I'm hoping tomorrow is too.

 

As long as it's not raining it should be a good day for a ride. I hate riding in the rain.

 

The rain is my least favorite too. I can dress for the cold or just about anything else.

 

[SIZE="3"]Today was another perfect day for a ride. Especially considering its the middle of December.



This trail is just up the road from me. There were tracks from several different machines and only one of them made it this far. I'm sure the others came up when the snow was fresher and deeper.



It was getting deeper so I stopped here to do a short video.

Sam Stowe 01 12/19/18 - YouTube

This was it for me today. I don't doubt that I could have it hit a few more time and kept going but there's not much out there to hook a winch rope to so I turned around and headed back down.



I came back down and headed for the new trail just up the road.
Just off the trail are some 1200 year old Fremont Indian rock art.
I live in Fremont Indian State Park. We have a museum here and there are over 2600 pieces of rock art. Its pretty cool.



The new trail is pretty cool. Too bad its not 10 times as ling as it is.



Just a little diversion.



Its actually pretty steep. When you feel your front tires come up while climbing back up is kind of a telltale sign its steep.





Kind of a habit to refuel and wash it before putting it away. I'm sure it makes it run a lot better. [/SIZE]

 

When your frame is leaving tracks you know it's starting to get deep. My old plow mount had 4 little brackets that the 2 pins went through to hold the plow on and when the frame itself wasn't touching sometimes it carved 4 narrow lines in the snow. One time I was leaving lines in the snow for miles and didn't even know it until I turned around and went back. Winter will be here Friday, starting out with an 80% chance of rain.

I'm dreaming of a mostly cloudy/partly sunny Christmas. There's no snow in the forecast until sometime after that.

 

I want snow bad so I can work Jan-March grooming the snowmobile trails.

This is my work truck. I drove this for several years before retiring. I carry mail from 10 post offices to a distribution center and then haul the next days mail back to the post offices.

I drive my old route when one of the two other drivers take time off and then from right after Thanksgiving til Christmas. I'm the "Christmas extra" because they run two trucks every night due to all of the extra Holiday mail. I work 4 on 2 off and get in about 12 hrs each night.

I will be driving Christmas Eve and Christmas Day night so wanting a White Christmas is something I have mixed feelings over.


The company that I drive for has camera's in all their trucks.

They save past and present footage when something changes like slamming on the brakes, hitting something that jars the truck and very evasive moves.

My friend sent me this one of me hitting a deer a few nights ago.

You can hear me hit the brakes at about 13 seconds. These things don't even think about slowing down when you hit the brakes.

Brake check me and I'll flatten your *** like a gnat.

 

It's good thing the truck has a baby Bambi thumper bumper.

 

They call those bumpers moose bouncers up here in New England. I have not got hit by one yet.... I have almost hit two different moose out on the trails where I came around a corner to find moose in the middle of the trail. Just missed one and was able to stop in time for the other. She didn't look happy. Ears back, hackles up, and head down. I got out of there real fast.

 

That truck doesn't even know it hit a deer.

Jan 2016 I hit a giant bull elk in this 2-ton Hino (made by Toyota). It was worse than it looks. Radiator wrapped around the water pump. The truck was a high mileage truck so they totaled it and just parted it out.

I've hit about 26-27 deer including 4 bucks and two of them would have looked nice hanging over someones fireplace.

 

I think deer are kamikazes by nature. They just can't help it. My ex brothers-in-law living in Glennie, MI always had a freezer full of venison and didn't need to hunt for it. All they had to do was drive around, business as usual, and the deer would jump in front of their trucks. The DNR says an estimated 6.6 deer were taken per 10 hunters in Alcona county where they lived, making it the 13th best of 83 counties for deer hunting. Last year they had an estimated 4,687 deer taken.

ETA: In my county an estimated total of 3,849 deer were taken, 4.5 deer per 10 hunters, making it the 51st best for deer hunting.

P.S. Some places people may argue what's better for deer hunting, .30-30 or .30-06, and other places it may be which is better for deer, Ford or Chevy.