Desolate Highway

This past weekend my wife and I went on an adventure to what we thought would be a sleepy small town in rural Oklahoma. We got in the car, turned on some tunes, and headed southwest about two hours outside of our hometown.

Roosevelt is nestled just outside the Wichita mountain range. It's just your typical small town but there's an eerily quiet vibe.

We stopped for gas at the only gas station in town, a friendly little place but as we headed out we quickly realized there was something more sinister happening on a stretch of highway just outside of town. I decided we should definitely check it out! As we headed out of town down the Main Street we were greeted by a giant man like figure made out of tires holding sign that read "Welcome American Milsim."

My wife and I quickly found ourselves on the edge of a battle field between two opposing forces and were face to face with a gun truck coming directly at us. Luckily for this beard, it was piloted by a familiar gunner & we weren't plowed down for sport. As the truck zoomed by looking for its next target, I spotted someone off in the distance. Is that who I think it is? Could it be?

A giant figure looms over the blown up cars on one side of the desolate highway. It's hard to tell through all the colored smoke from the battle. Could it be, is that Batman I see or Carl from Battleborn? I quickly catch up with him and the guys holding down the northeast side of the battlefield.

The smoke lingered on the battlefield covering cars and any thing in its path. Naturally my photojournalist skills kicked in and I began to document the action.

All of a sudden there's a loud smushing sound as someone trudges the mud and muck. The splashing of the water gets closer and closer to our position, then there's movement over by the bright yellow suburban—it looks like opposing forces.

The boots stomping through the mud were getting closer and closer. Enemy forces are on our doorstep. We can hear them laughing, joking, and making plans to cross the muddy desolate highway, completely oblivious to the ambush they are walking into.

After jumping up on a bumper to get a better look, Leo signals the group and the fire fight begins. The field goes quiet except for the sound of bbs flying... hit hit hit.

Hunkered down in an opened door to a discarded Honda Accord, Corey prepares to take on the enemy. He signals the other civilians and they take on opposing forces out one by one. The fire fight continues and reaches intense serious moments, with tension so stiff your natural instincts kick in and snaps into calm relaxing moments that remind you that you're out with your buddies in an instant.

The battle rages on for most of the day, with bbs flying on either side. The gun trucks go back and forth spraying forces down for either side. When it's over the field is littered with troops from both sides. "Someone call a medic." Dead rags up, dead lights on. The northeast side of the battlefield continued to belong to the civilian forces.

FIREFIGHTS, MUD, GUNS. The battle raged on. It seemed like it would never come to an end! They would continue to fight over this desolate stretch of highway until the last bb.

And in the end, it was all fun and games. It's one giant Airsoft family. It doesn't matter what side you're on, what field you come from, who you are. It's about the game, the respect, and the love.