Four Wheeling

Theres various degrees of off road four wheeling. My idea of four wheeling is a rough country road with a little mud on it. Some people think it’s crawling over the biggest boulders you can find at a crawl very nearly putting the vehicle over on its side while about to roll off the side of a mountain. Here’s one bad experience I had in New Mexico.

Four Wheeling

.

The first year I joined the deer lease hunting club in the Mesa Country not too far from Clayton, New Mexico on Bud Layton’s 20,000 acre Ranch, the group of hunters planned a summer work day at the cabin on top of the Mesa to get the place ready for the upcoming deer season. My wife Pam and her mother and Dad made the trip with us as they were close friends with the Layton’s.

.The Mesa Country was beautiful and the deer were plentiful in the area.

.

Buffalo Bob was into four wheeling with his Chevy Blazer and he told us he knew a short cut to the top of the Mesa that would save us about 10 miles over the back way. Pam and I said Ok we’ll ride up with you and we took off toward the Mesa. We came to the bottom of the Mesa and there was this small dirt road covered with 18 inch boulders and large rock formations that went straight up the face of the Mesa at a very steep angle. I said “Buffalo you’re not going up that road are you” and he said “yes I am”. So he stopped at the bottom and slipped his Blazer into the lowest gear he had and locked it in four wheel drive. I was about to crap my pants as that truck rolled over those boulders leaning way over one way and then the other. We came to a couple of places the road was all but washed out and I thought we were going over on our side a couple of times. We kept having those close calls all the way up the Mesa and old Buffalo Bob just kept on a grinnin’ all the way up.

Buffalo Bob’s four wheel drive ride made my hair turn a little gray and my pants turn a little brown back in 1973.

.

We finally made it to the top very thankful we were alive and went to the cabin. We repaired and painted up the cabin with the rest of the crew. Some of the guys brought some antelope and elk meat and cooked it in a Dutch Oven iron skillet buried in a bed of coals. The food was excellent with cold beer. We refused to ride back down the “short cut” with Buffalo on the way back down to the ranch so he went down by himself. So if you’re ever out with old Buffalo Bob and he asks to go four wheeling, don’t tell him no, tell him”Hell No”.

The Dutch oven cooked antelope and elk meat was great with a few cold beers..

.

Thanks for reading Four Wheeling,
Bill