| While driving up Rt. 8 and looking to the sky, all we
could think about was whether or not we would be able to have this run
today. Like flash bulbs from a camera, the streaks of lightning light up
the dimly lit horizon. With the rain still falling we pulled in to the
parking lot of Eat'n Park and started to air down. Now that we were all
good and soaked, it was time for the drivers meeting. The thought was that
if the lighting would continue, we would ditch the idea of being in the
woods (Under the power lines no less) and head for home. Well as luck
would have it, the trail gods decided to smile upon us once again! The
skies cleared, and we had a great time making our way through the hills of
Franklin. We had no breaks and only one minor incident with John Ingrahm
taking out his bumper mounted off road light on a tree stump. Hope that
everyone who attended this ride had a good time! Click on the picture to
make it larger We started off the day with the power line hill climb. Not to many people made the attempt after seeing how difficult it was for Rick (the commander) West. With all the rain, the terrain was very slick not providing much traction. Only a handful gave it a try with the rest taking the bypass to the top. Making our way through the woods, the mud holes were plentiful all around! This was the first of many that we all drudged through. We next moved on to a really cool off camber section that really allowed the Jeep to "Flex" out their muscles. It was here that Dave Byers put his wife Kelly behind the wheel. Kelly had never driven their Cherokee off road before. Great Job Kelly! The look on Dave's face was priceless
after Kelly's first off road experience! On to the second round of mud holes! Midway through the afternoon we reached the "Mud Bowl" For those that just did not feel like they had enough fun in the swampy, nasty brown muck, this was just like heaven for them. Matt (The heavy right foot) Thompson proved once again that with the right amount of go go juice, you can change the color of any Jeep into a beautiful shade of brown!
From the mud bowl to the dust bowl! Wrapping up the day in the playground area. The only break of the day!
The entire gang at the end of a great day!
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