Elks event tests blindfolded driving skills

Driving blindfolded over and around obstacles with someone next to you navigating may not sound like the best idea, but for participants Saturday at the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge, driving a side-by-side blindfolded was a thrill and a challenge.

The Clark Fork Valley Elks Club held their first blindfolded side-by-side obstacle course event last week. A crowd of people and their utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) gathered in the field just across the street from the Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls. Looks of excitement, curiosity and joy could be seen on the faces of many from the elderly to the young.

"Scoring is based on time, the team with the fastest run wins. Time begins with the drop of the green flag and ends with the drop of the checkered flag," said Elks member Travis Wisenhunt, who volunteered to be the flag man at the finish line. "Teams get a 15-second penalty added to their time if the driver leaves the marked course, a 10-second penalty if the navigator touches the wheel, and a 5-second penalty for any and every time the vehicle has to be put in reverse. At the end of the day the course times for each team are totaled up, and the team with the shortest time wins." Each team of two had to take a turn being the blindfolded driver and then the navigator passenger and each person had to drive a full lap. "We have had people run into trees, drag hay bails across the field, all sorts of fun stuff," added Whisenhunt with a smile.

I myself had the pleasure of participating in a "fun run." It sounded easy enough in theory, but once I got behind that wheel and had to completely rely on someone else's visual acuity and verbal directions I started to sweat a bit. I felt more confident in my skills as the navigator as opposed to being the driver. It was a whole lot of fun and I intend to find someone to partner with and enter the 2023 event now that the event is going to be held annually.

Steve and Jill Fairbank took first place in the event, Kim Hofland and Dave Mahler finished second, and Mike Basham and Marshanna Drop finished third. Rick and Carla Engel received the Spirit Award, and Gary Moe and Peg Conklin walked away with the Distinguished Turtle Award.

"We try not to disappoint people," said Chelle Mitchell, an Elks Lodge member who worked hard to help organize the event. "We have trophies for winners and a kiss and make up photo booth for those that have any arguments on the track. We also have a distinguished turtle award for the team that navigated the course safely and with the slowest time." The event also included sales of hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as a craft fair with several different vendors. Mitchell said that Harvest Foods donated the meat for the sale. "All the money that we make today will be put back into five programs in Thompson Falls. We donate to the Keep Em Warm program, that buys coats and outerwear for kids K-12, we donate to all of the fire departments in the entire county, all of the senior citizen centers in the county and we do scholarships for the high school kids as well as supply ramps and equipment for veterans in need."

This event was put on through the non-profit charitable arm of the Elks Lodge. "We are not trying to make money for the Elks Lodge today, we are making money to disperse back into the community," added Mitchell. "We were looking to set up a new fundraiser and I had seen videos of blindfolded tractor courses and I said to my husband, 'Why can't we do that with side-by-sides?'" Mitchell said of how she came up with the idea for the event. This was the first time the Elks Lodge has held this particular event but it won't be the last. The Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge intends to make the obstacle course an annual event.