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fallguy

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Right off the bat, I will say that it was an amazing experience. Also, do not use Waze, it took us to the wrong location and almost made us late. Talking with others, this is common. Use Google Maps instead, took us right there. Upon getting there and starting, the lead instructor will introduce himself and give the plan of the day. There was an 8am group, with 3 sub groups of 6 vehicles. A 9am group, with 3 sub groups as well, not sure if that was 6 vehicles each or not. You will break into groups and step outside the base camp building, and go over basics of the Bronco, while one driver goes over some obstacles so everyone can see the articulation, and proper way to take them. One person drives, and the rest watch with the instructor discussing each with everyone else. He also asked us to introduce ourselves, our names, where we are from, and what we are looking to get from the experience.

We got into the vehicles at about 915ish, and started our drive. The instructor was up front in the first vehicle, everyone has a radio to communicate with. We started out with some pretty tame trails, stopping twice to discuss how to properly take obstacles and what not. The fording depth, what are some issues with crossing water, what to look for, etc. All in all, I thought that the instructor was very informed and had a good way of explaining things to people with no experience to people who have more. We then went to an open field, where we again got out and talked about gear selections. Explained the differences between 4H/L/A, etc. The open field driving was the only time we were outside of the tree canopy, was pretty shaded all day.

We then took a lunch for an hour, which was amazing. Catered by a local restaurant that my wife and I had been wanting to try. See pics for lunch and dinner. We had an hour for lunch, from 12-1. Which gave us a bit of time to walk around the grounds, down to the lake and other places. The site is really nice, if time had permitted we could have easily stayed at the end of the day by the fire and hung out. After lunch the trails REALLY kicked it up a few notches. Did some fairly big obstacles, that you really had to articulate and follow the guide. Also did some pretty extreme hills, we hit 28 degrees going down on one of them, and then we did it on the way back too. 15 degrees to the side was the most we did, which is what he said was about the max. Our guide took us to the top of the trail for a planned photo op. There are also many times to do this, during more of the extreme events one person got out and filmed from the side. This was also the locations to switch drivers if they wanted to. There are PLENTY of opportunities to take pictures or videos.

After doing some of the more challenging obstacles, it was about 4pm. Our group and another met in a field to discuss recovery of vehicle options. I will say, this is the only negative that I had all day. It was supposed to be 30 minutes, ended up being almost an hour. We got back to base camp at 520, instead of 5. I understand that it can be a very important discussion to have, at least going over the basics. However, where they stopped us was in the shade and pretty cool. It went almost twice as long as it was supposed to. One of the groups when introducing themselves was a mom and her two younger sons, they are from Florida. Mom bought it for the daughter, who did not want to go, and let the mom use it for one of the sons birthdays. She has a Bronco just "to look good at the beach". You could clearly tell that they, and others lost all interest in the 50 minute recovery class. It is the last thing you do before going back to base camp for dinner. I understand wanting to cover all bases, but keeping it at the intended 30 minutes would have been a lot better, and we would have gotten back on time. Or if you are doing the introductions, play to the audience. I would have much rather driven for 50 more minutes, I imagine most others would have too.

That being said, the day was such a great day. Everyone was over the top friendly, the food was great, meeting other Bronco owners was also great. Lots of out of state license plates, furthest I saw was Texas. The trails were really good, start off mild and then ramp it up, and taking small breaks to discuss options and how to proceed past obstacles was very beneficial for most people. They have about 1,000 acres that they lease, so there is plenty of trails to go on. All in all, just a VERY good experience. We got two Yeti's included, and some stickers.

I didn't get the chance, but was going to ask at the end what do they do if on a day they don't have a full signup of people? Whats the minimum they will go out with, to get a return on the investment. Is it worth their time if they only have half what they did? The reason I wanted to ask is, they could post a last minute discount, say a week out. That they need a few more to go, in order to fill up. Or maybe give a local discount. We live exactly 31 miles away. We want to go again for sure, the experience was fun but also a day date for the wife and I away from the kids. Some pics, hopefully in order of events.

Side note, I REALLY want the bigger screen now. I have the 8" low res pos. I have never been in another Bronco until today, just saw pics of the bigger screen. Pics don't really show the difference well enough. The difference is astounding, and I am really going to have to consider changing mine out. Getting back into mine after was heart breaking. For those who have swapped out their entire sound system from the stock one, I akin the difference to that. It is just SOOO much better.

Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local 20241014_194035


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local 20241014_194104


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032450002


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032910221


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032914975


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032545057


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032457461


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032341094


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032346449


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032365774


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729032864931


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729122249298


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729122240632


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local FB_IMG_1729122233980


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local 20241014_172140


Ford Bronco Attended 10/14 Tennessee Off-Roadeo with wife, lots of pics & vid and an honest review from a local 20241014_120630


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Mikesmallcrawler21

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If they give you a survey, fill it out the same way, let them know the pros/cons. They can adjust as they continue to improve the Days events.
 

Beach_Bum

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The Abbey definitely has a sweet gig providing the catering for Lunch/Dinner. They do fine without the contract. It certainly provides a boost to the local economy.

With regards to the schedule, it is fluid. I was there on 10/10 and the recovery portion was conducted mid-afternoon mid-trail. I would guess it was a half hour at most.

Now, our guide (Tyson) is new to the Bronco Off-Roadeo. He went over the water crossing hazard/technique portion with just his crew. Then about an hour later our crew met up with another crew the water crossing section was discussed again. Tyson being new just deferred to the senior guide to lead the discussion (again).

I'm hoping something is planned for SCE. Seems like it would be a missed opportunity to not leverage the 1000 acres while the Bronco community is meeting just down the road.
 
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fallguy

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If they give you a survey, fill it out the same way, let them know the pros/cons. They can adjust as they continue to improve the Days events.
I got an email yesterday with the option to give them a survey, I will fill that out.

The Abbey definitely has a sweet gig providing the catering for Lunch/Dinner. They do fine without the contract. It certainly provides a boost to the local economy.

With regards to the schedule, it is fluid. I was there on 10/10 and the recovery portion was conducted mid-afternoon mid-trail. I would guess it was a half hour at most.

Now, our guide (Tyson) is new to the Bronco Off-Roadeo. He went over the water crossing hazard/technique portion with just his crew. Then about an hour later our crew met up with another crew the water crossing section was discussed again. Tyson being new just deferred to the senior guide to lead the discussion (again).

I'm hoping something is planned for SCE. Seems like it would be a missed opportunity to not leverage the 1000 acres while the Bronco community is meeting just down the road.
Our guide was Jerry, who I believe was the lead guide. From what I gathered, there are two large groups. A, B, and C in ours, and D, E, and F in the second. What we did from start to lunch, they did after lunch. Likewise, what they did start to lunch, we did after lunch. So we both did the same things, just flipped after lunch so that we were not stacked on top of each other. Some of our 50 minutes was waiting on Bravo group to meet up with us. They are still all trying to get their groove, I understand that takes time. I know when I public speak, I have a tenancy to ramble when feeling a bit nervous. But as I said, that is really the only negative for me, and some may have not thought it to be one. We were pressed for time, my wife's 78 year old dad was watching our 7 year old, so the 20 minutes of getting back late, just made that a bit worse.

To reiterate, the entire staff was fantastic. From the greeters, to the people ringing up merchandise, to the people serving food, and the guides. The guides were pretty funny, cracking on each other when they had the chance. Everyone seemed very happy. I also hope they have something for SCE, anything that brings us closer together where we can meet and stuff. I have never seen that many Broncos at once, which we could have talked about ours a bit afterwards in the parking lot. We go to Windrock all the time, went last Friday, but have yet to see a single one up there either.

One last thing that just made it even better for my wife and I, probably not so much for others as it is very subjective. But the music playlist when eating lunch, and then dinner was damn good. It is like they copied mine exactly. They played Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, and Tyler Childers. All of whom my wife and I saw in concert in Knoxville this year. Even saw Morgan Wallen twice last month, on his Friday and Sunday concert. They also had Whiskey Myers, Uncle Lucius, and others in the same genre. Really just made it all that much better sitting there, my wife and I love all of their music.
 

Umichigan1

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A little off topic, however, because you are locals you are the correct ones to ask. I'm scheduled for my Off-Roadeo on November 22. What should I expect weather-wise?
 

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Felix808

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After 746 days, a MY22 4-door Badlands Bronco :-)
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Great report. Sounds / looks like you had a great time 🤠
 
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fallguy

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A little off topic, however, because you are locals you are the correct ones to ask. I'm scheduled for my Off-Roadeo on November 22. What should I expect weather-wise?
I would dress in layers. I honestly don't believe it will be that cold, other than the morning. And you start out the day, standing around outside for about an hour while they go over the basics of the vehicle. You will be in the vehicle most of the day, so heat on and heated seats. Only getting out a few times. It's really just the first part I would worry about. You are under the cover of trees most the day though, so not much sun. Although the leaves will be gone by then, so a bit more than there is now. But it is heavily wooded.

But the weather shouldn't be that bad, doesn't mean it can't though. The parking lot for POV's is literally 20 yards away from where you drive theirs. So you can bring a heavy coat for the first part, then put it in your car before you leave. Or just toss in the back of theirs, in case you stop later for a long discussion and its cold.
 

RNC

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To address your question about minimum group size; I don't knot know if they have a number, but I went to New Hampshire in Sept of 2022. We had 5 Broncos going through the course. Plenty of individual attention from the trail guide in a group that small.
 

Tuckerjr

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A little off topic, however, because you are locals you are the correct ones to ask. I'm scheduled for my Off-Roadeo on November 22. What should I expect weather-wise?
I am local & scheduled same day. November is hit & miss. It will likely be cool…not Michigan cool. On a good day it might be low 60’s in afternoon. I would expect high 30’s low 40’s to start. Layer up & bring a hat/light gloves.
 

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HPRScott

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CAN’T wait, going in December
 

Area51BS

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Nice write up. I don’t mind the small screen. I really don’t look at much. Or need to touch it much.
 

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trail team Sautee by god Nacoochee will be there December 12!
 

LouBinWNC

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The Abbey definitely has a sweet gig providing the catering for Lunch/Dinner. They do fine without the contract. It certainly provides a boost to the local economy.

With regards to the schedule, it is fluid. I was there on 10/10 and the recovery portion was conducted mid-afternoon mid-trail. I would guess it was a half hour at most.

Now, our guide (Tyson) is new to the Bronco Off-Roadeo. He went over the water crossing hazard/technique portion with just his crew. Then about an hour later our crew met up with another crew the water crossing section was discussed again. Tyson being new just deferred to the senior guide to lead the discussion (again).

I'm hoping something is planned for SCE. Seems like it would be a missed opportunity to not leverage the 1000 acres while the Bronco community is meeting just down the road.
We always hit the Abby when in Townsend... And hopefully they will do something for SuperCell/Stamped given Bay closed. Looking forward to next week.
 

Bugkillah

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The Abbey definitely has a sweet gig providing the catering for Lunch/Dinner. They do fine without the contract. It certainly provides a boost to the local economy.

With regards to the schedule, it is fluid. I was there on 10/10 and the recovery portion was conducted mid-afternoon mid-trail. I would guess it was a half hour at most.

Now, our guide (Tyson) is new to the Bronco Off-Roadeo. He went over the water crossing hazard/technique portion with just his crew. Then about an hour later our crew met up with another crew the water crossing section was discussed again. Tyson being new just deferred to the senior guide to lead the discussion (again).

I'm hoping something is planned for SCE. Seems like it would be a missed opportunity to not leverage the 1000 acres while the Bronco community is meeting just down the road.
We did the Tennessee off roadeo today with Tyson as our guide. We were off roading almost the entire time (except to eat or wait for a group to pass). He had us doing stuff we NEVER thought we’d do. Another group joined our group and they tag team guided us up the rock stream. So worth it!
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