This would be the last day of our adventure on the West Half of the Oklahoma Adventure Trail. We were not in a big hurry so we explored our camping area with a hike over to the dam. Quartz Mountain is great place for families, they have things for everyone. There is so much to do here for every age, this place is fun. As we packed everything way we decided to drive around the park area for a while. Quartz Mountain is also used for teaching. They have schools come from all over to take part in classes ranging from painting to yearbook. This place is truly magical, there is even a bat cave.
After we left the park it didn't take us long to get back on dirt roads. These roads lead us to some single track trails. We found some down trees on the trail, remember it is be to remove the trees rather than drive around them. Driving around fallen trees and make a "trail" around them is not ideal, we want to make as little impact as we can off the normal trail.
It might have been a couple hundred yards from the downed tree we when found our biggest water crossing on the trail. We talked long and hard before we even sent DJ out to check the depth. To be honest the depth wasn't bugging me as much as the sanding angles on each bank. They were soft and steep. We decided we would give it a try if Justin would go first. He had the most capable vehicle and well built Jeep JK. His 35in tires and lockers should make this an easy crossing for him. He also has a winch and we knew if there was going to be trouble it would be trying to get up the other side.
Justin crossed the with ease, after he took a better line the second attempt to climb out of the river. It would now be my turn.
My Liberty has 31in BFG All-Terrains, I had just replaced my Duratrac MTs, and no lockers. I slid down into the river and the crossing was simple the ground was hard, well until I reached the far bank. I could feel the river bed soften as my front tires hit the bank. I tried to back up and get a better bump and angle on the steep bank, but was too soft and I was stuck. The wheelbase was just too short to get back to the hard river bed. It was a good thing we had planned before attempting this crossing. Having Justin go first was awesome. He winched me up with no issues.
Mark's long wheel base, 33 in MTs, and powerful V8 made short work of the crossing. We found out it was the deepest crossing Mark and Justin had done and the first time Justin had used his winch. We celebrated once Mark got out, it was a great moment for the group. After catching our breathe we got back on the dirt roads. Mark calls out "Wait" I think I'm suck. I was trying to figure out how, we had only passed a 20ft long small mud puddle, yep it got him. But a quick switch into 4 wheel drive and he was out on his own. We laughed so hard that a small mud puddle got him after he had no issue with the river crossing.
The rest of the day was easy. Smooth dirt roads awaited us. We drove for most of the morning and around lunch time we decided to head back home. A couple of the guys had to get back home so we pulled up the map and found the fast way home, with a lunch break of course. This was the first real adventure for All Over Overland and it was a blast. I cannot thank the guys, and gal, that came and make it special for me. Thank you for coming along. And a big thank you to everyone that read about our first trip as All Over Overland, watched it on our YouTube page. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=all+over+overland, and follows us on FaceBook.
As always GO ALL OVER!
Molly's report of Spring Break to her school. It was very full of adventure for her, horse camp and then camping with deer and bats! LOL Love my sidekick.
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