Feb. 11, 2005 - Snowmobiling
The trip started out a little bit interesting, but this being the first day, a little bit boring, just sunshine, no wind, and a cool 35 degrees.
Leading up to the present day: it was just the normal things, everything going screwy. Ilene’s mom got sick. She had surgery and Ilene was at the hospital a lot. Her mom is doing better now. I put windows in the basement and took my old freezer out to be recycled. It only cost $15. The fun part was packing our small Suzuki station wagon. We were packing for two trips, one for snowmobiling and my Bike Florida trip March 19th. Valli was going to meet us for snowmobiling and would take my gear for the Florida ride, as she would be driving.
I packed the Suzuki station wagon as full as I thought it could get, and then happened to notice that the bike was laying against the boat. So, I unpacked it and put the bike frame in and packed it back up. There sat the wheels. Oh darn! (I really didn’t say that) I had to unpack and pack again. Myran dropped by and said, “If you leave your chains on the outside, there will be no snow.” Of course the chains were on the spare tire under what was just packed. Oh double darn! The chains are now on the outside and he was right, the roads did not have any snow on them.
As I mentioned, the ride was uneventful. We left at 7:15 a.m. The sun was coming up over Mt. Hood and in my eyes as we started out. We followed it toUtah, then hit rain and ice pellets. We planned on staying in Provo, Utah the first night, but there was a high school wrestling championship in town. I am always “flying by the seat of my pants,” and soon found out, as Arlee would say, “there was no nest.” Everything was full. Finally we found a Comfort Inn in Payson, Utah, not too far from our highway change. I think it was the last room in the area. They asked us if we wanted a queen size bed and no smoking on the 2nd floor. It was 11:00 p.m. We said, “Yes.” The girl said, “Great, because that’s all we have left.” They had a one-year-old running the computer. Help is hard to find. We got to our room, opened the door, and were hit in the face by an arctic blast. No heat. It was fully warm about 3:00 a.m.!!!
The second morning we were a little lazy; didn’t leave until 8:00 am, but we had a shorter distance to go. Again the roads were a little wet but mostly dry as we headed over the mountains of Utah to Grand Junction, Co., Montrose, and Gunnison. We stopped in Gunnison and got some groceries. It wasn’t easy cramming them into the car. Ilene held most of them. Finally we arrived in Pitkin, Co. Here there were a few flakes coming down and about 3 to 5 feet of snow in Jim and Joanne’s yard. It was about 4:30 p.m. I took my snowshoes for their first walk – about ½ mile.
13th
The third day of our adventure I joined Jim and his party for a snowmobile ride. We went uphill; everything is uphill from this lodge at 9,242 ft. I was able to bury my snowmobile. Out of the group I was the only one who got stuck. Jim helped me out but at 12,000 ft. I lacked air and was ready for a nap when I got back to my cabin. I went for a ride by myself in the evening and almost got stuck two more times. Not a good idea!
14th
It was a clear day ranging from 7 to 50 degrees. Jim bought a Monkey on a Stick. It is a rod where a mechanism goes up to lift a snowmobile out of the snow. It is about 6 ft tall when you buy it. When you get stuck, the tracks usually dig out the snow under the snowmobile and you have to lift it to get more snow under it so you can push the skis on the front. This day I got stuck and we had to lift it out by hand. About 500 pounds is what they weigh. That is what prompted Jim to buy a Monkey on a stick.
On the second ride I got stuck two more times and it was a lot easier to get out. I wanted to kiss Jim for getting it but thought better of it. We went to Gunnison and bought gas, $110. When you are riding all day, it takes 10 to 15 gallons and the gas station is 25 miles away.
I was taking a nap from the riding and was wide-awake when Ilene came in to get thread to sew. The cabin is fun. When you open the door it groans. There is no sneaking in and if you let go of the screen door, it closes with a bang. This is the only noise there is except for the snowplows in the morning. It had snowed the night before and there were drifts on the road. They take really good care of the road out front because it is part of the school bus route.
As this was Valentines Day, I took everyone to dinner. Valli arrived as we were leaving for Gunnison. On the way there we saw Big Horn sheep, deer, and the only two elk that live in Colorado. In the last 40 years I have seen 9 elk.
15th
Yes, it was a fun day with a lot of riding. Jim was the leader with Valli, Joanne, and me. Joanne took the rear keeping an eye on me. I was able to get stuck two times and as the rest were watching me ride, I tried a hill that almost rolled me over. All they could see was my feet as I went over. When snowmobiling, Ilene thinks I should put red reflector tape on the bottom of my shoes.
The gas was running out so I tried to turn it back over. My back went out a little but not too bad. Jim said he would have helped me but he was laughing too hard. Valli got stuck two times and rolled it once. It was great to see someone other than myself having problems. We went about 40 miles, stopped at Jim’s trailer for a snack and a hot drink. The little room was out back and the snow was four feet deep. It was fun to watch the girls crawling through the snow and then digging out the door. I chuckled a lot.
Valli said she didn’t maintain contact with the earth when she rolled over. Where we were sitting, all we could see were feet.
We came back and ate Lima bean and ham hock soup. It was the end of a good day of fun.
16th
We got about a foot of snow the night before. We shoveled and Jim plowed. We took a nap. It is a hard life but some one has to do it.
The Snowmobiles are fun to ride but if you do something wrong you pay. I got stuck four times and tipped over three times. One was not my fault. There were two trees and I tried to ride between them; one moved over. I hit it and flipped. You think it would have known better. I was following Jim and he was going down about two feet in the snow. If I were leading, there was no way I could push that much snow and not be stuck. I had problems just following. It was a lot of fun and when you ride with some one whois better than you, it makes you better.
Marci’s family arrived about 6:00 pm.
17th
Joanne and Ilene went bowling in town. Vellen, Myran, and Trina arrived around 11:30 a.m. Noah (6) and Aaron (4) had a ball sledding and rolling in the snow.
Valli, Tim and I went on a test warm-up ride in the morning.
After lunch Jim, our leader, Vellen, Trina, Myran, Valli and I went on a ride. My ski broke and every one but Trina got stuck. I took my shirt off and got a little tan while waiting for them to come back and pick me up and go down the hill. The rest got stuck multiple times. It was warm and the snow turned to slush. Myran towed in my ski with the bad motor with me riding the brake so I didn’t run over him. Myran, Trina, Marci, and I went up to Waunita to watch the sunset. When we came back we had Oysters for dinner. What a day.
18th
Went up Waunita and down the backside trail. What a thrill! The drifts were big and steep; no tracks on the backside as you found yourself flying though the air. No track at the top of the drifts after you went over.
We ate lunch and then off to swim in the hot springs. They have a big pool about 100 degrees and hot tub at 108. Some drove there and some went by ski. The ski that Vellen was riding lost most of its steering so he didn’t go too fast. It only took a half turn to make the skis turn. What a wus. We fixed the missing bolt in the freezing cold. Kneeling in the snow was not good. We were so lucky the bolt was still in the frame but could not find the nut in the body; some times you can.
We played with Noah and Aaron after dinner and then played Bones (Dominos). It is snowing tonight.
19th
We wore Valli to a frazzle so she went home today. We went snowmobiling in the really soft snow. It came over the windshield and would fill your lap up with snow. There was this problem of me getting cold. It seems in my rush to put on my bibs, I left the zipper open. Ilene thinks this could get me in a lot of trouble but not on a snowmobile.
It turned out to be a great day for snowmobiling but two of them died and we had to work on them. One we were able to fix, the other one was dead. Noah decided this was his last chance to ride. He got ready and said he was “going” – and he had a ball. Jim and Noah rode together and Marci, Tim, and Myran went for a night ride, while Vellen and I put the starter rope in the “Rock,” my snowmobile. Ilene stayed home with Aaron, who was sick.
20th
Vellen and I went for a long ride, cutting trail that no one had rode in days. The snow was about a foot deep. Jim was waiting for us when we got back to go out again. We choked down a sandwich and off we went. After a few miles the steering went out again. It was the other side of the clamp. What a pain, no room for your hands. No room for your fingers and a wind that was just above 0. Vellen did the work; Myran held a tarp to keep the wind off and I held the bolt from the bottom. This only took about an hour and a half. We were so cold that we got in the hot tub. We laid there and watched the clouds coming. They got darker and darker and the snow started. Oh yes, there was the cold wind. Your hair would freeze; you had to dunk to thaw it. It snowed a lot and my boots had snow in them and the towel had snow on it. Let me see the cabin is about fifty yards. You have a snow soaked towel and wet bathing suit. We are 9,242 feet so you can’t run and the snow and wind at below freezing. I think I will do it again in June.
21st
Myran, Vellen, and I went on a long ride for about three hours. It was one of those days right out of a brochure. It was freezing and the sun was out. You could see for miles. It was just one of those days that don’t come along very often. Myran was the only one who got a little stuck; I almost did two times.
Trina, Myran and Vellen left in the afternoon for Rene’s and her brother, Mike’s (Jim & Joanne’s daughter and son), then to Valli’s and then to the airport to fly home.
22nd
Jim and I went on one last ride. It was clear like the day before. Ilene packed and so when we got back at three it was time to go. One fog bank but the roads were clear. We stayed in Ogden, Utah at a Days Inn. Its bed was really big and soft. The pool was right out the door but it closed at ten and it was 9:55 when we got there.
23rd
The last day was just a long day of driving and yes, Ilene stopped at the Wild Horse Casino. (Byran stopped too or else Ilene couldn’t have gotten out of the car.) I lost $26.00 and never got a push or win. Ilene was up but gave it all back and then some $35.00. The house was a cool 54 and it didn’t take long to get a fire going. We want to go see Ray but my dad has a problem, colon cancer.
I need a few long rides to get in shape for my Florida ride. I was thinking Lompoc would be a good place to train. I have a lot of good friends there. Chuck found a bright red Bra on his bike and I want to help him look for the owner.
Byran’s Journal
Interesting stats: We drove our 2000 Suzuki Station wagon with 60,000 – no tune up yet. We used 73.26 gallons of gas with an average of $1.97/gallon. We drove 2,285 miles at a cost of $145.00 or .06/mile - 31.2 miles per gal.
The trip started out a little bit interesting, but this being the first day, a little bit boring, just sunshine, no wind, and a cool 35 degrees.
Leading up to the present day: it was just the normal things, everything going screwy. Ilene’s mom got sick. She had surgery and Ilene was at the hospital a lot. Her mom is doing better now. I put windows in the basement and took my old freezer out to be recycled. It only cost $15. The fun part was packing our small Suzuki station wagon. We were packing for two trips, one for snowmobiling and my Bike Florida trip March 19th. Valli was going to meet us for snowmobiling and would take my gear for the Florida ride, as she would be driving.
I packed the Suzuki station wagon as full as I thought it could get, and then happened to notice that the bike was laying against the boat. So, I unpacked it and put the bike frame in and packed it back up. There sat the wheels. Oh darn! (I really didn’t say that) I had to unpack and pack again. Myran dropped by and said, “If you leave your chains on the outside, there will be no snow.” Of course the chains were on the spare tire under what was just packed. Oh double darn! The chains are now on the outside and he was right, the roads did not have any snow on them.
As I mentioned, the ride was uneventful. We left at 7:15 a.m. The sun was coming up over Mt. Hood and in my eyes as we started out. We followed it toUtah, then hit rain and ice pellets. We planned on staying in Provo, Utah the first night, but there was a high school wrestling championship in town. I am always “flying by the seat of my pants,” and soon found out, as Arlee would say, “there was no nest.” Everything was full. Finally we found a Comfort Inn in Payson, Utah, not too far from our highway change. I think it was the last room in the area. They asked us if we wanted a queen size bed and no smoking on the 2nd floor. It was 11:00 p.m. We said, “Yes.” The girl said, “Great, because that’s all we have left.” They had a one-year-old running the computer. Help is hard to find. We got to our room, opened the door, and were hit in the face by an arctic blast. No heat. It was fully warm about 3:00 a.m.!!!
The second morning we were a little lazy; didn’t leave until 8:00 am, but we had a shorter distance to go. Again the roads were a little wet but mostly dry as we headed over the mountains of Utah to Grand Junction, Co., Montrose, and Gunnison. We stopped in Gunnison and got some groceries. It wasn’t easy cramming them into the car. Ilene held most of them. Finally we arrived in Pitkin, Co. Here there were a few flakes coming down and about 3 to 5 feet of snow in Jim and Joanne’s yard. It was about 4:30 p.m. I took my snowshoes for their first walk – about ½ mile.
13th
The third day of our adventure I joined Jim and his party for a snowmobile ride. We went uphill; everything is uphill from this lodge at 9,242 ft. I was able to bury my snowmobile. Out of the group I was the only one who got stuck. Jim helped me out but at 12,000 ft. I lacked air and was ready for a nap when I got back to my cabin. I went for a ride by myself in the evening and almost got stuck two more times. Not a good idea!
14th
It was a clear day ranging from 7 to 50 degrees. Jim bought a Monkey on a Stick. It is a rod where a mechanism goes up to lift a snowmobile out of the snow. It is about 6 ft tall when you buy it. When you get stuck, the tracks usually dig out the snow under the snowmobile and you have to lift it to get more snow under it so you can push the skis on the front. This day I got stuck and we had to lift it out by hand. About 500 pounds is what they weigh. That is what prompted Jim to buy a Monkey on a stick.
On the second ride I got stuck two more times and it was a lot easier to get out. I wanted to kiss Jim for getting it but thought better of it. We went to Gunnison and bought gas, $110. When you are riding all day, it takes 10 to 15 gallons and the gas station is 25 miles away.
I was taking a nap from the riding and was wide-awake when Ilene came in to get thread to sew. The cabin is fun. When you open the door it groans. There is no sneaking in and if you let go of the screen door, it closes with a bang. This is the only noise there is except for the snowplows in the morning. It had snowed the night before and there were drifts on the road. They take really good care of the road out front because it is part of the school bus route.
As this was Valentines Day, I took everyone to dinner. Valli arrived as we were leaving for Gunnison. On the way there we saw Big Horn sheep, deer, and the only two elk that live in Colorado. In the last 40 years I have seen 9 elk.
15th
Yes, it was a fun day with a lot of riding. Jim was the leader with Valli, Joanne, and me. Joanne took the rear keeping an eye on me. I was able to get stuck two times and as the rest were watching me ride, I tried a hill that almost rolled me over. All they could see was my feet as I went over. When snowmobiling, Ilene thinks I should put red reflector tape on the bottom of my shoes.
The gas was running out so I tried to turn it back over. My back went out a little but not too bad. Jim said he would have helped me but he was laughing too hard. Valli got stuck two times and rolled it once. It was great to see someone other than myself having problems. We went about 40 miles, stopped at Jim’s trailer for a snack and a hot drink. The little room was out back and the snow was four feet deep. It was fun to watch the girls crawling through the snow and then digging out the door. I chuckled a lot.
Valli said she didn’t maintain contact with the earth when she rolled over. Where we were sitting, all we could see were feet.
We came back and ate Lima bean and ham hock soup. It was the end of a good day of fun.
16th
We got about a foot of snow the night before. We shoveled and Jim plowed. We took a nap. It is a hard life but some one has to do it.
The Snowmobiles are fun to ride but if you do something wrong you pay. I got stuck four times and tipped over three times. One was not my fault. There were two trees and I tried to ride between them; one moved over. I hit it and flipped. You think it would have known better. I was following Jim and he was going down about two feet in the snow. If I were leading, there was no way I could push that much snow and not be stuck. I had problems just following. It was a lot of fun and when you ride with some one whois better than you, it makes you better.
Marci’s family arrived about 6:00 pm.
17th
Joanne and Ilene went bowling in town. Vellen, Myran, and Trina arrived around 11:30 a.m. Noah (6) and Aaron (4) had a ball sledding and rolling in the snow.
Valli, Tim and I went on a test warm-up ride in the morning.
After lunch Jim, our leader, Vellen, Trina, Myran, Valli and I went on a ride. My ski broke and every one but Trina got stuck. I took my shirt off and got a little tan while waiting for them to come back and pick me up and go down the hill. The rest got stuck multiple times. It was warm and the snow turned to slush. Myran towed in my ski with the bad motor with me riding the brake so I didn’t run over him. Myran, Trina, Marci, and I went up to Waunita to watch the sunset. When we came back we had Oysters for dinner. What a day.
18th
Went up Waunita and down the backside trail. What a thrill! The drifts were big and steep; no tracks on the backside as you found yourself flying though the air. No track at the top of the drifts after you went over.
We ate lunch and then off to swim in the hot springs. They have a big pool about 100 degrees and hot tub at 108. Some drove there and some went by ski. The ski that Vellen was riding lost most of its steering so he didn’t go too fast. It only took a half turn to make the skis turn. What a wus. We fixed the missing bolt in the freezing cold. Kneeling in the snow was not good. We were so lucky the bolt was still in the frame but could not find the nut in the body; some times you can.
We played with Noah and Aaron after dinner and then played Bones (Dominos). It is snowing tonight.
19th
We wore Valli to a frazzle so she went home today. We went snowmobiling in the really soft snow. It came over the windshield and would fill your lap up with snow. There was this problem of me getting cold. It seems in my rush to put on my bibs, I left the zipper open. Ilene thinks this could get me in a lot of trouble but not on a snowmobile.
It turned out to be a great day for snowmobiling but two of them died and we had to work on them. One we were able to fix, the other one was dead. Noah decided this was his last chance to ride. He got ready and said he was “going” – and he had a ball. Jim and Noah rode together and Marci, Tim, and Myran went for a night ride, while Vellen and I put the starter rope in the “Rock,” my snowmobile. Ilene stayed home with Aaron, who was sick.
20th
Vellen and I went for a long ride, cutting trail that no one had rode in days. The snow was about a foot deep. Jim was waiting for us when we got back to go out again. We choked down a sandwich and off we went. After a few miles the steering went out again. It was the other side of the clamp. What a pain, no room for your hands. No room for your fingers and a wind that was just above 0. Vellen did the work; Myran held a tarp to keep the wind off and I held the bolt from the bottom. This only took about an hour and a half. We were so cold that we got in the hot tub. We laid there and watched the clouds coming. They got darker and darker and the snow started. Oh yes, there was the cold wind. Your hair would freeze; you had to dunk to thaw it. It snowed a lot and my boots had snow in them and the towel had snow on it. Let me see the cabin is about fifty yards. You have a snow soaked towel and wet bathing suit. We are 9,242 feet so you can’t run and the snow and wind at below freezing. I think I will do it again in June.
21st
Myran, Vellen, and I went on a long ride for about three hours. It was one of those days right out of a brochure. It was freezing and the sun was out. You could see for miles. It was just one of those days that don’t come along very often. Myran was the only one who got a little stuck; I almost did two times.
Trina, Myran and Vellen left in the afternoon for Rene’s and her brother, Mike’s (Jim & Joanne’s daughter and son), then to Valli’s and then to the airport to fly home.
22nd
Jim and I went on one last ride. It was clear like the day before. Ilene packed and so when we got back at three it was time to go. One fog bank but the roads were clear. We stayed in Ogden, Utah at a Days Inn. Its bed was really big and soft. The pool was right out the door but it closed at ten and it was 9:55 when we got there.
23rd
The last day was just a long day of driving and yes, Ilene stopped at the Wild Horse Casino. (Byran stopped too or else Ilene couldn’t have gotten out of the car.) I lost $26.00 and never got a push or win. Ilene was up but gave it all back and then some $35.00. The house was a cool 54 and it didn’t take long to get a fire going. We want to go see Ray but my dad has a problem, colon cancer.
I need a few long rides to get in shape for my Florida ride. I was thinking Lompoc would be a good place to train. I have a lot of good friends there. Chuck found a bright red Bra on his bike and I want to help him look for the owner.
Byran’s Journal
Interesting stats: We drove our 2000 Suzuki Station wagon with 60,000 – no tune up yet. We used 73.26 gallons of gas with an average of $1.97/gallon. We drove 2,285 miles at a cost of $145.00 or .06/mile - 31.2 miles per gal.
posted by Byran on the side at 8:48 AM
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