled in his water...

A slightly blurry circle photo... the group can do better!!

The band played some awesome older songs...

Damian had a fabulous looking dinner, right up until he agreed to swap it for a chicken filo parcel with Laurie from Snot Rocket...

The 20th anniversary CQ esCarpade cake... on the big screen!!

So the official business was done... speeches read, last minute instructions given...

Time for one more sleep, then it's off on the first driving day of the 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day -1

2011-10-13T22:47:00.000+10:00

Before beginning Thursday's blog, Damian's wife Tricia sent thorugh some pics of the cars leaving Team Booger Mobile HQ, so here they are!!

In the shed...

The cars are coming up the driveway soon, surely!!

Damian heading out the gate...

Micahel in Shark Mobile heading out the gate...

Two cars heading off into the darkness...

And onto the Thursday blog. Damian was up bright and early (around 8am NSW time) to check out the issue with the UHF radio...

Suspecting that it was the microphone, it was pulled apart, cleaned...

And put back together again.

A test showed that it was working fine, so it was time to head off. After stopping for fuel, Damian got back into the car to be greeted by a lovely brrrrrrrrrrrp sound... Turns out that the boys from Shark Mobile had stashed a remote control fart machine under the front seat!!

Damian and Jo posing for a self portrait - a bit blurry, but hey, that's life!!

Heading from Parkes towards Bendigo...

Whispy clouds...

Through Forbes...

Where the truck parking situation was so bad, they had to park one on the roof!!

Stopped at roadworks again, right beside a bunch of tractors...

And on the move again... there was a plane on a stick... there were quite a few of them during the journey!!

A car on a steeple...

Past some ghostly looking gum trees...

Past another slow moving wide load...

There were a few trucks motoring along... this B-double went past... the boys were ambling along a bit below the speed limit, so they were happy to move over and let the big rigs past!!

Another plane on a stick!!

This place was a bit Bland!!

Through Wyalong...

Heading towards West Wyalong...

Past a plane (this time on the ground, not on a stick!!)

Left turn Clyde!!

Heading towards Narrendera...

Past Mirrool...

Into the Riverina region...

Damian's radio issues continued, so during a fuel stop, a slap-dash attempt was made to keep the pressure sufficiently on the end of the cable to hold it tightly in place... this was a dismal failure!!

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Past Ardlethan...

Grong Grong? Interesting place name that!!

Onward and upward!!

Into Narrendera...

Down a delightful tree-lined street...

Heading towards Jerilderie...

Past a nice steeple...

Hey Kylee... this is the turn off to your place, yes?

Past an old railway bridge...

and some more further along...

Still heading towards Jerilderie!!

Another wide load... tanks for the memories!!

Are we there yet?

Shark Mobile and the purple people eater on the only bridge within cooee...

Along lavender lined highways...

Past another beautiful windmill and tank, straight out of an outback pastel!!

Nearly there...

Welcome to Murray Country!!

Hooray!! Jerilderie!!

Or is it?

Perhaps this one should be tanks for the memories?

Around this corner... and into the Jerilderie BP Roadhouse...

At the Roadhouse, Damian and Jo had the most delicious steak sandwich with the lot ever made!! It was pretty spectacular!!

Outside, Shark Mobile had a problem...

The lower mount for the front spring was rubbing on the tyre, and had created a nasty groove... lucky it was on the top and not on the sidewall!!

That will be something for the shark boys to deal with at scrutineering on Friday!!

Damian went outside to find that the boys had thrown a bunch of water under the front of Booger Mobile... he wasn't fooled though - it was far too clean to have come out of Booger's radiator!!

On the road again!!

Through Finley...

Checking out the colourful cows in the park!!

There are no more photos from this day, as Damian's camera battery ran out!! Nothing too exciting happened from this point, other than crossing the Murray River into Victoria and getting to Bendigo without too much excitement...

Shark Mobile had another minor issue - the rotating light wasn't rotating... Damian checked it out and worked out the earth wasn't sufficient, and offered a suggestion on how to fix it... The boys will sort it out in their own good time!!

Thursday night dinner was in downtown Bendigo, where Damian and Jo caught up with Team Afro who had arrived by plane and collected their car that had been trucked down... turns out this wasn't a fabulous idea as the car had been damaged in transit, leading to a day of running around trying to locate a new tailshaft... Just part of the esCarpade adventure!!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog - scrutineering!! Damian's camera is charged and ready to go!!

esCarpade 2011 - Day -2

2011-10-12T22:05:00.000+10:00

Day -2 of the 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade, aka Team Booger Mobile HQ to Parkes, started out at 3am this morning, with Damian making a fresh brew for himself and the members of Shark Mobile (Michael and Peter).

Booger Mobile was loaded and ready to rock and roll...

As was Shark Mobile, which had spent the night having driven down from Gympie on Tuesday evening...

All lit up ready to hit the road...

Damian looked chipper early in the morning... there was a massive drive ahead of him though - almost 1100km of driving!!

Having picked up Jo, it was time to hit the road, beating the early morning traffic...

And getting to see the sun rise...

Meeting up with Team 808 (Tony and Graham in the Purple People Eater) at the end of the Centenary Highway, Damian decided to do a quick check of the radiator hoses, since this was the first time that Booger Mobile had been driven since the coolant flush and change... No leaks!!

After giving Damian a bagging for popping the bonnet already, Michael popped his bonnet to check some stuff, giving Damian a great opportunity for a photo!!

Heading out past Amberley, there was a plane, with Shark Mobile in the background!!

It was pretty chilly, and the fog was spectacular...

But as the sun rose, the skies cleared to form a glorious day in paradise!!

Heading towards Warwick...

Up and over Cunningham's Gap - there is a large amount of road that is no longer there...

This resulted in stopping in the stop/go traffic, and giving Damian a chance to see how the thermo fan went keeping Booger Mobile cool... worked a treat!!

The road to the right of the barrier with the green mesh on top is completely GONE!!

Along the way to Warwick, Damian decided he REAAAAAAAALLY needed to stop... so he did!! While there, Michael found a lucky four leaf clover and gave it to Damian to give to Jo...

The lovely information sign at the toilet stop...

And through Warwick and onto Goondiwindi!!

Always time for a snappy self portrait while driving!!

Check out that temperature gauge (on the right). Hovered just on 80 for most of the day, going up to around 82-3 in the mid afternoon heat... Damian is very pleased!!

And still heading towards Goondiwindi...

Through Inglewood...

And Yelarbon... (Damian's pretty sure he took a very similar photo on the 2010 esCarpade!!)

Only to be stopped by a stop/go chick at yet more roadworks!! The boys took the opportunity to test out their various bells, whistles and horns!!

Woohoo!! Offroad already!!

And a classic and two plastics lined up at the Goondiwindi BP.

The things you see out on the highway!!

Heading towards Narrabri...

Jo was trying to have a snooze without Damian taking a pic of her, so he took one anyway!!

Heading along the Newell Highway... very flat, lots of trucks!!

And lots of silos!!

This picture is just for James...

Heading towards Coonabarrabran...

Just how far is this trip?

Yay, Coonabarrabran!!

And on towards Dubbo (and then Parkes).

Stopping at Gilgandra for Damian to fuel up, he returned to the others to find Tony with the bonnet up... Coincidentally, Tony had spent most of the day bagging Damian for driving a Ford...

Damian was asked if he had some jumper leads, which of course he did...

And the car was started... Tony showed his appreciation at appearing on the blog!!

Back on the road, Damian had a wry chuckle at karma...

And shortly afterwards, the mic on Booger Mobile's UHF radio stopped working... good times!!

Still heading towards Parkes...

Stopped at Dubbo for Shark Mobile and the Purple People Eater to fuel up...

Then on towards Parkes...

Nice action shot of Shark Mobile...

And a glorious sunset...

Are we there yet???

Magnificent...

The sun went down, and a line of trees on the hillside made for a nice photo...

Darkness descended...

And finally, they arrived in Parkes, located a motel and found some food!!

The trip from Booger Mobile HQ (Morayfield, north of Brisbane) to Parkes, NSW took around 14.5 hours, including breaks every 200-250km for Damian to refuel Booger Mobile, which has the world's smallest fuel tank!!

The Qld entrants also lost the hour crossing the border into Daylight Savings territory...

A big day driving, but satisfied both with arriving in Parkes, and the performance of Booger Mobile so far!! (Touches wood)

One and a bit sleeps to go!!

2011-10-10T22:14:00.000+10:00

With one and a bit sleeps to go, Damian was spending the day doing the final run around - fueling up, buying supplies etc. When he got home from fueling up, it was time to check fluid levels etc... Oil and transmisison fluid were fine, but Damian noticed a thin green line along the edge of the head where it joins the shim...

For crying out loud, the head gasket and/or shim were weeping... Just what Damian needed with only 30 or so hours to go before he leaves on esCarpade!!

While speaking to Michael from the Shark Mobile (you'll see pictures of that in the next blog post or so), it was suggested by his mechanic that old Ford engines (like the one in Booger Mobile) didn't play nicely with Glycol based coolants...

Time to drop the glycol based coolant from the radiator and give the radiator and engine a thorough flush out...

Before replacing it with a non-glycol based coolant. The advice is that this should resolve the issue, allowing the head to seal down properly (it has already been retensioned).

Meanwhile, Damian's boys helped him pack up a bunch of lollies ready to hand out to the kids at the schools being visited on this year's esCarpade... Only a few went missing during this process!!

Time to stash the now full spare fuel inside Booger's head, where it can happily live until needed...

And back on with the head... voila, is gone!!

Out came the bottom portion of the rear seat. As with last year, the soft luggage (clothes etc) will live in the back seat area, with hard luggage (tools etc) in the boot.

Speaking of the boot, Damian is a bit worried that something might be missing - there seems to be far too much room left in the boot!! Time to check last year's pictures to see if there's anything obvious...

Upon leaving the shed, Damian was greeted by something very close to a full moon, so he decided to share it with you all.

One decent night's sleep tonight, a day onsite tomorrow followed by a few hours sleep, and it will be time for Damian to head off to esCarpade 2011... it has rolled around incredibly quickly!!

One last thing - the fundraising total for Team Booger Mobile for 2011 has now passed the TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLAR mark!! Thanks to everyone who has donated in 2011!!

Packing up, packing up, packing up, packing up...

2011-10-09T20:30:00.000+10:00

Today's blog post is brought to you by Denise Gadsden, Catherine and Paul Price, who have again made a donation to Team Booger Mobile to help with fuel costs...

Today's jobs were fairly easy peasy... First up, a few new stickers to go on the car... There's a likely looking spot right there!!

Question is, is this sticker going to fit there?? Fraser Strain did the roadworthy (well, they are now called Safety Certificates) for Booger Mobile... thanks Fraser!!

A bird flew into the shed and caused a bit of a commotion... took about 45 mins to find its way out again, even though Damian opened every door!!

And here's the sticker - it fit with a bit of creative alignment!!

Damian's son Aidan came up to the shed to lend a hand... it was time to stick on the Wadnot Joinery sticker - Aidan is scraping the water out from under the sticker (wet-sticking a sticker allows you to reposition the sticker to ensure alignment is fine, before getting rid of the water to stick it down)!

Voila!! Is stuck!!

Dave Madden who did the engine rebuild has a sticker on the passenger side rear quarter panel...

There was a bit of spare white sticker left over, and Aidan wanted to make a sticker to put on Booger Mobile... this is his effort...

Jordan (Damian's younger son) caught wind of this idea, and decided he wanted to join in the fun... good thing there were two bits of sticker exactly the same size (what are the odds??)!!

Damian then gave the new load-helping suspension a bit of an adjust (not shown), then it was time to start packing the boot.

Out came the scrutineering checklist - two spare tyres - CHECK!! First Aid kit (and contents) - CHECK!! Tonka dog... CHE... wait a minute, he's not coming on the esCarpade!!

Two and a bit more sleeps to go until the 2011 Camp Quality esCarpade adventure begins for Team Booger Mobile (with the drive down to Bendigo). It's a time of nervousness and excitement for Damian!!

Oh, one last thing - the fundraising total from yesterday's Paint City car show was $300.40. Stellar effort that, particularly considering the crowd numbers being down due to the rain... Thanks again to Paint City!!

Paint City Car Show

2011-10-08T22:52:00.000+10:00

Damian woke up to overcast skies, which quickly turned to a full on thunder storm!! After waiting for the rain to ease, it was time to see if Booger Mobile (with its newly strengthened rear suspension) would still fit through the roller door on Damian's shed...

Whoa... tight squeeze!!

The rain continued as Damian headed towards Paint City on Deception Bay Road, Rothwell - the location of the Paint City car show!!

Having arrived and parked in the damp carpark, it was time to check out the prizes that Deb from Paint City had organised for Damian to raffle off...

What a selection!! Ten prizes in all!!

The trophies were laid out... Would Booger Mobile manage to jag one?

The band "The Fifth Column" played for the crowd...

Meanwhile, Damian checked out some ideas for Booger Mobile for 2012... How about doors like these?

Damian's next-door-neighbour Glenn drummed up a storm!!

Damian took a break from selling raffle tickets to smash down a free sausage sizzle courtesy of Paint City...

The weather started to clear, and a few more cars and bikes made their way into the show...

This green Ford was almost the same colour as Booger Mobile (and it eventually went on to win a prize... Actually, all cars in the picture above between Booger Mobile and the green Ford won prizes!!)

The sun came out, and the crowd grew a little... Sadly there were meant to be around 85 vehicles at the car show, but the storm in the morning scared a lot of people off...

Paint City... if you need paint, that's the place to go!!

Damian met an aspiring photographer/model Kayana Faith (the blonde on the right - google her if you like, but the pictures are probably not safe for work) plus one of her promo girls... They were more than happy to pose with Booger Mobile... they know hot stuff when they see it!!

Damian didn't manage to win a prize with Booger Mobile, but headed back home with a smile on his face and a snappy self portrait, after raising a couple of hundred dollars for Camp Quality - an excellent effort considering the small turnout because of the rain!!

Driving home in the sunshine...

And safely back in Damian's shed, lights flashing like there's no tomorrow!!

And so concluded the final bit of fundraising by Team Booger Mobile in 2011.

Damian finished off the day with a BBQ with friends Elli and Steve (who provided all the computer cut stickers for Booger Mobile) and Paul and Catherine (who have sponsored Booger Mobile again in 2011, along with Catherine's mother Denise).

Only a few sleeps till Damian leaves for esCarpade!!