Monday, June 1 2015 / Sunday, June 7 2015

This week found us once again in the Sami and headed down into "The Block"

Heading into the Block

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Slideout Lake

Cruising along slideout Lake

It was supposed to be a nice ride into the forest, have a few beers and enjoy the scenery and, it was....for the first part.  It was only when we turned onto Lilac Trail that the winch was needed (3 times) and Marie was slogging around in the mud and corruption hooking it up to various trees to make it through the incredibly sticky mud.  NOT MY IDEA OF A FEW BEERS IN THE FOREST KIND OF RIDE!!
We did manage to get out of the muck and mire and got to good trail.  The weather turned a bit nasty with a thunderstorm threatening but we got to grid road before the rain started.  It was a much needed rain for sure.

Wolf track

Natives idea of a bon fire

Got a little sticky

Saturday ride

The kids arrived Friday evening and we sat around the fire for a bit before headng to bed.  They have a long ride planned for tomorrow and I for one needed to be rested up and ready to go!!

First mud hole

Chris with his "Cheezie" smile

Baby Bear tracks

Devan's quad was overheating so had to wash the
radiator out in Chitek River

More playing in the water

Beverage

We headed down into "the block" and of course, the  first mud hole we passed by had to be conquered so, John and I sat back, had a beverage and watched the kids "play" in the water.  I guess "the child" never really does leave "the adult"!!   We continued down the trail until finally hitting 5 corners where we then headed along a different trail that would eventually spit us out onto the Timberlost outfitter trail that leads us to Chitek River.  We had to cross one huge open area full of water and I got my feet very wet.  Of course I yelled at "the children' for taking me through the wet trails and then one of them mentioned that there was another trail around the wet I could have used. Stupid idiots, they could have told me that before I got my feet wet!!  I seriously thought about spitting on their steaks before bbqing them tonight for supper!!  That would teach the little buggers a lesson for getting my feet wet!!
We travelled so many miles of awesome trail today.  Some of the trails, John and I had not been on for a few years so it was good to get back out into those areas.  We eventually popped out on the Big River Grid and travelled it for a few miles until we hooked up to the trail that would bring us back to the Hooker Lake trails.
John was having issues with a flat rear tire and needed to stop frequently to repair and inflate!!  The kids were giving him the gears about being the "broken down" quad as they were all boasting the previous night about all their fancy big tires and the good possibility of them "breaking" shit!!  Well, as it turned out, the only quad issue we had was with John's flat tire.  By the end of the day, I am sure he had at least 15 plugs in it and it was still losing air!!  Time for new tires I think!!
Eventually, we hit Lilac Trail which in turn lead us back to Slideout and Deer Lake.
Soon, we were back at our starting point at the cattle gate and we all headed for home.  John and I travelled slower as his tire was pretty much flat and I am sure that it was the big lugs that actually kept it going.  Luckily, it did not come off the bead.
It was a loong day with the ride ending at 75 miles!!  Holy Buckets......no wonder I was tired.
John got the potatoes on while everyone showered and cleaned the trail dust off.  Jace decided to cook the steak (no, I didn't spit on them) and I got the caesar salad ready.  Before too long, we were all chowing down and damn, it tasted soooo very good!!
It turned out to be an awesome ride with no injuries and no damage to any machine.  Life is good.

Beverage stop

Sunday ride - Vimy Lake

Waiting for the kids at Vimmy Lake

Some of the kids had to leave early on Sunday but Jace, Kimmy, Chris and Devan stayed for a short ride.   They scooted down to 8 mile, headed down that trail and then over to the Huard Lake trail, back to Vimy and then took the grid home.  John's quad was in no condition for a ride and my back told me that I should probably stay off my quad so we hopped into the Sami and met them at Vimy.  It was a lovely warm day and John and I sat along the shore of Vimy for about an hour and a half sipping some adult refreshments waiting for the kids.
They arrived covered in mud (no surprise there) but all had smiles on their faces.
Once back at home, John cooked up some burgers, I brought out the potatoe salad and we fed the kids before they loaded up and headed for Saskatoon.
Soon, the yard was empty and we had peace and quiet again.  What a great weekend we had.  Life is good and even better when the children come to play!!  I even had a good smattering of granddogs!!