The Austin Clan settled into our corner of the Hogan’s campgrounds bright and early on Friday morning.  Well, I guess you could say bright, but the visibility was down to under 100 yards due to the fog as we hit town.  We leveled out the Toters and made the decision to head into town to one of the local restaurants for a good hot breakfast and give the fog a chance to clear.  Soon, with our bellies full, we went back and unloaded the Jeeps.  Upon arriving back at camp Mike and Paulette Mobley ( Judy’s brother and sister in law) had dug their way through the fog and landed.  We all jumped in and got camp set.

We set out and made the rounds and gave Matt and Jenny a chance to see how the Thunder Mare Crawler was going to do.  (named by my grand daughter Riley, Matt’s daughter).  We found that the fuel pump was short lived and so repairs had to be made.

After escorting the Thunder Mare back to camp and replacing the fuel pump, she was back among the living.  We had a real nice evening as we completed our rounds and settled in to watch the campgrounds continue to fill.

We arose the next morning to a full campground and cold, rainy conditions for the Saturday run.  The driver’s meeting was held, which we missed because of miscommunications, but retrieved the information later from the one of the hosts.  We had 11 Jeeps and a pair of 4 wheelers in attendance at our camp and some 250 registered drivers for the drawing.  There was well in access of 500 total rigs at the event.    
 
THE WEATHER:  Friday we had a nice sunny day after the fog had cleared.  Temperatures was in the high 60s and very pleasant.  Saturday was very cold, damp, windy, and miserable.  Everyone was decked out in their best imitation of the Michelin Man.  Late Saturday the winds died and it remained cool.  Sunday the sun broke out and it was a very pretty day for those that chose to remain and hit the rock once again.
 
THE CROWDS:  There was once again an excellent turn out for the BIG MEAT RUN with hundreds of vehicles and spectators at every obstacle.  There were always plenty of supporters to encourage the drivers to push themselves and their vehicles beyond their limits. 

 
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 THE CARNAGE:  Yes, as always at the BIG MEAT RUN, there was plenty of carnage at the usual places.  Viagra, the Waterfall, Nose Dive, The Rock Garden, and Little Blue. Many came limping back from the trails being towed across the river.  Here are just a couple that we witnessed at the Rock Garden and on Viagra. 

 
And there was some carnage at the Austin Camp,  On Friday first off the get go, Matt and Jenny suffered fuel pump failure in the little TJ.  After a night of repair Matt found the weak link in the front driveshaft and shelled a front yoke while attempting to launch up a rock ledge.  After some creative repairs by Matt and big brother Brad, the TJ lived to play another day. Then on Brad’s first and final attempt for the weekend on the feared Viagra Hill, the carnage monster bit again.  It resulted in Big Blue getting the rest of the weekend off.  Early afternoon on Saturday Brad had waited as long as he could.  With a large crowd gathered in every available spectator position Brad just had to pull to the staging lane and then move into position.  With unfavorable conditions for such a climb Brad knew it would take a massive hole shot to make the climb.  After smoking the tires to get them heated so they would grab he wasted no time in launching the Blue Beast from about 6 feet farther back than normal.  The Beast lifted the front end high into the air and carried the front tires well over the notorious ledge and when the front landed, it did bite.  Sadly it also snapped the main bolt in the 3 link on the front suspension.  This left the top of the Rockwell axle loose and let it flip upside down, spitting the front driveshaft and taking out both front coil over shocks and the front steering cylinder.  Yes, the day was over for the Blue Beast.  After about an hour of jacking and winching the axle was repositioned.  Brad was then able to drive it back to camp using the rear steering.  No disgrace in this effort.  He has no doubt made this climb as many times as anyone if not more.  He did put on a good show and the Beast left no doubt about having the horses needed.  Note that in the picture that it is not the front diff cover of a Dana that you see, but instead it is the custom turtle pan on the bottom of a Rockwell that should be facing down. 

 
Well now Brad can enjoy the rest of the weekend driving the Black Jack TJ around that had been awarded a trip to the event.  We really enjoyed spending time with family, old friends and the many new ones that we met this weekend.  We got acquainted with the guys from KC4x4 from North Carolina, met a group from Popular Bluff, Mo and another crew from St. Louis.  Our good friend Brett Lau made the trip up from Denton, TX with his trailer load of beasts and Mike and Paulette Mobley and son-in-law Kent and crew slid on down from Mt Vernon, MO. with Mike’s newly built YJ and Kent’s stock YJ. 

Yes, the 2008 Big Meat Run was another big success.  Everyone had a great time despite the adverse weather conditions on Saturday.  The event had it all.  The place was littered with the usual Big Meat Rigs all the way down to the daily drivers.  Every type of vehicle that you could imagine was crawling all over the trails and rocks. 
This is for sure that you want to mark this event on your calendar and try to attend sometime.  Be watching for the announcement of the dates for the next year's Big Meat Run.  For your vacation next year ask for it on the ROCKS,  the the rocks of Disney, Ok., that is. Just ask the kids if they want to go to Disney.  Don’t have to tell them which one. 

Now more pics for your viewing pleasure.

 
Until later, God Bless You and Yours
Okie Out
David Austin ---Wheels Up