Mud, Mud & More Mud!

It's officially spring! I know this not because of the green grass, budding trees, or blooming flowers, but because of the emergence of one particular muddy Jeep. John made his first off-roading trip of the season to Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, IN, about an hour south of here. His friend Brian Mola accompanied him, but if you're wondering how he got talked into that, you'll have to ask him! They went with some others from a club we belong to called Northwest Indiana Jeepers. Julia and I decided we'd let Daddy have a fun "guys only" day, and not tag along this time. Boy were we glad we made that decision. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Jeep in the driveway, or saw them for that matter!

They started out innocently enough, climbing some rocks and posing for pictures.

But it wasn't long before they found the mud. This wasn't the particular spot that did them in, but a good photo, nonetheless.

Here is shot after the damage was done. I was told that "it didn't look that deep" (famous last words). Had they been driving with the doors on, they would have been fine. But... what fun would that be? They said that as the Jeep plowed through the mud puddle, it created this wave of mud that came around and in both sides. Note the mud level in key places like the gear shift console, or the fender flares. Keep in mind that the Jeep also has a lift kit and big tires.

Beautiful Mola! Congratulations on your blog debut. Well, your butt's debut at least! At least John was kind enough to warn you to wear old clothes!

The problem with this particular mud was it's authenticity. I must admit that sometimes we take awesome pictures and make the Jeep look impressively muddy when it's really nothing more than dirty water. But this was the real deal. According to John it was "pick-it-up-and-throw-it" mud! For this reason, they had to "bail out" by scooping one tiny cupful of mud at a time.

That's one ginormous puddle!

The best thing about Jeeping is that the fun isn't over when your day of mudding is through. The next day, you get to spend an equal or even greater about of time cleaning up your mess than it took to make the mess the day before. Much of the damage was beyond fixing this time. We said good-bye to the carpet above, which no amount of pressure washing could restore. I say good riddance. Notice his extra pair of shoes, and in front them, in an unrecognizable muddy heap, his favorite hat. When he held it up to show me, and told me what it was, I died laughing. But would you believe, it cleaned up in the wash and looks better than it ever has! High quality Army gear! His radio also stopped working after this trip. He ordered a new one today, a waterproof boat radio, good thinking Mehok!

The last casualty he's discovered so far is his alternator. It's still under warranty, though, so that's a blessing.

No, those aren't freckles. After a long day of power washing, he was again covered in mud. Only little speckles this time, though!

But after all is said and done, when you ask the man if he has any regrets, he would tell you he'd gladly do it all again tomorrow! Boys!

P.S. The aforementioned Brian Mola has since asked for his girl's hand in marriage. Yay Christie! Great job on the ring selection dude, and the pirate proposal! Congratulations to both of you!