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Rasa and LeeWhay met and became friends more than a decade ago and have been traveling and overlanding together (along with their significant others) ever since. Their rookie Rebelle Rally, in 2021, was the first time they had ever partnered in the same vehicle together. The rally deepened their friendship and their trust in one another, brought them loads of laughter and fun, and at the finish line, they keep saying, “Yes! Let’s do this again!” 2024 marks their fourth consecutive year of competition together at the Rebelle Rally.
PHXTaco is the Honey Badgers’ trusty steed: a 2004 First Gen Toyota Tacoma, clocking in at 330,000 miles on the odometer this year! This truck has been built for and exercised almost weekly on desert and mountain adventures, and is constant maintenance and refinement mode in its Phoenix, Arizona home garage.
The Honey Badgers are self-designating as a 5020 team this year. Rasa and LeeWhay turned 50, and PHXTaco turned 20!
Rasa has been driving and co-driving PHXTaco all over the desert southwest for 20 years, mostly while looking for historic airplane crash sites, but also exploring old mine sites, watering holes, cool rocks, and epic campsites. She knows where all 4 tires are planted, exactly what her truck can and can’t do, and how to push the envelope safely and with true mechanical sympathy. Rasa has been wrenching on and maintaining this truck alongside her husband since it was brand new, so she knows what’s going on under the hood. By day, she’s a leader at Honeywell Aerospace, but on the weekends, it’s adventure time!
LeeWhay is an experienced world traveler, physical therapist, and homesteader. She is an expert at reading maps and navigating best routes through unfamiliar territory. She is equally comfortable with map/plotter/compass as she is with GPS for route and checkpoint finding. LeeWhay is an excellent off-road driver herself, and an invaluable asset to Rasa when spotting and marshalling are needed in the toughest terrain. She’s bossy in the best possible way when things go sideways, as they sometimes do. Her recovery planning and execution skills are second to none, and always result in forward movement.
Jiffy Lube of Sacramento, NEMO Equipment, Total Chaos Fabrication, Toyota Vintage Trucks
I’m grounded and decisive, an excellent listener and distiller of information. You can count on me always using my skills for good, not evil. I have been managing aerospace programs and engineers since before I can remember, and I round out my days and weekends with truck rebuilding, adventuring, gardening, cooking, rescuing kitties, and reading good books.
Director at Honeywell Aerospace
Phoenix, Arizona
Everything is figure-out-able.
My first language was Lithuanian, though I’ve lost most of it and now only retain the ability to swear in Lithuanian.
Again, again!! I’m addicted to this challenge, and can’t get enough of shining brightly alongside the most badass and amazing women I know!
Mentors, coaches, and team-builders. People who selflessly give their time to build people into the best versions of themselves. I am fortunate to have known a few, and I strive to be that for people around me, too.
Marketplace by American Public Media
All of Naomi Novik’s books
Hail Mary by Andy Weir
It started as a Sunday drive. A fun little winter day trip to Arizona's Verde River the hard way. Just a few flurries expected. On that chilly late afternoon, on the steep side of a canyon, 25 difficult miles from pavement and people, at a not-very-bumpy spot, our Tacoma's spindle knuckle catastrophically broke (you know, the thing that holds the wheel on). We phoned a friend (thank goodness for cell signal there) and with a 3 hour ETA for rescue, had time and tools to disassemble and assess for the repair. We had all the right gear with us for what ended up being an icy and dark hike out to our rescuer (whose truck couldn't quite make it all the way in to us). And after finding the right parts, we returned 2 days later in #sparetaco to shovel new snow and field-repair the truck on the shelf road. If we hadn’t gone that day, we might not have gotten her out until spring. We raced to install the new spindle and then get out before the incoming storm dumped its 40 inches of snow on the Verde rim. We did 27-point turns on that shelf road and winched #sparetaco up over an icy boulder shelf in the dark as the snow started to fall. THAT was the adventure of a lifetime! It's also why our spindles and knuckles now have Total Chaos gussets welded in place! And why #sparetaco now has a rear elocker. Lessons firmly learned! Turns out it was a long-growing stress crack from our years of fun driving that just chose this fun location to finally give way.
2021, 2022, 2023
Physical therapist / homesteader
Grafton, NH
"Solvitur ambulando" is a Latin phrase which means, "it is solved by walking" and is used to refer to a problem which is solved by a practical experiment. It is often attributed to Saint Augustine.
A year later, I have 22 chickens, three of which are roosters. Chicken Math is real!
The Rebelle is a unique competition that combines challenge, teamwork, beautiful scenery, amazing people, and camaraderie. It's addictive and I'm hooked. Why now? We only live once!
Older couples in their 80's and 90's who look at each other with fondness and love after so many years. People who grow, raise, and preserve their own food.
Being Mortal
Blink
The Notebook
It's really hard to choose just one. Summiting Kilimanjaro in 2010 Hiking from the West coast of England to the East coast in 2015 Driving across the Simpson desert and the Canning Stock Route in our 80's series Land Cruiser and Adventure Trailer Chaser in 2015 Being stuck in Morocco in our van for 6 months at the beginning of the Pandemic in 2020
2021, 2022, 2023