Yes, I have seen it, and actually been in it, and here are a few pictures.
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On the Western side of Iowa, just off I80. To the unknowing eye there are corn fields and wind turbines, and more corn fields. Who would think to look 15 feet down. Yes, 15 maybe twenty feet down in some places.
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I have Adair tracks. Bought them from Tim at Adair Argo. Even went there personally to have them fitted to my machine. Heard the glowing reports from customers. Saw the videos from across the country, heck all over the world. Nasty inaccessible terrain. A machine with these tracks takes it all with ease. But developed in Iowa by some guy named Tim? Made no sense. Some guy in the middle of a cornfield develops tracks for amphibious vehicles? Why, because his Gator got stuck a few times in the early spring?
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This Memorial day weekend, we were passing by Adair so I gave Tim a call to see if it was possible to stop by and look at an 8x8. He asked if we had time for a trail ride. He offered to load up a few machines and take us to the creeks on his family farm that he developed the tracks for. How could Jason and I pass up a chance to experience the Adair tracks test site.
What I did not realize was that when it rains, the water has to go somewhere. No it does not all soak into the ground like I imagined. I runs into a series of creeks. Creeks that seem to crisscross and zigzag through most of those cornfields. Most just out of eyesight. Not rocky bottom rivers or creeks like I am used to but deep trenches with silty mucky bottoms with an occasional rock, chunk of concrete or old steel fence post.
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I got to drive a Max II with 20 inch tires and prototype tracks with a steel link connector and offset wider spaced grousers. Jason rode with Tim in a Max IV with 16.5 wide Adair tracks. We traveled along a couple miles of creek bed, 15 feet down and totally undetected by anyone. We traveled with ease as the Adair tracks along the silty creek bottom like it was a trip across a grassy field. Only when I looked down on the edge of the flowing water to see the occasional deer track sunk 4 inches deep did I realize how soft the bottom was. I was told the creek also swells to the top in heavy rains washing away all the soil from under even the biggest trees. It was cool how you could look under the root system. Heavy rains had washed away the beaver dams 3-4 weeks ago. I would love to make it back to see a beaver dam made out of corn stalks.
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The smile on the face is from the happy 6x6 driver (me). This is what happens when you don't get stuck. The new track layout climbed this rock ledge with ease. Tim claims my AquaTorques will make it maybe 10 feet before they would bury themselves in the soft bottom. He offered to help winch me out if I wanted to try sometime. I think when I return I will make sure I have tracks on.
Keith.
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So much fun to drive !
Originally Posted by thejunkman
Sounds like you have an Adair track itch that needs to be scratched. 
