2008 Okeechobee Mud Fest

When we set off on the 500-mile trek to the swampy lands of Okeechobee, Florida, for the 2008 Mud Fest, we really had no idea what the Sunshine State had in store for us. We actually found out about the event through our MySpace page as one of our readers posted a comment about it. I know, that's a dangerous way to make a date, but we did it anyway. Expecting it to be a low-key weekend and, as always, seeking a little gnarly mud action, we headed south to see what Mud Fest was all about. We ended up pulling an all-nighter from Atlanta to Okeechobee, and arrived just in time to experience Southern-style mudding at its finest. In fact, this was probably one of the most shocking weekends that I've ever experienced!

When we arrived at the fest on the morning of day one, I bet there was probably more than 10,000 ATVs scurrying around that square mile of cow pasture. Directly in the middle of the greenery was a calm lakelike marsh that was soon to become the gnarliest slop-filled mud hole any of us had ever laid our eyes upon. We were truly awed by its sheer size. It was dark in color, extremely murky and large enough to swallow several brigades of army tanks without struggle. And speaking of tanks, there were actually a few of those on hand to try their luck in the mud as well. It was Friday, the one day the promoters would allow only quads to ride. Come Saturday, all types of strange mud concoctions and four-wheel-drive vehicles would be unleashed to wreak havoc on the Okeechobee farm. And when I say strange, I really mean strange! Just about anything you could imagine and more were in attendance, such as lifted ATVs, Big Foot-style trucks, strangely fabricated mudders and even a lifted LTD, all with super-large mud tires. Oh, have you ever heard of a swamp buggy? And as the day progressed, more and more people poured into this event like an endless rush hour in a major city. By nightfall, we were looking at an incomprehensible number of mud fanatics there. 40,000 people to be exact, all itching to dive their mud creations into the massive bottomless pit of sand, water and who knows what else. I really never expected this event or mud hole to be so huge. The weekend was certainly kicking off the right way, and we were excited about what day two had in store.

With day two upon us and after five miles of Mud Fest traffic, we couldn't wait to get out and capture all of the mud carnage that was going on all around us. But before we jump too deep into the dark, sandy action, let me tell you about the most shocking portion of my weekend in the deep South.

Mike Newsom and I had just arrived on location early in the morning. We were standing outside of our rental car gathering up the camera equipment that we needed for the day. All of a sudden, a green Kawasaki KFX400 rolls by with a guy and his girlfriend on back. "Hey, that sure looks like your old quad," Mike exclaimed. I know what you're thinking, Who really cares about some green KFX rolling by? After all, there are 40,000 people at this event, why single out one ATV? Well, about four years ago, both Mike and I had our quads stolen from our enclosed trailer. I owned a KFX400 at the time and Mike owned a 1988 Honda 250R, of which we were very proud. Several months later, Mike recovered his now trashed 250R. Needless to say, it was an absolute mystery as to what happened to my KFX.