The pattern of annual meetings and friendly greetings continued until last spring. KC was leading a media tour on a four-wheel trail, and Andi decided to join in. Not surprisingly, KC was with another woman.
"So I asked when he got married," Andi says, "but she turned out to be a media type. He gave me a hug and then a little hand squeeze that says, 'I'm available.'"
KC and Andi in each other's clutches.
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It was at this point that Andi decided to forgive KC his Chevy transgression. A good truck is important, sure. But love is love. Besides, by then she was already secure in her own full-sized Dodgeness, having recently traded up to a massive new 2001.
"It's got a five-speed Cummins diesel engine, POD gauges, 20 pounds boost, tuned-up computer system, 295/85 tires, Skyjacker lift, Ramsey winch and a CB radio," she says. "My old truck had a lot more. But I decided to take it easy with the new one."
One thing the new rig did have in common with Andi's '94 were the vinyl decals that read "Woman-owned, woman-operated."
A few years back, Andi had taken over stewardship of a Dodge Ram Internet chat room that she named DiRT, a rough acronym. After KC proposed and she accepted, she posted a proud announcement of the pending union on the site: "We became good friends about six or seven years ago, wheeling our Rams in Moab. (His has been in the magazines quite a bit, as it is pretty heavily modified.)
"He also drives a Chevy Avalanche, has a 70-something Blazer, a 55 Ford Customline and a Honda Rubicon ATV," she gushed to her online friends.
Andi extended an open invitation to the wedding to all her DiRT correspondents. To everyone else, she just bragged. "To me, KC is just so awesome. He's genuine, kind, outgoing. He just adores my daughter. He can also spell."
KC hired a friend to help him prepare his bachelor digs for his new family. For the past two months, the two men have worked like fiends to turn the basement of his small log-sided house outside of Morrison -- until now a vast and filthy rec room for his two donkey-sized dogs -- into a living space suitable for a wife and daughter. In exchange for the work, KC paid his friend by turning over the keys to the old green Dodge that had brought Andi and him together.
This past weekend, K Casey Kay, 37, and Andrea Vogt, 35 -- accompanied by now-twelve-year-old Kateylyn, about 150 of their closest friends and a fair number of modified trucks -- were joined in rocky matrimony. Though not many DiRT members could make it to the ceremony, they pooled their resources and sent the couple a $300 gift certificate to a local restaurant.
As is the case with any union, there are still bumps to be negotiated. Both KC and Andi admit that deciding who will drive and who will ride could get complicated. But Andi is optimistic. "KC can fix just about anything," she says. "Although," she adds, "I don't know about diesels. I guess we'll see."
