With a good weather forecast reported for the weekend we headed out early Friday for southeast Oklahoma. We had rooms reserved at the Clayton County Inn. It was a quaint little resort with nice semi rustic rooms and a real nice little cafe in which to dine. With things being real hectic at home lately, we decided to not go the camping route. Being under a burn ban for the entire state of Oklahoma we decided camping would be no fun so we went the kickback route.

As we were low in numbers we decided to throw in with the Oklahoma Trail Chasers club. They have rules for their runs (no alcohol on the trails) and are a really great bunch of guys and gals. My son Brad is also a member of the club. All together there were around 25 rigs. We split up into a moderate group and a hard core group and went to different locations.

The hard core group went to Green Acres on the west side of town to enjoy the big rocks and ledges. The moderate group chose to go to 3 Stage, out south of town. Some of the people on the hard core group included Brad Austin (driving Judy's Jeep) Top Truck Challenge winner in 2004, Phil Bargman Top Truck Competitor 2005 and Jerry Cantrall Top Truck Competitor 2002. Sam Patton of Sam's Off Road and a past TTC winner had wanted to make the trip but was unable to. Of course, Big Yeller and I, my youngest son Andy and his rig, and several other members of the Trail Chasers were also on the mountain with us.

After reaching the top of the mountain Brad experienced fuel problems in the YJ. We sent the rest ahead to the bottom of the hill for lunch as we worked on the YJ. Andy was sent out to see what trail the group would take to the bottom and would then return. Soon after Andy left, the YJ fired up so we set out to catch Andy. We turned back east on the first trail heading down the mountain. After catching the others, Andy and Tracey were not to be found. Brad headed back into town to the local Napa store and Big Yeller and I headed back up the mountain on the other trail, attempting to locate Andy and Tracey. I continued up the mountain side until I reached the point where we had started and they could not be located. I ran into some other wheelers that said they had seen them and given them directions to town. At this point I decided it would be in vain at this point just to roam around the 3000 acres looking for them so we decided to let Andy's sense of direction lead him back to the trucks. I returned to the parking lot and helped myself to lunch. (No need in all of us starving to death). About 45 minutes later I heard the roar of his small block Chevy in the distance. It was just a short time until the big CJ rounded the corner. I then agreed to share lunch with them.

After a short lunch we headed back into the hills and ran some short trails and the washes while we waited for Brad and Judy to return. We really had a great time just playing along the bottom trails for an hour or so.

Upon Brad and Judy's return we headed to Jeff's Ledges which is a very hard core section. After working our rigs up the wash the rest of the group caught up with us and worked their way up the mountain. Upon reaching the summit it was time to call it a day.

We returned to town and were invited to a Chile cook out with the Trail Chasers at Steve's garage. The fellowship and food were great.

Sunday morning we decided to back slide and head for the mountains again. We went to 3 stage. After unlocking the gate and collecting the money for the land owner we were approached by a neighbor. He said that he was supposed to collect the money and we were to enter onto the property across his land and not where we had a key. With the owner being out of town and unable to be reached, that led to a lengthy discussion. We finally convinced him that we had permission to enter and send the money to the land owner. After all, why else did he give us a key?

After enjoying several hours of great wheelin we decided to break off from the group and head home. When we reached the gate it was still locked and one of the guys that had a key had gone into town. After about an hour wait he returned back and released us.

We loaded the rigs and headed toward McAlester, Ok for a good meal on our way home. As I rolled into Krebs, Ok. I found out why they have a BBQ joint named the Speed Trap BBQ. Shortly after passing it I had the opportunity to meet one of Krebs finest law enforcement officers. It turned out they don't want you traveling at 66 mph on their 4 lane highway. I guess that's why they put up their little sign that says 45mph.

Even with my tarnished record I must say that the Tour De Sober went off well. We had a great time wheelin, met some great new people, hung out with some old friends and ran some trails we had never seen before.

Remember to mark your calendar for next year and don't miss out on the fun. We will also be having some other runs throughout the year so keep a watchful eye on the C4x4 calendar for other events. God Bless and come on to Oklahoma for New Years and lets go wheelin. Can you say "Disney" ?