Thursday, July 12

Tex Has Friends In High Places

By Dave Finger
EXPN.com

The mighty blue '84 Pugeot wagon motors across I-5 North from Seattle like a fiery comet bound for an unknown and remote destination. Contained within this ultra-plush "Poor Frenchmen’s Rolls Royce" is everything needed for a weekend adventure in little known Omak, Washington. Omak you ask? Yes, Omak. A target that fills my 3-man crew with the anticipation of a prizefighter entering the ring as we head for the now legendary 2nd installment of the Tex Games. Tex is a man of simple pleasures – good friends, fast bikes, hot chicks, and a free-for-all independent spirit that he wants to share with the world. Mix these fine lifestyle components with skateboards, BMX bikes, big trucks, mens/womens boxing, bull riding, a whole lot of beer, camping for everyone, a charitable foundation, and a crazy ass Seth Enslow 190 foot motorbike gap, and Viola! You have the grand vision of Tex and his Games.

Crossing the high point in elevation on the North Cascades Highway, the climate instantly changes from lush green-forested expanse to a more arid, high desert apple orchard environment. Scrub brush, chainsaw art, and abandoned dump trucks grace the sparse land. We see a “Welcome Tex Games Fans” sign in the Omak thrift store window and our excitement couldn’t be higher as we approach the event grounds.

First thing I see are ramps. A 6’ mini to be exact. Behind that I see an enormous dirt jump landing before my eyes wander back to the remainder of the street course. These 200+ truckloads of dirt are where Seth is going to touch down after flying over an assortment of big trucks, cop cars, and RVs. We pull into our campsite and are greeted by a melee of kids, dads, girls, and pets, all on motorbikes large and small. To our right is the Mullet Family Robinson setting up their campsite for the weekend. The sound I like to describe as MotoMetal is blasting out of almost every vehicle in the lot. I step out of the car to put on sunscreen, but it’s too late. Instantly, I blend into the Games’ environment. My neck? The shade of an over-ripe tomato.

It's all about the Benjamins baby.

I run into Dave McKay, Tex’s buddy and co-producer of the event. I ask him about the change in venue since last year’s was at Tex’s house in Glacier, WA.

“Part of the reason for having it out here is to make it like a recreation trip for all of our friends. We've got lakes, rivers, fishing, motocross jumps, horses, BBQ, and Schmidt’s.”

I cruise over to the arena, where all the motorbike jumping will be going down, for a sneak peak at the jumps. I see a bull as it almost impales it’s would be conqueror, the crowd goes wild - Tex Games Rocks. Just to keep things interesting a $100 bill is taped to a bull’s horn and people from the crowd are invited to jump down into the stampede grounds to try and grab it. A crowd gathers, the bull is released, I look to my left – there’s Mullet Mom! She’s taking pictures of her son getting rag-dolled by the oversized beast. At the end of this rawkus event, it was the guy wearing the No Fear shirt who won the money.

Night hits, and so does more Texas style action. A truck pull commences in the arena’s mud pit. Ford beat Chevy and I’m sure someone in the crowd was stoked to have their “Calvin pissing on the Chevy Bowtie” sticker. The real excitement starts when Tex grabs the mic and organizes an impromptu mud-wrestling bout. Screaming girls flock from the bleachers to get their chance at fem-tosterone fame. Bikini clad bodies tussle and toss in the diesel fuel tainted mud pit. The chance of fame and glory turns these nice country girls into mean as hell super-competitive bitch fighters.

Half of the audience donated prize money goes to the Scott Stamnes Foundation. If there was anybody as much of a true participant in the Northwest snow, skate, smile, laugh, make art, play music, and live an extraordinary life scene – it’s Scott. For more information on the foundation please email mstamnes@home.com. Someone donates $100 in the name of Ozzy.

Hmmmm, lets see if there's any dirt under this here fender?

Saturday is filled with vert skating demos, BMX jumping, and all the moto-jumping action anyone could want. 80 and 100 foot dirt jumps line the arena as riders like Ryan Cates, Beau Bamburgh, Brian Downing, and Justin Homan rip around the track like bats out of hell. Kiss of Deaths, Superman Seat Grabs, Indian Airs, and huge Whips galore are thrown out by the riders who follow each other freight train style over the 100 footer. All of this is happening right in front of my dry eyes. The crowd is buck nutty and ready for more, but the demo ends just in time for everyone to go into a frenzy while Seth prepares for his big ass jump. Trucks, cars and RVs are all stacked up and ready to be cleared as Seth makes it through the 150 and 170 foot warm up jumps. He was landing halfway down the run out on each so everything seems ready to go for the big 190. Tex and crew move the jump back and get everything squared away while Enslow checks the stability of the ramp and the landing as the crowd screams in approval. Feeding off the applause, Seth circles around and makes the approach; he speeds towards the jump with 4th gear pinned. Terror strikes.

As he leaves the lip of the ramp I immediately go into super fingers crossed mode because he looks way too low to actually make the landing. My heart is pounding through the dirty as hell shirt I’m wearing as Seth approaches the crest of the jump. I hear him flooring it in the air hoping to pull out of this one, then BOOM! He smashes the lip, bounces three-quarters of the way down the landing, gets his bearings, then rides away without a scratch. The crowd goes absolutely crazy as Seth rides to the top of the landing to be high fived by his buddies and photographed by the media. He gives a salute to the crowd, throws out his goggles to the sea of uplifted rocker horns, then roosts the entire bunch as he rides back to the cool comfort of his Fleshwound RV. It’s the scariest and most exciting part of the event all rolled up into one piece of amazing action. A team of engineers couldn’t have planned it to be more exciting.

The day turns into a mild night as everyone stumbles around drinking their beers, yelling their curses, macking their chicks, and telling their tall tales. Tex’s dog Fender is running about the grounds getting much love from the campers. We set up our tent and I float into dreamland accompanied the sonic montage of Willie Nelson, Wu-Tang, and Megadeath. Tex Games Rocks.

See all the action and lifestyle in the Tex Games Galleries.