The registration for the Lone Star Region’s No Fooling Bluebonnet RoadRally, on Saturday, April 1st, was at the Dairy Queen in Johnson City, which we used as a starting point for the Twin Sisters Road Rally last spring. Although there was little shade, it was a cool day, and the proprietor was very welcoming. While we were meeting, four 570S McLarens stopped across the highway to refuel at the filling station. In fact, we crossed paths with several other car clubs also enjoying the bluebonnets.
Seventeen teams signed up for this event. Four first-timers and two repeats were among our Weekend Members (although two could not attend with schedule conflicts). Four of the eleven SCCA teams had participated in at least one road rally, and two had participated prior. There was only one passenger/guest at this rally, although one team met family members at our destination and joined us for lunch at Inman’s BBQ in Llano.
Our goal for this Roadrally was to enjoy the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush flowers in their spring glory. We were not disappointed as there were copious wildflowers along our whole route and even along our return routes.
The ten evaluation forms collected at our social all said they had fun, enjoyed the route, and would run this event again. After our social, the following awards were voted:
Youngest Driver Christian Bufford (28)
Youngest Navigator Emily Bufford (26)
Youngest Participant Andrew Collins (33 after the Buffords declined this award)
Oldest Driver Neal Bellamy (two older drivers refused this award) (75)
Oldest Navigator Jane Bellamy (two older navigators refused this award) (75)
Oldest Participant Neal Bellamy (75)
Furthest Car to Participate Christian Bufford (San Angelo)
Nearest Car to Participate Gerald Wannarka (Spring)
Newest Vehicle Jamey Osborne (2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E)
Oldest Vehicle Chuck Lemmond (2003 Corvette)
Most Unique Car Carl Hamstra (2019 Aston Martin DB11)
When asked how they heard of this event, seven mentioned the Lone Star Region email newsletter, three the Region’s Facebook page, and one a friend or announcement at Track Night in America.
A Pie Run was the winner of the survey for future rally tours, followed by a Twisted Sisters tour and then tours of the Painted Churches, Texas Frontier Forts, Winery Trails, Texas caves, and Texas Independence sites.
Our next Roadrally will be on June 17th to visit the 14 remaining moonlight towers in Austin, Texas, with a final social at the Moontower Saloon. On August 12th, we will visit the 12 battle sites in San Antonio with their choice of one of the five Spanish missions in the city. In late October, we will finish our rally at the former gas station, now good BBQ, used in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I am hoping they will show us the movie on their outdoor screen.
From Left, Fred and Katy Buckingham 2018 Audi S5, Christian and Emily Bufford 2019 Subaru Crosstrek, Corrine Johnson and Meggie Buenz 2001 Mazda MX-5, August Polito 2019 Ford F-150, Danny and Terri Brown 2020 Corvette
Back row: Ken’s 2015 Kia, Nadja and Jeff Pollard 2012 Land Rover
Front Row: Neal and Jane Bellamy Corvette. Scott and Sandy Bauerle McLaren 570S, Carl Hamstra 2019 Aston Martin DB11
Comments from No Fooling Bluebonnet RoadRally
• Some way to stop at the house with the bluebonnets outside of Marble Falls. Drove by it too fast and missed it.
• More back boads
• More or some back roads
• Liked afternoon start time
• Longer route
• Thank you for organizing (two of these)
• No complaints
• Perhaps you could incorporate a photo stop or two where people have to take a photo of the car with a landmark or a sign and either show it to Ken or text it to him.
• Maybe a quick intro of participants to express any racing/driving events they’ve done before or interested in or how they found or got into cars.
• Group photos – have a stop or end location photo together for a sense of community
• Some to Castroville
• A place to eat at Goliad is the Mexican food place next to the cemetery, lots of parking.
