I had a Power Wheels Jeep Wrangler growing up as a kid. What I remember of it is pretty basic: it was red, it had stickers and all I could do was putt around the front lawn at 3.5 miles an hour for about fifteen minutes before the battery was done. That wasn’t what was promised to me by the advertisements! Jeeps were go-anywhere, do anything vehicles! I wanted to explore forests, drive through streams, and do all of the other cool things that I saw Jeeps doing on television. Instead, I got to watch my brother drive my Power Wheels Jeep as I sat, moping, unimpressed at both the vehicle’s speed and capability.
Now, if I had been doing something a little more like this, maybe I wouldn’t have been so upset. This is the Power Wheels Mud Bog at Birch Run in Michigan, and while you and I know that these kids are just driving through an overrated mud puddle, to them, they are doing exactly what the adults are doing with the big trucks. Their mini Rams, Jeeps, and FJ Cruisers can splash through just like the real vehicles do, and there will be mud on the tires like the big trucks. It’s often said that the most expensive hobby starts with a $0.79 Hot Wheel, but really, it’s doing things like letting your kid participate that will have a lasting effect on them.
