Thursday, May 31, 2012

Sunday, May 27/2012

Casey took Roxy today

Dave and his new 750 Kawi


Casey and Roxy

Heading into the Block



Heading into the mud!!


Can't keep this girl out of the water - at Deer Lake


Deer Lake



Slide Out Lake


More great trails




The bridge at the end of Otter Lake






Roxy, swimming in Otter Lake


Look close at the bird on it's nest - she has babies too!!


Heading over to access "Eddie's Trail"

There was just not enough water on the trails today!!

Roxy was the champ of the day.  She sat on that quad like a trooper.
Even the water and mud did not seem to bother her!!




Dave is loving the water!!
Today we are headed back out onto the trails.  Casey will be in 2 wheel drive since he broke his CV joint yesterday and 4 wheel drive is no longer an option.  He has such a big engine and huge tires, that I don't think he will really encounter a situation on the trails today that will require it.  He has decided to take his dog Roxy with him today.  This will be the first time she has been on a quad, on the trails so it will be interesting to see how she does.  Perhaps, with Roxy on the back, Casey will drive a bit easier today!!
Our destination today is "The Block" so we head out the North Road and cut into the forest about 3 miles out.  We meet our first obstacle of the day in the form of a huge sloppy wet area which has already had several quads through it making it even nastier.  The last time we were here, the winches were needed.  Today, John and I took a rather long and obscure way through the wet (trees are traction!!) and made it through without a hitch.  The tires on the quad do throw a lot of mud so neither of us remained unscathed!!   Casey of course,  went through the middle and needed his winch - no surprise there!!
We continued on to the block stopping several times along the way to enjoy the scenery.  It truly is beautiful in the forest and the leaves have really come along since the last time we were down there.  There has been some recent "road reconstruction" along the trail and many of the holes that plagued travellers along this trail have now been filled in making it a much nicer ride.  We suspect that the outfitter in this area has done this and for that I thank him!!
We travelled many many miles of trails today and with the warm weather, it was more that pleasant.  We took Dave and Shirley down some trails that they had never travelled before.
We ended up at the outfitters steel bridge at the end of Otter Lake.  Dave had never seen this before and was surprised to see such an elaborate structure in the  middle of the forest.
Eventually we cut through an area that had been logged and made our way to the Big River Grid.  From there, we travelled a few miles of grid road ending up at another trail head off the North Grid.
To our surprise, a logging crew had moved to this trail and had all but destroyed the trail.  We had just been on this trail yesterday!!  What the Hell!!  Now there is a road where the trail used to be which will allow the passage of heavy equipment needed for cutting the trees.  Again, as in so many other areas around here, the quadders have lost another trail.  We eventually were able to access the remaining trail and continued on our way hoping that the loggers don't travel too far down this trail.
We hooked up to "Eddie's Trail" making the final loop before we got back to the bus.  Shirley and I were both tired and chose to take the grid home while John, Casey and Dave to the muddy trail home.  They were all covered in mud by the time they returned!!  They just can't stay out of it!!
Shirley and I had a fire going when they got home and we all called it an early night.  It was a long ride today and I am exhausted.  John cooked supper and after showers, we were all in bed.
Casey has to get up early tomorrow and take his quad into Prince Albert before heading back to Saskatoon and be at work by 2:00 in the afternoon.    Despite the breakdown of his quad, I think he had a great weekend so what more could a person ask.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Saturday, May 26/2012


The sun is shining and it is already getting warm.  It will be a good day to be out in the forest.  I will have to wear my rain pants as I am sure that there will be plenty on water left on the trails from all the rains.
Casey was up early and that surprised me as he had only a few hours of sleep yesterday when he got off  his night shift Friday morning.  He is raring to go again today.
Heading out of town

Casey



DUST - after all this rain!!

Lots of water and mud


















trees down on the trail

when you can't move them, you go around them!!


Casey doing the muskeg!









Awesome trails



"Chillin" on the trail - beverage, anyone?




There was enough water on the trails today!!

Last stop before home

Glen called and said he would be installing the meter into the garage this morning and that is a very good thing.  Then, it will be up to Sask Power to get the power to the building.  Once that is done we will be good to go!!
we headed out onto the trails and encountered enough water to last us the rest of the summer.  The rains have certainly played havoc.
John and I managed to avoid most of the water however Casey was determined to go through all the water he could.
I saw some huge bear tracks on the trail which I suppose is not surprising considering there are plenty of them around.
We took "8" mile trail initially then headed over to the warm up shelter on Huard Lake.  Once there, Casey could not resist the muskeg trail that runs beside it.  As you can see from the video he played in that hateful stuff  eventually getting stuck and unfortunately breaking an CV joint.  He was a sad panda  when that happened.  It is a good thing his new machine has some warranty!!  I guess he will be going home Monday morning via Prince Albert.
We continued our travels taking the grid and eventually accessing the other side of Huard Lake,  then taking the Huard Lake trail over to Vimy.  We made a few refreshment stops along the way - no surprise there.
Once we left Vimy, we took a left and re-entered the forest to access the final trail that would bring us closer to home.
Back at home, John started a fire and we sat around it until it was time for him to cook supper and being Saturday........steak and baked potatoes.  Mmmmmm
Bed soon followed as there was another ride scheduled for tomorrow where Dave and Shirley would be joining us.  Should be fun!!