The snowmobiling story

The slide show below paints a pretty good picture of Saturday's snowmobiling day with Brandt and Heather Knowlton, but there are a few things that no picture can tell you. Especially, how SORE I am. Granted, I don't do much in the way of 'active' fun, but come on! Who knew that I would be so stiff from a few hours of riding a snowmobile? We had such a great time though. I admit that I was scared the ENTIRE time! If there had been a recording device on me, it would've captured lots of squeals and screams and maybe a few quick prayers. Even when I stopped to pee behind a bunch of trees, I got stuck to my hip in snow. No one around to really help me, since I was seeking privacy. :) I managed to crawl out, but it would have been a funny sight to see.
Josh, Brandt and Heather were so patient with me. I had never snowmobiled on my own before. They are all pros at it and I'm sure would've enjoyed their day so much more without a beginner, but it never showed. They kept things at my pace and just played in the areas where they new I would be safe and feel comfortable. The entire journey was about 45-50 miles and took us the better part of 6 hours. Our goal was to go up the back way to Hardware Ranch, eat lunch, and head back the quick and easy way to the truck. No one anticipated it taking us so long to get to Hardware Ranch, nor that Hardware Ranch no longer served food. Luckily, Josh and I had brought some Gatorade and beef jerky to snack on. That kept us going.
I really only had one close call the entire day, even though it felt like more. They convinced me to climb a steep 300 ft. mountain to save some time. I was so nervous and it showed. They instructed me perfectly and I watched Heather climb it, no sweat. I got more than 3/4 of the way up and it started to flatten out just a little and I got spooked. Somehow, I tipped the sled over on it's side. I was lucky to get out of the way, so it didn't land on my leg. Brandt was right behind me, as promised, and made sure I was okay. Which, of course, I was. JUST SCARED TO DEATH. They were all so good about it and told me that I had done a great job. The impact broke a piece of the windshield, but other than that, the sled was up in no time. Josh and Brandt got me to the top of the hill and off we went again. No more hills for me, though. Any time we were in a flat, wide open area, I was fine. I enjoyed being able to take it at my pace and see all of my surroundings. The fresh powder was so deep and it was relatively untouched. It was so pretty. They did tricks and whipped around, while I just went straight and fast. At my highest, I think I hit about 60mph. Whereas, Josh hit almost 100mph. On the way down the canyon, there were lots of turns. Not a fan of turning on a snowmobile. It took everything I had to maneuver the sled to go where I wanted it to. Apparently, power steering is not an option! I could feel my muscles getting tighter and tighter
throughout the day.
We were all so exhausted by the time we got to Hardware Ranch. It had taken much longer, which was most likely a result of me going slow. We were so shocked to find that there was no longer food amenities. Not even a vending machine. We glanced down at the herd of elk and hurried on our way. That's when Brandt's machine broke a tie rod. We had just started out, so he wasn't going very fast. Who knows what it could've done to him, if he had been playing hard. Josh and Brandt used their MacGyver skills and fixed it within 15 min. On our way down to the truck, we saw a few deer that were just off the trail. They don't run off, since the snow is so deep. We made it back safe and sound and had a wonderful day. We even saw a mama moose on the way up and on the way back down in
the truck.
We are grateful to Brandt and Heather for inviting us on such an adventure and to Brandt's parents for letting us borrow all of their toys. It felt good to finally be able to do something with Josh that he really enjoys. WE HAD A BLAST!