They're big and they're loud. Monster trucks are a huge draw across the United States and most recently, at the annual Hereford Fall Festival.
This year's demonstration had a triple dose of excitement. Instead of a truck, the vehicle that roared through festival fields was a monster yellow school bus. At the wheel was Brooke Ruhl, 19, a Hereford High School graduate.
After she sent dirt flying every which way as she spun the bus in circles, Ruhl aimed straight for two cars. She drove the bus up and over. She then turned around and did it all again and again.
Each time, the junk cars were smashed a little lower into the ground. Each time, the crowds cheered louder.
When Ruhl finally climbed out of the bus, autograph seekers mobbed her.
"It felt kind of weird to be giving autographs," said Ruhl, a student at Virginia Tech who came back to her hometown of Hereford for the festival. "When I was heading the bus toward the cars, my only thoughts were, 'This is going to be fun,' and it was."
Her parents, Tom and Sandy, were among the spectators.
"Brooke is not afraid to go out there and try things," Sandy Ruhl said. "She's not intimidated and she really, really enjoys it."
Ruhl is making a name for herself in a sport dominated by men.
"I can only think of five or six females in the monster truck industry," said Jimmy Tracey, who drives the bus, "Higher Education," for owner Michael Vaters of Vaters' Monster Truck Motorsports in Hagerstown. "She's doing well. You have to earn your way up by learning how to do just about everything, and she's in there changing tires with us and doing a lot more."
Tracey admitted he was nervous before Ruhl jumped the cars. He held a remote ignition interrupter to stop the 1500 horsepower engine if she got in trouble but didn't have to use it.
He said the school bus was built to three-quarter scale. It weighs 10,000 pounds. Its tires are 66 inches high and 43 inches wide.
For her wild ride, Ruhl wore a fireproof jump suit and gloves, a helmet and a harness that attached to the chassis.
"I didn't feel anything other than some bouncing around," she said. "You're really secure in there."
She saw her first monster truck when she was 7 and went to Hagerstown with her father to watch Vaters drive his truck, Black Stallion.
She said she liked it, but was more involved in pom-poms at the time. Ruhl was a cheerleader with Hereford Rec. Council through middle school.
"People who knew me then are kind of surprised to see what I'm doing now," she said.
She saw another monster truck show when she was 15 and wanted to learn how to drive. Since 18 is the minimum age, she waited several years before registering as a member of the Monster Truck Racing Association.
Ruhl began driving Vaters' vehicles and learned to use a separate control for the rear wheels that allows trucks to make their trademark tight spins.
"She's really catching on and starting to pick up the throttle rhythm," Vaters said. This summer, she drove Vaters' monster trucks in several shows.
Ruhl wants to keep driving while also studying crop science at Virginia Tech.
"I don't know if I'll ever own my own truck," she said. "But as long as there's trucks I can drive, I want to keep doing this."