According to the Wash-ington State Department of Transportation, there are nearly 81,000 miles of roads in Washington State. And at times, it seems every single mile of roadway is filled with traffic, at least when you have somewhere to go in a hurry. And perhaps, there are even times when you might want to get off the roads and go over hill and yonder to get to your destination.

At Naval Reserve Center Bangor, just outside the Main Gate of NBK-Bangor, there are two Sailors who do drive right off the roads, even if there is no destination.

Damage Controlman (SW) Coy Bozeman, AIS, NRC Bangor and Machinest Mate (SS) Second Class Jeramie McCullen, Automated Data Processing technician, NRC Bangor, are both part of the Pacific Northwest Full-size 4 by 4 Club, a club that residents from Washington and Oregon may participate in.

Bozeman, who grew up in the hills of Medford, Ore., cut his ‘driving’ teeth on the dirt roads near his home. “Off-roading is how you get home,” he said.

But home was not always his destination, nor was a 4X4 the only vehicle of choice. “When I was growing up, I had a 1972 Chevelle and a 1974 Maverick,” he said. “I took those two-wheel drive cars a lot of places four-wheel drivers would not go.”

Bozeman drove a variety of off-road vehicles for various jobs he held before he joined the Navy.

And since then, he has driven 4X4 vehicles off-road as a form of family fun and inexpensive recreation.

“You can get your family into the same vehicle and go out and play. We enjoy the scenery—it is cheap entertainment,” he said. “If you go to a movie house, you spend $20-25 for three to four people, plus the money you spend on popcorn, sodas, hotdogs, etc.

“By the time you get done, you are looking at about $60 for two hours. It takes me $68 to fill my gas tank and I can go play for two-three days, come back and still have enough gas in my truck to go to work. It is redneck as you can get. All my kids enjoy it and my wife enjoys it—she just does not want to drive.”

Bozeman has five children; aged 11 to 17 and they all drive off-road as well.

“They are able to drive the trails,” he added. “They do somewhat well, but still need to learn how to use the clutch.”

While MM2 Jeramie Mc-Cullen, 25, does not have any children, he does have a wife who joins him (though she too does not drive) on his off-roading forays.

“Sometimes I go out with my wife and a couple of close friends,” he said. “We go on camping trips out in nature. These vehicles can take you places that an RV or someone hiking cannot go. You go out there - way deep in, like 9-10 miles, where no people have been. There are some places I don’t think man has touched.”

For McCullen, who grew up in the hills and valleys of Kansas City, Mo., the draw of off-roading is nature, pure and simple.

“My old man used to take my brothers and me out,” he said. “I was pretty much the only one who picked it up. There are rolling hills. The thing about rolling hills is that there are a lot of woods and between the woods, you have valleys, which collect water when it rains, making huge mud bogs. And there is quite a bit of challenge in it. 

“It is you against nature; you out in the open with friends because you never go wheeling by yourself. You rely on you and your friends. If you get stuck, they pull you out - it builds camaraderie.”

Over and above the aspect of besting nature, the thrill and challenge of attempting the next hill or bog drive both Bozeman and McCullen forward.

“The thrill of off-roading is the self-challenge because you go into a part [of the woods] that you don’t know anything about,” Bozeman said. “You don’t know how deep the hole is or what you can get through. You are challenging yourself and challenging your vehicle to find out what you and your vehicle limits are.”

“If you got further than anyone else could have, it makes you feel as if you accomplished something,” said McCullen. “Because not only have you bested your friends, but you have pushed your vehicle further than it ever has. And if you make it all the way through the trail, you have bested nature.”

While these two Sailors spend a lot of time driving their vehicles off-road, they both see themselves as responsible stewards of the environment they so enjoy.

“I practice ‘Tread Lightly,’ a program, which is in part sponsored by the federal government and wildlife management,” said McCullen. “I only wheel in designated off-road parks. This helps conserve nature as well. Our club is very active and we’ve had two or three cleanups at different four-wheel sites.”

McCullen and Bozeman also use the ‘Tread Lightly’ concept when crossing rivers.

“If we have to cross a stream that is salmon protected,” Bozeman said, “we cannot cross it—we have to find a bridge.”

“I have pictures of me crossing the Dosewallips River where the clear blue water is coming up over the hood,” said McCullen. “The goal of ‘Tread Lightly’ is to go straight across from one point to another. In our club, we try to promote the positive mindset and a positive outlook.”

According to Bozeman, off-roading is not something that someone gets into half-heartedly.

“If you don’t have a dent, then you were not driving,” he said.

If driving a large 4X4 vehicle off the beaten path of a road and spraying mud all over the place sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend rather than driving on the thousands of miles of asphalt, contact Bozeman or McCullen at the Naval Reserve Center Bangor at (360) 315-3023.