We’re a couple of best friends determined to get the most out of what’s left of our lives! We might seem like an unlikely duo because of our diverse backgrounds — the owner of a construction supply company that’s out building bridges and roads (@kwonn6) and a former resort president on the Las Vegas Strip (@rwest702), but we share a common core that has forged an unbreakable friendship – we both love adventures and we aren’t afraid to make mistakes and take risks. Showing up to the rally last year with almost no practice under our belt and a vague understanding of navigation felt like getting a sip of water from a firehose! If you only look at the stats, our lack of preparation showed. But for us, we stay true to our core and crushed our goals – “stay friends, have fun and finish.” This year we’re recycling those goals with the expectation of doing it all better! Although it’s hard to pinpoint how Rebelle changed us- maybe it’s simply realizing that life is now and even when we don’t feel ready, our answer is always Heck Yeah!
Just us – Team Heck Yeah
I used to be a hard-charging CEO on the Las Vegas Strip, living by schedules, budgets, and bottom lines. These days, my favorite title is Nana—and my calendar is filled with laughter, adventures, and lingering with the people I love most. Give me a “loose” plan, and I’m all in—because that’s when the magic happens and absolutely EVERYTHING becomes possible!
Retired Sr Executive, MGM Resorts and that means freedom
Las Vegas, NV
"The Purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." — Eleanor Roosevelt
I spent a night tending bar and pulling pints in one of the oldest pubs in Dublin, Ireland.
I'm just grateful I can have an opportunity to take another swing at this - we plan to take more showers, stay healthy and finish better!
I'm inspired by people who have successfully reinvented themselves throughout their lives to remain relevant. For example, after a childhood spent in poverty, Louis Hay started her career as a model, however, decades later, in her 60s she founded Hayhouse publishing and ran it until her death 30 years later. What a pivot!
I've walked the 500 mile long Camino de Santiago twice. I trekked alone in 2016 and then again in 2019 with my grandson. Both Camino journeys were life changing!
2022, 2023, 2024
Each year we've had the same 3 goals: Have fun, stay friends, finish!
Karen and I both race MX5 Global cup cars. We also are both on an endurance race team, racing a vintage Miata. That's how I met Karen and if not for racing, we never would have connected to do the Rebelle.
I love the sand for a couple of reasons! First, after bouncing around on Rocky dirt roads for days, the smooth ride in the sand feels like heaven! Second, my teammate Karen is at her very best in the dunes and I always feel confident she can go in any direction I point!
Yes, I am the navigator and yes, the hardest part for me is still reading those darn maps!
When I was a little girl, my father would take my sister and I to the drag races, and we would plot our escape beneath the bleachers. Today, I love to spend as much time as I possibly can behind the wheel of my very own race car. I was certainly influenced by my father who loved all things racing.
I founded a construction supply company that has been part of just about every road and bridge project in the state of California. I'm married and have 2 beautiful, grown daughters and I'm an eternal optimist! No matter what the challenge, I just know that somehow I can figure out a solution!
Retired business owner. I founded a construction materials company in 2000 and sold it last year. I loved it, but I sure enjoy the freedom of not having to work.
El Dorado Hills, CA
Southern Oregon University, Economics
"Do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do! -" — kwonn
When I was 8 years old, Gene Cernan, Apollo 10 astronaut/pilot of the lunar module and the last person to walk on the moon visited our home in the Oregon sand dunes. I got to drive him around in the sand in our buggy to help him prepare for driving on the moon. He got stuck, I didn't.
We are not promised tomorrow - the older I get, the more I realize I have to be intentional about how I use my time. I now enter a new phase that will be rich with experiences and connections. When you're in the game, Rebelle requires your full attention. It would be easy to wait until there was time for all of the preparation, but we don't have time - life is now.
No! being told "NO" is a huge motivator for me. I have been the only girl, the youngest, the oldest or the only one in most everything I have done. "You can't be on your brother's baseball team", "you are only 6, you can't drive", "you can't compete in the bridge building industry", "you can't compete with young men on the race track"...but I did and I will.
Rebelle Rally 2022! Completely unprepared and sick, we met our goals - stayed friends, had fun and finished! So many people tell us we need to get a "better" truck, and we could, but we love the idea of "doing more with less". "The vehicle in your driveway is more capable than you think", according to Emily Miller. We are testing that concept, so we will just be bouncing along on our little tires, 159HP, roll up windows and AM radio having the time of our lives!
2022, 2023, 2024
My goals and the same as they were our first year: Have Fun, Finish and Stay Friends. so, same but more.
Racing! Renee and I both do wheel to wheel racing in MX5 Global Cup Miatas. Sometimes we are competitors, but we have the most fun when we are teammates in endurance races.
Driving our Toyota Tacoma in the sand dunes is very similar to racing a low powered race car. You have to be smooth and maintain your speed in the corners on a race track because you don't have horsepower to get you back up to speed. In the sand dunes, you get stuck...and nobody likes that.
I love the sand dunes!! it feels like freedom. We get where we need to go in a way that is unique to our vehicle. We don't have much power, so we have to sometimes find an indirect route. Kinda like both our life stories.
Moving on from a check point that we can't find. I can easily go down a rabbit hole and lose track of time, but luckily Renee is a really good team manager and keeps us moving forward.
It has reminded me that saying yes to new things, even when you are very unprepared, opens up experiences and relationships that can be amazing. Keep doing hard things, ladies!
My first car was a 1964 VW bug that I converted into a Baja Bug so I could drive it in the sand dunes near my house in Coos Bay, OR. Awesome sand dunes! I did most of the work myself, so I learned a lot...the hard way.
