Local drivers to raise funds for camp

By Sam Waller

A team of four Albany residents will attempt to make a round trip from Buffalo Gap to Abilene in a specific time frame, accomplishing more than a dozen challenges along the way.

But there are two catches – the vehicle used should not be valued at more than $750 and the Abilene in question is in Kansas.

Albany’s Team GreaseWorm – Robert Snyder, Craig Winters, Matt Birkla, and Kennith Waters – will attempt the journey in Snyder’s 1965 Ford station wagon, a local icon that has appeared (and broken down) in several local parades over the years.

Such is life in the third annual Nail Ranch Buffalo Run Adventure Challenge, which starts Thursday, June 1 and ends Saturday, June 3. The rally-style trip begins and ends in Buffalo Gap.

The event is a fundraiser for Buffalo Gap’s Camp Able, a horse sanctuary and equine therapy project that provides assistance for people with special needs. Rescue horses are exclusively used in the program.

‘The main thing is it’s for a good cause,” Snyder said. “The camp helps children and people with struggles.”

The title sponsor for this year’s Buffalo Run is Nail Ranch. Other sponsorships ranging from $250 to $5,000 are available.

Contributions can be given to members of Team GreaseWorm or sent directly to Camp Able through its website camp-able.org. Checks or Venmo payments should specify “Team GreaseWorm.”

The first two Buffalo Runs traveled to the Grand Canyon and the Four Corners. This year’s route roughly follows the Chisholm Trail. One of the challenges is taking photos of three trail markers.

A straight-shot roundtrip would be approximately 1,100 miles, but contestants must travel to specific locations – such as Fort Worth and Turkey in Texas, Dodge City and Wichita in Kansas – that make the journey anything but a straight shot.

“You have to make it to those locations, so you don’t want to stray too far off the main trail,” Snyder said. “Teams can do their challenges going up or coming back.”

Other challenges, such as burial for roadkill, can be accomplished anywhere along the route.

The nature of the event and the Ford’s history of breakdowns make having a good mechanic on the team a necessity. Snyder said GreaseWorm has it covered.

“Kennith’s pretty handy with a wrench, but we all have kind of a knack for cars,” he said. “We’re trying to get prepped as much as possibleso hopefully, we won’t have any breakdowns on the road. We’ve spent the last month fixing things trying to get ready to go.”

The team pay its own way, with 100 percent of donations going to the camp.

For information about the Buffalo Run, visit the event’s Facebook page. To learn about Camp Able, visit camp-able.org.