A lot to be Thankful for!
 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We were able to leave some cold weather back home and travel to South Dakota to share the holiday with my wife's family, roads were dry for the 500 mile drive and it is about 40 degrees warmer than home. Hope everyone has a great day with family and friends and can find something to be thankful for. FF

That must be your idea of heading south for the winter. :) I stayed away from my family this year. It's less stressful.

It was less stressful, I went to my in-laws and stayed away from my family Lol. much easier to get along with sometimes. I think it's waa aay easier at least I know What I'm getting into not so much with my family.

I get along GREAT with my family and don't have any in-laws to deal with.

Had dinner with one of my daughter's family's who moved closer to me back in May. It was very enjoyable.

It is a time to be grateful. I am grateful for my family, 4 beautiful daughters and 13 awesome grandkids.

2nd cancer free Thanksgiving in a row. :D

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We had family over for Thanksgiving at our new to us house in Nottingham, NH. All the fixings, with family around swapping stories and ideas for future plans. Nice and peaceful.

Just before Thanksgiving I got a return call from the NH State Parks. They said that Pawtuckaway State Park is open to quads once there is enough snow and it is below freezing. I live right above Pawtuckaway Lake, so once it freezes over I can ride from my back door, out our lake access, across the lake, and into the park! Judging from 2 snowstorms in the week before Thanksgiving, I think we'll have a pretty good winter here and lots of time to ride. Can't wait.

It must be nice. Is there a Sheriff of Nottingham?

Yes, yes, there is. Fortunately, he isn't the tax collector too. Bunch of the street names reflect the Robin Hood theme. Arrow, bow, Robin, etc. Funny thing is, my younger brother bought a vacation house in Canterbury, NH. Definitely got an English town thing going here.

That would really be nice to be able to have a place to ride our ATVs in the winter. Unfortunately there are a lot of tree huggers here, and a lot of the areas that we were able to take motorized vehicles into during the winter months have now been closed down. Lot of people cross country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking. One of the places we used to go is the reservoir that I had last posted some pictures of. We used to ride snowmobiles up there and go snow camping, now all of that is shut off during the winter to snowmobiles and is ooen only to cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Part of our problem is our snow gets so deep here and stays so cold that it is just powdery and we wouldn't be able to run are four-wheelers on it unless we had tracks, not quite there yet money-wise. That is a lot of cash to be sitting around for half the year, but I guess if it worked halfway decent we could get rid of the snowmobile and run the four-wheelers all year long. most of our trails have 5 to 10 ft of snow on them over the winter, they get packed down some but if you were to get a wheel off to the side where it wasn't packed you would be in big trouble. I think it would be fun to try a machine with tracks on it just to see how well it worked before I would take the plunge. It's bad enough getting a snowmobile unstuck, I can't imagine trying to get a quad out that was buried.
Take lots of pics Moose and share with the rest of us that will be waiting for the snow to melt, LOL.

We generally are allowed to ride on groomed trails in a few areas. Pawtuckaway is one of them. Over the years we've had a blast on winter trails. As said, if you get sucked off the groomed trail by a rut you can be in real deep. Deepest I've been is about 4 ft. deep after a rut caught one of my tires. Winches and snatch blocks are a must. You're not going to lift a 4wd utility machine out of deep snow. If we put tracks on ATV's we have to register them as snowmobiles here in NH. Not sure about VT or ME. That, and the price of the tracks has me thinking about a used snowmobile at some point.

A used snowmobile can be had for less than the cost of a new set of tracks. That and a lack of places to ride kept me from buying tracks. Some of the snowmobile trails here allow ATVs too but most don't. We have to stay on our own trails, most of which an ATV with tracks on it won't even fit. Snowmobilers are supposed to stay on their own tracks but don't. One winter when I was riding an ATV/motorcycle trail I came head to head with a bunch of people on snowmobiles. Of course I was the one who had to get far enough off the trail I belonged on for them to get by when they never should have been there in the first place. :mad: I don't remember if they helped me get back on the trail or if I had to winch myself out once they were past.

The width wouldn't be an issue I don't think for us because we have so many places that snowmobiles can go. but I do agree used snowmobiles can be picked up for half the price of a set of tracks I bought a used Polaris RMK 600 with about 1200 miles on it for 1900 bucks last year. Seems to be in great shape contemplating picking up another one so wife and I don't have to ride double if we don't want to. I can't believe the price of new sleds, the new Ski-Doos around here start that about 15,000 and go up. Beautiful machines certainly cannot justify the cost. Our ATV's and Snowmobiles have a 1 time permanent registration fee as long as we own the machine so I am pretty sure there is no additional fee whether we put tracks on them or not. We just have to use the machine in the designated areas allowed for that type of machine. There are guys out here that put a ski and single track on Motorcycles and they ride all the areas that snowmobiles ride, in fact they go far more place than the sleds do and I haven't seen anything but the permanent license plate on the bike.

If I owned a snowmobile I would have died a long time ago. :D Same reason I don't ride motorcycles.

A friend of mine bought a set of tracks for his 850 Sportsman XP. He told me they're not all they're cracked up to be.

I'd buy a snowmobile long before spending money on a set of tracks.

We actually have a lot of places out here to ride your ATV in the winter.

Spoiled!!!! That's great, good for you. We May have more than I know, am going to do some research and exploring this winter to see how much BLM land is available.
I've often wondered about the tracks because I see so many sets of them for sale in our neck of the woods. It appears that people have high expectations of them and probably don't perform as they hope. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos on them and they seem to work fairly well, but there's still something that nags at me about spending the dollars. Probably better off to just buy another sled. Working on a deal right now to hopefully pick up a little bigger trailer that will allow me to haul my to Can-Am the facing frontwards side by side, and also to be able to haul two sleds. The trailer I have now is strictly for ATVs and almost too small for that. I can fit both of them sideways as it is 9 feet long, but the width is sketchy to say the least. I have to pull the front wheels of the 2 up upon to the outside rail to get my ramps out from underneath the rear tires. It is also a bit of a lightweight trailer which I think was made strictly for two single sized four wheelers. Going to keep scouring Craigslist for another possible sled. Who knows my research may warrant a midwinter trip down south. if that would not be too much of an imposition, I may be in touch.FF

https://i.postimg.cc/cLT5FRnh/075.jpg

I'm pretty lucky to live where I do for sure. It really is ATV Heaven. Utah is a very OHV and gun friendly state.

Here's my ATV trailer. I bought new it back in 2004. Its been an excellent trailer for me.

Its pretty much for 2 ATVs only. This was the day I picked up my new Brute Force back in 2014.

I road a fairly new Polaris 660(?) sled last year. I'd kill myself on one if it were mine. :lmao:

There are snowmobiles with a power/weight ratio around 10 times what my ATV has. It would be a miracle if I survived a whole winter intact if I had something like that. The guy I always ride with snowmobiles in the winter, when he can find enough snow. One time he was on a snowmobile trip with some other guys and when they got back to the hotel they stayed at one guy was missing. He was wrapped around a tree and his body was cold by the time anyone found him.

Frank,
That is An extremely sad story. That is one reason my wife and I don't normally go riding by ourselves, usually go with as least one other couple especially pin trails we've never been on before. If we do go alone it's not pin a very technical trail, I think we've only been on 4 rides where it's been just the two of us in the 4 years we've been riding. Even then we try to each have a machine in case Pointe of us needs to ride out for help. I can't imagine losing a member of a group like that. We try to stick together no matter what we're riding. That just had to be a sickening feeling when they realized he wasn't there.
Slow and easy is my motto. Maybe that's why we don't necessarily cover very many miles in a day.

Specta,
Nice trailer, I looked at that type of trailer, when we bought our first two ATV's, more money than I had at the time, but always thought that would be the ticket. The only issue for me is with having a snowmobile and possibly picking up another one that type of trailer wouldn't work for me. Need to have a snowmobile trailer with Aston 8x8 deck minimum. Working on making a trade with a friend, either that or selling mine aims buying hers, it has a 8x10 deck, with a shield on the front, only thing I don't like is it has the smaller tires under the deck. If I end up getting it I will look into putting a different axle on it , it will make it taller but more road worthy for longer distances if it had taller wheels and tires. We'll see, I think she will sell it to me for whatever I can get out of my trailer. I made some asides for mine so it doubles as a utility trailer as well.

I have read that Utah is veryATV/UTV friendly, and..... being further south allows for riding throughout the year. Our altitude and being further North just limits our riding time frame due to the amount of snow we get. Unless of course we travel out of our area to ride, which we haven't done yet.
I know Wyoming and Colorado sell a yearly trail pass for out of state riders, does Utah puffer the same option? And do you as a resident have to buy a yearly sticker or license? And is that something but in January and is good through December? Here in Montana we are able to buy a permanent plate and permanent trail sticker for as long as we own the ATV/UTV, and are allowed to ride on all streets, highways, and county roads as long as we have headlights, taillights, brake light, horn, and atleast one mirror. At least in our county. I will do a bit of research and check it out.

https://i.postimg.cc/sfbWnybN/172399...62513703-o.jpg

My four daughters are what I'm most thankful for.

https://i.postimg.cc/Kj5HrZ6C/Carolyn.jpg

Long story on the Grouch Marx glasses. These two are amazing people who helped kill the cancer that had attacked me.
Dr Grossmann and his APRN Carolyn - I love her tons.

When I got the snowcat stuck last year they came out to get me on snowmobiles and we sunk one of them in the snow trying to get it turned around. It took over 1/2 hr to get it back on top - it SUCKED!!!

If you get stranded on your ATV its never going be as serious as getting stranded on a snowmobile.

Yep been there and it is not fun to be stuck, Lots of work to get those 500 lb. machines out of a powdery snow hole.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/atvconn...b4ba94438e.jpg
The ladies love to ride, not so willing to help dig out.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/atvconn...c7f647a177.jpg
The drift on this trail was easily 6 ft deep, I think we worked on this for almost an hour to get it turned around.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/atvconn...d186136f59.jpg
So you think she dug herself out? Whatever! This is our dear friend Julie who has Appendiceal cancer, they found another lump in an oblique muscle in her abdomen this summer, the treatment didn't help. She is waiting to see if/when it is going to advance. But has decided she is done with treatments. She is an amazing woman this is really going to be tough. She did however ask us at church last weekend if our machine was ready because she is. She is truly unbelievable.

I'm truly sorry to hear this. :(

Cancer sucks. It has change both me and my life forever.

I had a very aggressive advanced stage IV metastatic melanoma. Skin (over 14 different tumors), brain, lung, rib, pelvis, left adrenal gland removed, cancer in my abdomen and stomach muscles. 7 years, 80+ doctor visits, clinical trials - two that have since become FDA approved treatments, 4 different types of chemo treatments, radiation treatments, 3 surgeries, brain MRIs and ct-scans nearly every 12 weeks for 5 years. My appointments are 400 miles round trips so over 30,000 miles traveled.

I still travel to the Huntsman Cancer Institute and do volunteer work every other week at the hospital. This is the greatest job that I have ever had.

I have been cancer free since Sept 26th 2017. I am incapable of truly expressing my gratitude for everything that they have done for me.

For me it has been a truly amazing journey.

I wish nothing but the very best for your friend Julie.

Here's a link to a lot of registration info. I do register mine every year - it costs me around $60. They are generally due the month you bought your machine. Close to $20 of that goes directly into the states OHV fund including search and rescue. So does a portion of out of state permits. Without looking I believe you wouldn't need a permit here in Utah.

If your machine is street legal in Utah no one under 16 or who doesn't have a valid drivers license can't ride or drive the machine.
Mines not street legal.

Seeing the pics of stuck snowmobiles brings back some not so good memories, and one funny one. One time I was riding across one of my uncle's fields in the U.P. There were places he didn't cut the hay and there was so much snow you couldn't tell where it was cut and where it wasn't. I was cruising along when all of a sudden the bottom dropped out. There was snow on top of the hay but it didn't go all the way to the ground. I was walled in and it took a while to clear a path to get back out. That was the pits, or rather, a pit. Like a trapping pit for animals, with camouflage on top.

Oh my!!! God evidently was not finished with you yet. Your will to fight is an inspiration. Thank you for your well wishing for Julie, she is absolutely incredible, I know her faith has given her the strength to deal with this for the past 5 years. She has been an incredible witness to many people. Hers is a very rare form of cancer and she has had two procedures at MD Anderson in Houston. It was called Hipec chemotherapy, the slang term for it is "Shake and Bake." Because her appendix had ruptured, her cancer had spread into her abdomen and into her internal organs, They twice took her into surgery, opened her up literally pulled her organs out and removed all the cancer they could find then poured liquid chemo into her body cavity put her organs back in poured chemo all over her organs, closed her back up then put her on a table that rocked slowly in rotating circles for 90 minutes, opened her back and suctioned the chemo out, closed her back up let her recover for a few days then sent her home with her insides burnt to shreds, giving her no hope or time frame as to how long she had. They had dates for her to come back for checkups, which she did, that was 5 years ago, she had that procedure done again about 2 years ago and they told her that was the last time she should have it. When they discovered the lump they did chemo and scheduled a 3rd Hipec treatment but the lump they found it didn't shrink so she just said no to anymore treatments of any kind. That was back in August, so far nothing has advanced adn't further so she is just waiting to see what/when it happens. To look at her it would appear that there isn't a thing wrong with her. But she has determined that God is not finished with her yet either so she id's going to continue to live life, so we will live it with her and just watch what the Lord does. It is great that you are giving back and helping others. She is doing the same thing with the time she has left. We really are truly thankful she is still here with us and that we get to that we get to share these awesome outdoor adventures with her and her husband. Glad you get to enjoy where you live as well.

Also am I missing something? I didn't see a link, LOL, I'll check the thread on my computer instead of my phone.

Julie is amazing. Too many people with cancer don't understand that you need to continue to enjoy life as much as possible. Too many people give up right from the beginning because they have cancer. Cancer thrives on hate and fear.

One of my close friends neighbors was scheduled to go to TX for the Hipec treatment. He is an older gentleman and has had a difficult struggle for the last few years and chose not to got ahead with the treatment. He feels what he would have to go thru at his age and the chance of really increasing his quality of life wasn't worth it. He may only be here for a very short period of time. Truly a sad deal.

I was dating a girl a few years back and one evening at dinner after a radiation treatment she looked at me and asked, "WHY are you in such a good mood?" I asked her, "why shouldn't I be?" She said, "look at what you are going thru, you have cancer and the cancer is in your brain!!". I laughed, "so?? look at what they are doing for me - its soo amazing and I'm here with you happy and healthy!". :D

She asked if I had ever seen The Secret which I hadn't. She told me it was about staying positive and bringing good things into our lives by being grateful for the things that we do have and feeling only positive thoughts. So I bought a copy and watched it, in fact I'v watched it several time. I am a very positive person to begin with but what it did do for me was made me more aware of my thoughts so I had even more control over them.

I have several copies. I buy them directly from the distributor in OR. She give me a killer deal because of what I do with them, I "share" The Secret with others.

My volunteer work at the hospital gives me the opportunity to spend time with a lot of patients and if the time is right and this is the direction our conversation goes I give them a copy of their own for them to watch.

https://i.postimg.cc/bNzv5STD/secretS.jpg

If you would like, I would be more than happy to send you a copy for Julie, and one for you too. Its not a religious thing. Just send me your address in a PM And I will get them in the mail the next day. If not no worries.

LOL, sorry about the link. I looked it up and copied it and just forgot to post it. :D

https://stateparks.utah.gov/activiti...n-and-permits/

https://i.postimg.cc/SKqrHrnF/IMG-3815.jpg

This is what I woke up to. Another BEAUTIFUL day. :D

That looked like us yesterday, was cloudy and overcast today and only about 23 degrees, what part of Utah is that? Looks pretty deserty, will that snow stick around now all winter?

I looked up The Secret and a book of the same name came out the same year as the movie. The book has sold 30 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 50 languages.

We've had a lot of rain in my part of Michigan lately. I don't especially like rain but at least I don't have to shovel it. There's a 50% chance of snow Monday and supposed to get down to 24 degrees Monday night. That's 10 degrees colder than Sunday night, but 24 may be our high temperature Friday with it dropping to 15 at night. :eek: I like it better when it's above freezing at night like right now.

-4 this morning.

Brrrrrrr! Colder than us. Certainly doesn't look like being south of us as help you out any today. LOL

https://i.postimg.cc/qqYbJ7kS/IMG-3820.jpg

I haul mail for a good friends trucking company during the Christmas Holiday. I drive about 540 miles at night. I work 4 on and 3 off. I'm an "extra" to help with all the holiday mail and packages. This is my work truck. I leave my pickup in Kanab while I'm working.

The Secret isn't religious. It helps you to keep focused on all the good we have in our lives and to stay positive. I've watched it several times.

I buy them from the original distributor that's in Oregon. No matter where anyone buys a copy it came from Cindy. The first time I called her she told me that they had over 100,000 copies on the shelf. They were the first company to distribute The Secret. She knows what I do with them and gives me an incredible deal on them.

We had a tiny bit of snow this morning but there's no trace left of it. Good. :thumbsup: I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful that I'm making some friends here and hope one day to be able to meet some of you.

I like that. :D

I'v met folks and become good friends with some of my internet friends.

-4 again this morning.

Thanks!
13 for us but supposed to get colder as the week goes on. 😞 hope my inside work continues.

I remember getting looks saying I was going out to Utah to ride with a buddy from ATVConnection.com. It's not quite the same as if your 13 year old daughter says the same. But, not having met Specta, I made sure we were carrying and always on the ready for any misbehavior. :D

Believe me I've already made the decision that I would be packin' were we to ever meet up to ride! I think it was how shifty he looked in the pic with his daughters.:rolleyes::D

Here's My motley crew.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/atvconn...c05037b4ca.jpg
This was taken about 8 years ago, my daughter was a senior.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/atvconn...5900f1e709.jpg
This was last Christmas, as you can see the boys didn't seem to want to stay little, my son on my right is 6'4" and my youngest is 6'6", I just got grayer :-(

https://i.postimg.cc/jj3C8K3m/IMG-3832.jpg

I carried too when Moose came out west. You never know what those easterners are going to be like. ;)

I've carried for YEARS.

Nice looking family Freedomflyer. I was a problem child and if I had a son I'm sure one of us would be dead and the other one would be in prison. LOL

I am more than grateful for my daughters and 13 grandkids.

And I'm grateful for my Dec job driving the mail truck. :D

Nice pic of the family, Freedomflyer. Thanks to my Dad I've had gray hair since I was in my early 20's. Was a bit annoyed when I was driving along with Mrs. Moose and she plucked one of my beard hairs out. She said, "You have a gray hair in your beard". I told her to leave any more gray hairs alone. :D Man, that hurt.

Don't hit any elk or mule deer with that thing. Meat won't be edible. :D

https://i.postimg.cc/RV8Jc2ZX/pisten-bully-100.jpg

My hair isn't going gray, its just disappearing all altogether.

I hit a big bull elk in one of my work trucks a few years ago, it killed the elk and the truck.
I've hit too many deer to even think about.

Got the call today that my boss is getting the snowcat ready for the season and we might even get out before Christmas.
We never even got out once last year due to not enough snow. i hope we get a fair share of it this winter.

We got this brand new Pisten Bully snowcat two winters ago and only groomed for three weeks getting out twice a week. Then the snow quit coming and we quit grooming. :(