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.