It was wonderful to wake to no wind and sun, today is our ATV day. I let out Stella fed Harley as S made coffee. I put a few swipes of wood filler on the dresser top.
See how the primer dries clear? And the circles all over the top were filled.
S packed beverages while I packed snacks and after 10 we had Harley loaded and on our way west. There was a plan to leave H for the day as B would be out and had offered to take a Paetz child along but they were busy so H was in. As I was letting B know I asked if she might want to join us which came back as a surprising yes as long as Cooper could come. Well sure but dogs in the dogs will have to ride in the back. We picked up B and Coop and moved the windshield to the ranger. I had been saying my gut says not to do that but rather leave in quilt and B just have to fit her legs behind it. S chose to put it on the SXS so we rearranged H's thick bed and blankets, coolers etc for all to fit in the back seat.
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We headed off at 10:45, we were just about 15 minutes down the road when B looked back to see the windshield was cracked in 3 lines!!!! OMG that was a huge ball sucker. I called a dealer and found out a new one was $1065 plus GST! This was not a great way to start the ATV trip at all but we carried on after stopping to pull out H thick bad to put it on in the back with her quilt over it and ratcheted down.
We arrived at Waiprous South Ghost staging area before 12:30. Ranger was loaded up with snacks, drinks, dogs and people. B chose to ride in the back with the dogs on the cushy thick bed. Off we set with a photo of the trails on my phone. The trail north was designated for all ATV vehicles including trucks which really makes for lots of ruts and open dry areas.
heading out video
There was a group of bikers that would pass then us pass them and so on. One of the times they had a fellow broke down and required our assistance and tool kit. S helped the guy fix his bike and we all were off.
we stopped for a refreshment break
break was in the shade for the backseat crew to cool off
S wanted to see the campground, so we took that route. There was a huge open view at the top of the hill to stop and check out and eat more licorice.
Surprisingly there was an off-road fair going on with maps, stickers info and even free chili lunch with bun, drink, cookies etc. This was where our luck turned around yet again seeing we did not pick up lunch in Cochrane as planned as our minds were a bit frazzled after the windshield incident. After the stop we loaded up and headed across the bridge and up to see the campground.
The luck turned bad once again as the fish police stopped us. Sheldon's good acting did manage to get us off the threatened $600 plus in tickets (B riding in the back, no helmet/seatbelt nor did S have his seat belt on) the one officer said he would not give seeing S looked like a nice guy. Good thing they did not check the cooler :)
B now moved to the middle seat giving the dogs more room to stretch in the back. Change of plans to not loop around the east side but head back the way we came. At the option of taking a green trail we voted it would be better than wide bumpy dusty trail. Our choice gave us winding challenging but oh so scenic options.
check out these 2 videos of the bushwacker
There were 2 areas where things got a bit hairy and sure enough if the biker brigade did not help us with them. It was yin/yang karma kinda day. This view was so worth the ups/downs of today, it truly was a $1000 view.
Just look at this video view
We made it safely back to our truck at 6 pm having travelled 50 kms. Everything was unloaded/loaded and 5 dusty passengers made the journey back west. We stopped in Cochrane so I could run in and get us burgers and sweet potato fries for the ride home. We dropped B and Coop at their door 10 hours after picking them up and we were back to the ranch at 8:30.
I took a load in and fed the hungry H with J coming in to stay the night with her too. Then I went to find the other 2. Gulliver was found but no Stella. S did come out to help look for a bit but at 9 I gave up and came in to take a well needed shower. The barn was left open for her to go in as well as G. It was then into bed to relax and watch my iPad while S drifted off to sleep.
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