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| Photo: S.Schaefer |
Many thanks to S.Schaefer for the following write-up and photos of his participation in the
2017 Il Giro de Phoenix held on Saturday 28 January 2017.
The 2017 Il Giro di
Phoenix scavenger hunt/car rally saw a great turnout with around two
dozen participants in about half as many vehicles. The Giro was
organized by the Phoenix Sister Cities, Catania Committee. For those
unfamiliar with the organization, Phoenix Sister Cities is a
non-profit cultural exchange program partnering with cities across
the globe to organize unique cultural and artistic events. Special
thanks go out to Wendy Rozov with Phoenix Sister Cities and Enrico
Sini with the Catania, Italy committee for this event.
The rally was a points-based
competition to complete 30 tasks. The rally began at 9:30 AM sharp
with a clue sheet being distributed to participants. The tasks fell
into one of three categories: simple question-and-answer; fetch item,
wherein participants were required to bring an item to the finish;
and snap photos, which required participants to seek out landmarks
and take their photo with them. With a 12:30 PM finish time and 30
challenging clues to solve, the scavenger hunt required intimate
knowledge of central Phoenix and military-precision planning
abilities. A fully-charged smartphone and reliable cell reception
were a must!
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| Photo: S.Schaefer |
As a Phoenix-area
neophyte without a dedicated navigator by my side, I decided the best
course of action was to team up with another driver. Russ and his
black & blue ’80 Fiat Spider were veterans of earlier events,
and such a distinctive car would be hard to lose in the Saturday
morning traffic, so I hitched my hopes with him. The morning was
chilly with temperatures in the high 30’s, but being the stalwarts
we are, we opted to go top-down the entire way. With the sun shining
on one of those crisp, high-resolution AZ winter days, we soon warmed
to the task.
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| Photo: S.Schaefer |
Some drivers opted
to immediately peel out of the parking lot at Park Central in pursuit
of their first objective, while others (such as my team) opted to
carefully study the clues before taking our first steps. Such an
approach proved fruitful as we were able to knock two tasks off the
list before departing the lot! A carefully-planned route saw us hit
five of our objectives in quick succession after getting underway.
The clues became more difficult to fulfill as time ticked on,
however. From time to time, either Russ or myself would dive off the
main roads in pursuit of targets of opportunity, requiring “creative”
traffic maneuvers to regroup.
The final and most important clue required us to seek out a north-central Phoenix coffee
shop to ask the barista for a clue to our final destination.
Unfortunately, this 30th clue proved too tough for our
team to crack, and we were unable to identify the coffee shop! This
would have left us in the lurch were it not for the previous
experience of Russ, who (correctly) wagered the rally would end at
the Italian-American club of Phoenix.
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| Photo: S.Schaefer |
Upon arriving at the club around 12:40 PM we were relieved to see the other drivers
gathering. We presented our clue sheets to tally the points, then
headed inside for a meal of Italian salad, spaghetti, and meatballs
(the best I’ve ever had, full stop!). Despite our best efforts, my
team came up short in the final awards to two teams who succeeded in
completing nearly all the tasks, a truly Herculean achievement. An
extensive raffle drawing followed with a wide variety of prizes
provided by local businesses on offer. As proof positive that buying
more tickets increases your chances of winning, the majority of the
prizes went to just three participants.
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| Photo: S.Schaefer |
The 2017 Il Giro di Phoenix lived up to the billing as a whirlwind tour through Phoenix
with great company. This was a fantastic “driver’s event” that
emphasized the scavenger hunt experience and a sense of community
over the actual cars themselves. The Giro was a challenging exercise
in problem-solving and navigation, but I highly recommend it to any
interested drivers in the Phoenix area, or to anyone willing to make
the trip up to Phoenix.
To view the rest of the photo album of the event, select >
here.<
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