Just imagine if 12,000 ATV enthusiasts were to gather in one location with similar plans of negotiating endless acres of low-lying swampland, sucking the flavorful spicy juices from five-pound buckets of simmering hot crawfish, putting back a few cold ones in front of the campfire as the sun begins to dip and shedding the difficulties of everyday life for just a few days. Excuse my lack of mathematical skills, but that would add up to approximately 48,000 ATV tires clawing for traction, 60,000 pounds of succulent crawfish devoured, over 110,000 cold beverages consumed and the secrets to achieving world peace would finally be revealed. All right, aside from the unachievable statement about world peace and maybe even my fuzzy math, such an event of this size and magnitude really does exist.
Each year thousands of ATV enthusiasts congregate at the world's mud Mecca, Mud Creek ATV Park in Jacksonville, Texas, for a monumental gathering unmistakable for any other. "We had over 11,000 participants come through the front gate for our 2010 event," High Lifter Events Coordinator Tracie Engi says. That's pretty amazing considering the shape our economy is in. From the depths of the park come sounds of large-bore utility ATVs running snorkeled intake and exhaust systems, the smell of Double Dave's incredible pizza filling the air, and the endless sight of muddy quads lined up at the pressure washer. When all of these things can be experienced in one location all at the same time, you know you're at the High Lifter Mud Nationals.
Since ATVR Editor Thad Josey and I cover such a variety of events all over the U.S., we generally live out of rental cars and cheap hotels, but not for the Nats! We just could not properly capture its unique culture and overall vibe by running back to hotels when darkness falls upon the park. Matt Pate and his teammates from I-45 Racing somehow found it within themselves to put up with our shenanigans this year by supplying a place to crash, to charge our excessive amount of camera equipment and even (likely regrettably) to allow us to partake in their grub. For that, we thank you guys in a huge way, Team I-45. From the organized events that last over three days to the after-hours partying we would attempt to capture and the overabundance of happenings in between, our plan was to experience it all the best we know how.
Upon rolling into the park late Wednesday night, we were greeted by the headlights of hundreds (make that thousands) of ATVs scurrying around in the dark. Hearing that a nasty storm was headed our way, a quick Texican dinner was downed and we began scrambling to get unpacked before it hit. As my head hit the pillow, the monsoon unleashed its fury. It sounded like BBs were falling from the sky and peppering the roof of the RV thanks to the tremendous amounts of hail. The storm front rolled in with high winds and heavy rains which began swaying the RVs. It was hard not to notice the loud booms from the thunder that made you wonder if someone had made the ATV gods angry. Maybe they were just making mud-who knows.
Waking up Thursday, I could see that the storm had passed but still left cloudy skies and breezy conditions to my dismay. It's not that I couldn't enjoy the day, but it just wasn't the weather I was expecting. Nonetheless I was going to make the best of it as we cruised over to the Yamaha Outdoors trailer to pick up our Rhino 700 FI that Yamaha had graciously allowed us to borrow for the event. As I walked up to the trailer, ATVs and UTVs were feverishly being wrenched on since a local dealer teamed up with Yamaha to offer free repair service and affordable parts on-site. This was obviously a hit as people would leave their damaged rides, grab some food and come back ready to hit the trails again.