Day 4,and the last day, of the Oklahoma Adventure Trail the West Half

Day 4, and the last day, of the Oklahoma Adventure Trail the West Half

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.  

Expedition Overland Alaska vs South America which is better?

Expedition Overland Alaska vs South America which is better?

I know the South America episodes are not yet finished but I have already seen a few people complain that the new series is not like the Alaska series.  I've read that some people are upset that there isn't as much "wheeling" and that there isn't as much raw content in the new South America series.  Some have even said that all they are doing is driving around, lol.  Let us first look at the two different series.

Alaska-

The Alaska series was the first time I had see the Expedition Overland guys.  I was immediately blown away by the filming, editing, and the excitement of the Alaska series.  We followed the guys as the decided to explore Alaska.  They didn't really know what they would find and we loved it.  Would the roads/trails even be driveable?  We watched them struggle with the conditions.  The weather, the roads, the fuel, and unknown.  We witnessed them complete the Dalton Highway, and we were there with them as the failed to complete the Mackenzie Trail.  We saw the highs and lows of the Alaska Expedition.  Alaska was raw and in your face.  A place were not many people live the open spaces are so big messing up was life or death.  Most of us had never seen anything like the Alaska Expedition.   

South America-

The South America Expedition is not even finished yet and so far has been full of beautiful scenery.  The XO team showed us what it takes to have vehicles shipped to a different country.  They have had guns pointed at them and they have taken us to the "death road", watching the drop offs made my hands sweat.  They have met new more people on this trip than any other so far.  We have seen their struggles with getting fuel as international travelers.  Each day we see the sights along and just off the Pan American Highway that they have carefully picked and planned.  They are showing us what to expect if we decide to follow their path.  So far we have seen the longest tunnel in the side of a mountain, the deadliest road in the world, the largest salt flat in the world, mummies, and a crazy steep road in a town I have ever seen.  I watched this team give a ride to an elderly couple that didn't speak English.  We are not even near finished watching this series and I am still looking forward to what adventures are ahead on the South America Expedition. 

Comparing the two Expeditions-

Alaska was wild and new.  We were unsure if they could complete everything they set out to accomplish and we watched them come up short.  Alaska was the biggest adventure they had done and we could see how unsure they were at times.  The South America Expedition is different than the Alaska Expedition because we are watching years of experience at work.  This is no longer and group of guys that sit around and decide hey lets go to "fill in the blank" get in some trucks and go.  This is a group where each person has a job, each mission has a plan, and each episode has hours and hours of editing magic into them after they get back.  South America is not wild in the sense of how Alaska is wild.  South America has been explored by many many other overlanders and people have lived there for centuries.  The two are completely different but the goal is the same.  To go explore places you have never been.  I have bought into the XO team and look forward to what they do each time they go out.  I understand that each place they travel will be different and I appreciate that they do not try to make it all see the same.  Each place will not have the same struggles but believe me they do have their own struggles.  We are watching a team grow and become more and more experienced.  Do not let the fact that they are learning and getting better each time make you think any of this is easy.  If it was we would take off and go drive around South America.  Each Expedition is so completely different I'm not sure I can really do a side by side comparison.  I like both for different reasons.  Alaska's raw wildness and South America's complicated beauty. 

To the guys and gals of Expedition Overland keep GOING ALL OVER. 

Expedition Overland Thank You!

Thank you XO! 

I am lucky to get to explore.  I am lucky to live in a country that has so much to offer me as an overlander.  There are so many different types of terrain that I can reach without having to cross borders, which makes it easy.  As explores we all long for a super long distance, country to country, self sustained overlanding trip.  Unfortunately most of us will never get to experience overlanding outside of our own country, heck a large portion might never overland out side their own state.  And I feel there is nothing wrong with that, and I am stoked that people make the most of what they can and get out, because the point is to simply to get out and explore.  This brings me to a huge Thank You to the Expedition Overland team and what they do.

I just finished the 6th episode of the South American Expedition.  Watching the rigs cross a river on boats that I'm not sure I would feel safe on with just a suitcase was fun and exciting.  The tight and steep street roads of Bolivia were crazy and they did it pulling a trailer!  The Death Road made my hands sweat watching the thousand feet drop offs on sketchy roads where the dirt starts to fall out from under your tire, WOW!  Its even more crazy because this is a road use by people just doing everyday life.  It is called Death Road for a reason and seeing some of the crosses along the side of the road reminds you that people lost their lives on this road just doing everyday life.  One of the best moments was watching them take the older couple down that road to their home and that tells me more about the people of Expedition Overland than any adventure they could ever show us, way to go guys. 

The team of Expedition Overland works together so well to get the best shots and tell a great story.  This is more than just entertainment for me they have made me feel like I have been with them since day one.  I cannot image the work that goes into planning these long trips, my 5 day trips sometimes can be overwhelming if I am planning for more that just myself.  This team has so much talent when it comes to the editing and the filming of these episodes it is amazing.  I cannot wait for each episode they put out because they are so consistent with the high quality of each video they produce. 

Again Thank You Expedition Overland for the videos.  Please continue to take us with you as you travel and explore the world.  For those of us that can only dream of doing this we thank you.  You have brought these places closer to us.  You have given all of a kid like excitement to go explore our own backyards and you have maybe even inspired some of us to travel the world and explore. 

If you haven't yet checked them out here is a link to their YouTube page they have taken us to Alaska, Central America, and now South America.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ExpeditionOverland

Expedition Overland Team as always GO ALL OVER! 



**images are not mine from the Expedition Overland website https://www.xoverland.com

Day 3 of the Oklahoma Adventure Trail the West Half

OAT Trip Part 3

We started our day with a hike at the Black Kettle Recreational Area Creek Trail.  We lost the trail not to far into the hike, but that didn't matter we just blazed our own.  The kids loved it and ran head of us.  As we got back to camp we packed up and said our goodbyes to Jack, Maggie, and their grandson.  We would miss them the rest of the trip and they would miss the best parts!

The trail was smooth the first part of the day.  We would drive through some ranches passing over cattle guards.  The ranchers were all nice and gave us big waves as we drove by them.  We made great time and put a ton of miles on this smooth part of the trail. 

As we entered the southwest portion of the state it amazed me how different it was from the northwest.  Even as we crossed over I40 we all could see that this part of the trail was going to be great.  The views were getting even better and the trails curved around hills and canyons.  We even got to hear a local Jeep group that happen to be exploring an area called Buzzard Canyon over the CB.  There was a report of a rolled Jeep, we all held our breath for a minute because Justin and I knew a few people that were out there.  The good news is that no one was hurt and they got the help they needed. 

We came up on an old abandoned school, Plain View School.  We decided to get out and explore the inside.  I was blown away that were still tables and other items left behind.  The textures were awesome to photograph and the gym was by far my favorite.  Part of the roof was missing and the old wood floor was still there, although very rough.  As I walked around the outside with my camera I noticed a building next to the school, I had to go explore.  I had just moved my camera from my eye when a large white owl came flying right at me.  I didn't get the shot and almost peed my pants. 

The dirt started to change colors, darker in places and almost white in others.  The trail also would get narrower and the roads rougher.  We made our way to Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area and no one in the group had ever heard of this area but we all fell in love.  It felt like we jumped into an old wild west movie.  As we entered in the area I couldn't help but think what it must have been like to be an Indian living in this area or a cowboy riding his horse all alone.  There are some open camping areas in Sandy Sanders and we all agreed we would need to come back and explore this area more someday. We found a private section of the trail that was posted but it also said as long as you don't stop you can pass through.  So far this day has been amazing and we still had more to come.
                                 

We found some more sandy roads that were dusty and narrow.  Mark and Justin had never done a real river crossing before.  This one would not be very difficult but we still got out and checked the situation out.  I showed the guys what to do before you cross water on the trail.  You need to check the depth, even if you have to walk it first.  You need to all be on the same page and have a plan if something goes wrong  The river was a wide but not very deep.  It was awesome that even this crossing, being really easy, brought us all together.  It was good practice because we would need it later.

We came across another old abandoned school, Ron School.  I know nothing about the history and it was completely gutted with the roof removed.  It was in a cattle field and I think it is now used as a wind block for the cattle.  We had to be careful because there was a bull in the field!  I thought the old house across the street was much more interesting and wish I that I could have gotten closer. 
We made our way to Quartz Mountains but not before we grabbed some beer for the camp fire.  As we arrived we were greeted by the mountains, well Oklahoma mountains anyway.  Showers were on the list as well as a good meal.  The girls were happy to go play on the playground and we even had deer walk through our campsite, the girls loved it.  We spent the end of the day around the camp fire drinking some beer telling stories of the day while the girls slept in the back of the Jeep.  It would be the last night of the trip and the best sleep as well. 

The trip was nearing and end.  Tomorrow would be our last day.  It would also be the most exciting day of the entire trip.  Make sure and keep an eye out for Part 4 and read about how I got the my Jeep stuck in the river, yeah way fun.  Thanks for reading my blog and remember GO ALL OVER!

The Oklahoma Adventure Trail-West Half Day Two

OAT Trip Part 2

Let me first start with this, the night before Justin went to take a shower and came back telling us the shower was not working.  He put in 50 cents and nothing.  No big deal, we can be dirty. 
So this is the second full day of the trip.   We stayed at Alabaster Caverns in NW Oklahoma.  The park is nice although the entire park was no open so we were limited on the camping spaces.  That was fine because the reason this State Park was on our list was so we could do the tour of the caverns and maybe see some bats!

The night was cool and windy.  The wind was just strong enough to push my hammock so that it swayed and so I slept like a baby in a rocking crib.  We woke up to a beautiful clear sky.  We got breakfast ready eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee.  After we ate we tore down camp, packed it all away and headed to the office to see about the tour.  The staff was awesome and we got the tickets for the tour.  I also got Molly her bat wings, she loves them!  Before we left I told them about the showers.  They told me the work fine, I had said Justin put in 50 cents and it wouldn't work.  They laughed and told me it was 75 cents, and that it was clearly marked.  If you are wondering I did make fun of him pretty hard and I still make fun of him to this day, that is just what we do.

We all got out tickets and waited in line for the tour.  We were not allowed to bring in cameras so no pictures from inside the cavern, but let me say IT WAS SO COOL!  Did you know that if you are in complete darkness for 2 weeks you will become blind, forever!  We did see bats, way to may to count.  The guide had some awesome information about the history of the caves and what they have been used for over the years.  I highly recommend you bring your family and take the tour. 
For the second day in a row my battery was dead, a jump later and we were back on the road, dirt roads!  The roads that morning where fairly smooth but the view more than made up for that.  We drove for awhile and I decided that the battery had to be changed.  So off to the closest Wal-Mart for a quick fix.  It wouldn't be a real overland trip with out some type of repair, right?  We got the new battery and head off back on the dirt roads of the OAT. 

This area had been under wild fires for a few weeks.  We almost had to postpone the trip, but the firefighters were doing a great job so we felt it was safe to go.  As we traveled south we did come across a small fire.  We came up on a firetruck making a u-turn and asked a few guys if it was safe.  They said stay straight and you are clear.  It made me think of the loss of land, homes, livestock, and a couple of people had even lost their lives for all the fires in the area.  The firetruck turned to the East and we stayed heading south and told the men at the corner to be safe.  With the fire behind us we found an incredible view and decided to stop take some pics and stretch our our legs.  We needed to get out and get some fresh air after all of the excitement from the fire. 

The next section of trip was some of my favorite so far.  We had to remind ourselves that we were still in Oklahoma.  The trail unlike anything I have seen before in Oklahoma.  We were able to get more great pics and videos.  We turn we made was even better that the last.  Each path was deep with walls on each side craved from years of use.  I was happy to be in a group of 4x4 vehicles with aggressive tires.  It was sandy and slippery, I can't image what these roads are like after a rain.  At one point I kicked DJ out with the video camera to record all of us going down a part of the trail, a long part of the trail.  The last vehcile radioed if he needed to pick him up, I told him no but he did anyway.  We stopped and DJ got back in my Jeep, I glad he thought it was as funny as I did.
We did get our first pucker experience of the trail.  It was on a steep narrow section and the sand did not make me feel any better.  We picked a line stayed on it and made it out just fine, no issues at all.  Again I'm glad it was dry because add just a little bit of rain and we would have a different story from this part of the trail. 

I got us lost.  I blame the girls they were just having too much fun laughing and being funny.  We all stopped regrouped and found out where I went the wrong way.  It wasn't long before we were back on the road and headed to camp.  We would stay at Black Kettle Recreational camp area.  It was a small campsite with only a couple of other people.  So we had a big area to ourselves.  We had mac and cheese with hot dogs for dinner. 

We were able to make a camp fire since we were far away from the wild fire area.  We talked for hours until we finally settled in for the night.  The next day would be one of my favorite days ever out exploring in the Jeep.  Keep an eye out for Part 3 and see what we find, I got so scared I almost peed my pants.  GO ALL OVER, in a clean pair of pants of course. 

The Oklahoma Adventure Trail-West Half Day One

Oklahoma Adventure Trail-The West Half

The Oklahoma Adventure Trail was created by The Adventure Riders in 2012.  The Adventure Riders had an idea of a long adventure motorcycle trail that would connect must see places and loop around the entire state of Oklahoma.  Being in Okie I felt I needed to do this trail.  There are a couple of different places to find information about the trail.  Some of the sites I found had somewhat updated information about the trail.  So I started planning and started to gather a team.

Mark

Mark my uncle and a big reason I love 4x4 vehicles was the first person I contacted about the trip.   He is a mister fix and worked may years as a mechanic.  He has also taken several nursing classes which made him a very valuable member of our team. 

DJ

DJ a friend from church that has years of backpacking experience and serves in the National Guard.  He would be my lean on man for navigation and rode next to me in my vehicle.

Justin

Justin is a Jeep friend and he came with the most capable vehicle for the trip.  A Jeep Rubicon on 35in tires, tons of recovery gear, and a willingness to do anything for the team.

Jack

Maggie

Jack was interested in coming with us on the trip.  I think he had the most experience of all of us.  He and his wife Maggie have both spend several years as adventure motorcyclist as well as going on Jeep adventures.  His knowledge of camping gear is second to none. 

We also had three kiddos with us, Jack and Maggie's grandson, DJ's daughter, and my daughter Molly that comes with me on most of my overland and camping adventures.  It was great having kids with us, it just helped keep everything fun. 

The Kids

We all met at my house a few weeks before we left.  We talked about what each person's expectations were and what we wanted to gain from the trip.  We talked about food, camping, and the trail it's self.  A lot of the time was spend talking about our vehicles, experience, and what items we each needed to bring.  We all agreed on where and when to meet.  The time was set the place was marked and we were ready.  The trip was going to start spring break 2017.

It was a Wednesday evening when we met at Lake McMurtry in north central Oklahoma.  From here we would drive counter clock wise to the west.  I arrived just before sunset.  Jack, Maggie, and Justin where already there and had their camps all set.  DJ and I worked at getting our hammocks setup.  We both had our daughters hammocks right above ours so that nothing could get to them without us knowing.  They just liked being up higher than us in their hammocks.  We sat around telling stories of past adventures and sharing our excitement about this new adventure we were starting. 

That first night was cold.  The wind blew off the lake which didn't the fact I couldn't sleep anyway anticipating starting the drive in the morning.  I did manage a couple of hours of sleep, Molly slept all night and stayed warm.   When we all woke up we made breakfast and broke down camp.  Mark arrived, and the last piece of the puzzle was here and we were ready to start.  Packed and ready to go we all got in our vehicles and started them up, well everyone but me.  Seems the girls game of opening and closing the doors all night, with a few times the just kept them open drained the battery in the Liberty.  No problem we just give it a quick jump and be on our way. 

Me freezing the first night

We met dirt roads right at the start.  A lot of the roads we traveled on where not well maintained, just the way we like them.  It was in the first hour that we had our first very small water crossing.  Not very far from there we found and old building.  We guessed that it was well over 100 years old.  The roof was gone and it was falling apart, and another photo opportunity.  Shortly after that we came across a couple of camels, yes a camels on the side of the road.  Of course we had to stop and take a few pictures.The trip was in its first two hours and already it was a blast. 

We travel on more dirt roads some smooth some not so much.  We traveled along a creek and was stopped by a bridge that was out.  We back tracked and found another way around.  A big part of trips like this is the ablilty to adapt to changes.  This is more of a mental thing then anything else.  Not getting worked up over lost time backtracking is key.  We decided to stop and eat lunch at a diner in Pond Creek, Pepperment Pad this was a cool little burger place.  They had tons of history on the walls.  We wanted to eat together in a restruant early on the trip simply so we could talk and not worry about making lunch.  It was a great place to laugh and get closer as a team. 

After lunch we head out to the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge.  We would start on the east side of the Great Salt Lake.  We stopped a couple of times and watched several different species of ducks gather in the ponds around the lake.  We would travel around the  northwest corner of the lake and head to the Great Salt Plains.  I had heard about being able to dig for crystals on the Salt Plains.  As we approached the area where you could drive on the Salt Plains we found that it was closed and would open in a week.  The kids were almost as upset as us adults.  I did see that the parking lot which was dirt had a lot of sparkles in the sun.  So we told the kids to start looking for crystals.  They did find several small ones. 

As we left the Salt Plains we ended up on the longest paved road we would drive the entire trip.  So we put the petals down and headed to Alabaster Caverns State Park.  It took us a while to find and campsite.  We did not get one we liked but we got one that worked.  Most of the park was closed due to it not being the high traffic season.  We all cooked our meals and sat again telling stories, but this time we started talking about the events of the day.  We stayed here because we wanted to tour the caverns and hoped to see some bats! 

Our first full day was over.  The next day we would need to do a quick repair, we would get lost, and we would be amazed how different our home state would be mile after mile. 

Come back and see what happens on day two of the Oklahoma Adventure Trail-West Half, and remember to GO ALL OVER.