Jeep Jammers go from shiny to muddy in one weekend

Oct. 24—Okie Jeep Jam began Friday with a shiny rainbow of Jeeps lined up for Show 'N' Shine at Depot Green.

It ended Sunday at Hatbox Field with filthy Jeeps getting pulled out of the Mud Pit Challenge.

Julie Wolfe of Claremore brought her Barbie pink "Mud Slut" Jeep to Show 'N' Shine. She said she didn't intend to enter the Jeep in the Mud Pit Challenge.

"I say that, but every year I still take it," she said, adding that she loves the adrenaline of going through the mud.

She said her Jeep was built more for rock crawling.

"I have a place in Disney, Oklahoma," she said. "I have a little 5 x 5 I use for the mud."

A track hoe saw plenty of action Sunday afternoon as it pulled one Jeep after another out of the mud. Harley Tinsley of Park Hill was the first to be rescued.

"It's just part of the fun," he said "I thought we were going to have the momentum to get it through."

He pointed to deep tire ruts at the end of the pit.

"But right there, it gets real deep and it just scotches you up," he said.

Tinsley's passenger, Beth Spicer, kept her face covered with goggles and a stretchy mask. It's something she learned after going to the first Jeep Jam in 2019.

"I realized after year one, getting it in my eyes and my teeth, I had to get smart," she said. "It's absolutely so much fun. Doors on, doors off, it doesn't matter."

Tinsley said he uses a power washer to clean the mud off.

"It helps when it's still wet, it just runs off with the water, a power washer will cut through all the ick."

All mud aside, Tinsley said the best part of Jeep Jam is the camaraderie.

"They're all here to have fun," he said. "They're not here to win. They're here to have a blast."

Rubber duckies also were a big part of Jeep Jam.

Teresa Adams of Broken Arrow had dozens of duckies lining her dashboard.

'I had at one time over 200, now about 125, those are all ones that people have given me," Adams said.

She keeps scores more in bags and buckets to give to other Jeepers.

Since the Jam was in October, Adams and many others adorned their vehicles with skeletons and at least one zombie baby.

This year's Show 'N' Shine featured Jeeps that can convert into campers, military Jeeps, patriotic Jeeps and some Jeeps with tilting bodies.

Steve Peck of El Reno said he used air ride suspension to put his 2020 Gladiator "Little Waspy" on the diagonal. He also has 40-inch tires.

"It's a lot of fun to play with," Peck said. "It allows me to be on the trails and level up or down."

He said he usually drives his Jeep level.

"I do pull up to stoplights and lean it a little bit," Peck said. "It's just a lot of fun."