| This is Dustball Rally... |
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| Written by Andrew | |
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The Dustball Rally originally began as a way for friends to tour the scenic roads of the Southwest while following traditional rally instructions. The first official event was a novice-level TSD (Time, Speed, Distance) rally that hosted 54 teams. Unfortunately only nine teams actually followed the instructions correctly while the rest simply had fun driving the route at their own pace making several stops. 2007 Dustball Teams in launch formation  The teams' confusion of exactly what TSD was lead to our elimination of it, and instead incorporated an easy to follow gimmick rally, which is essentially a scavenger hunt. This new format covers over 1000 miles in several days, requiring multiple stops for teams to solve clues, or locate gimmicks, to successfully answer test questions or learn directions. The gimmicks would start off easy, and progressively become very difficult by day two. Being the largest multistate gimmick rally in the Nation, we pride ourselves in calling it the most hardcore scavenger hunt you can join. Black Range section from the 2006 Dustball Rally 500  The roads traveled are mostly 2-lane split highways, all paved. No unfinished roads are a part of any route in our events. The roundtrip distance is always near or slightly over the advertised miles, and is covered in several days time, depending on the structure. Routes are along open public highways, and some of the most scenic ones that the Southwest has to offer. The goal of our event is to bring out the spirit of the open road in the participating teams. Team Blowindough - 2006 Dustball Rally 500  The overnight destinations and the routes are always both confidential information. In other words, you have no idea where your journey will take you, nor what route you will take to get there. This year's pause will have plenty of tourist-y shops, and play host to an organized celebration so Dustballers have a chance to explore the social side of other teams. You will never meet people like some of the ones you will meet during this event. Every Dustball Rally is documented by photo and video crews every step of the way. After the event is over and the awards are given, a documentary release and slideshow is eventually produced. Private screenings and copies are sold to participants before public screenings are held. Copies of photos are also available to be sold later as well. Our media crews are of the finest that El Paso and Las Cruces has to offer, producing the best in photo and video in the Southwest.  |
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