The solid axle machines have trouble reaching down deep into the ruts left by the independently suspended bikes. A paddle like this one digs into the high spot in the ruts and provides some forward motion.
"Rabbit Creek is our home away from home when it comes to parks," Morris says. "This is our favorite of all. It's got the best facilities, good driving and good mud."
The deeper and nastier the hole, the better, as far as the Mafia is concerned. They seal up the machines' engines and electrics tight enough that they can run with only the snorkel sticking out of the mire.
In order to navigate deep waters, the riders have to know the territory and take it slow.
"If it rains real good, there are places where you can see nothing but water. There is no bypass. A lot of times, it's either do or die," Tim Forrest says.
"It's all you can do to survive," Morris adds.
"You just better know how to judge your distance," McCord says. "I know if I go this far off, I'm going to make it. If I go a little further off, I'll be seeing my four-wheeler towed back to the parking lot."
"You see, the way we ride, we call it the slow roll," Ryan Forrest says. "You gotta let the tires grab."
After the mudding is done, the crew heads back to their unofficial clubhouse.
"When we get through riding, we go to Club Red and have a hoedown," Morris says.
Club Red?
"It's my basement," Morris says with a laugh.
| Place visited: | Rabbit Creek Riding Park (www.baddrabbit.com) in Kilgore, Texas |
| Club: | Mud Mafia (www.myspace.com/mudmafia04); Frank "the Godfather" Morris, 903/856-7849, frmorris66@hughes.net |
| Riding season: | Year-round |
| Maps recommended: | Available at Rabbit Park office |
| Area information: | East Texas Tourism Guide, www.easttexasguide.com |
| Permits/licenses required: | Pay $10 per machine and $10 per person to get in the park and ride |
| Critters: | Deer, turkey |
| While you are there: | Boating, fishing, deer hunting,oil well drilling |
| Road-trip CD: | The Reverend Horton Heat's "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" |
| Best local beer: | Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug |
| Digs: | Camping available at Rabbit Creek Riding Park, free with admission; chain hotels available in Kilgore |
| Good eats: | Peddler's Pizza or El Sombrero in Kilgore |
| Useful links: | Google Earth has satellite images of Rabbit Creek;Texas Redneck Games, www.redneckoffroadparty.com |
The Mud Mafia at Rabbit Creek riding area. | 
The machinery favored by the Mud Mafia tops out at about 20 inches of ground clearance. Any more than that, members say, and the quads are too tough to handle on the solid parts of the trail. | 
Eric Williams and Johnene McLarry after the ride. When asked what she rides, McLarry says, "I sit on the back and work his paddle." She was just having fun with that line-she and her pink boots pilot a big-tired Rincon. |
Frank "the Godfather" Morris is the manager of corporate transportation for Pilgrim's Pride Corp., and one of the founding members of the Mud Mafia, a club that features members from all walks of life. "We got nurses, mechanics, accountants and managers," he says. "We're all equal out on the trail." | 
Todd Prather using some heavy body English to wrestle his Foreman through one of Rabbit Creek's water holes. "If you just give it hell, you're going to bust axles, you're going to break," Jeremy Rouser says. | |