All Work and No Play.......

What a crazy weekend! We went up early Saturday to work on insulating the upstairs in preparation for the pine wall installation. First we had to clean up the remaining snow from the last snowfall. Our guy Don (a real saint) does a great job keeping our driveway open for us, but can only get so close. There wasn't a lot but needed to clear away from the doors and trailer. Ryan and I went off to Home Depot in Littleton to pick up the door for upstairs, and Karen finished up installing the soffit ridge vent. After we returned, we got started on the insulation. It was a slow, itchy process, but we managed to know out almost half in about six hours. It is very tedious cutting and fitting, and crawling in and out of the knee wall area, and stapling upside down at times.
We got it pretty warm in there too, so warm in fact we actually ended up shutting off the heater several times. It will really be awesome once the room upstairs is totally enclosed. 58 degrees doesn't seem very warm but when you are working with insulation you don't want it to be much warmer, or else the itching really starts in. All the while, as we worked the snowmobiles went by the house. Single riders, groups of 3, 4, 5, and more drove by in both directions all day long. All I could think was sure, rub it in, rev those engines a little more while we are here working. At least I know we are working on a long term goal, so that made it a little easier to swallow. I also did a little electric work, having to move a few switches, and rewire one of the lights to come on with a single switch. Of course I waited till it was late in the day and had to hurry before dark. Karen caught a nice shot out the front window with the video on her camera, as several snowmobiles crossed the street.

That evening after dinner watching the weather report, they were forecasting winter storm warning for all of Vermont till Monday morning. We got up the next day and it was snowing! Off we drove to the garage, and the roads already had 3-4 inches with the prediction of 8-16 inches for the day we decided we would just head home, because it was a 3 1/2 hour drive on a good day. The snow was coming down too.We jumped back on the highway, and headed south. 1 lane was semi clean, but it didn't take long before we passed a truck towing a snowmobile trailer, which looked like it flipped, and ripped the enclosure off like tin foil on a ring-ding. We saw several other spin outs and people in snowbanks as well. By the time we hit White river Junction, the snow was light. By the time we got to Springfield, Vt the roads were dry pavement. Once into Massachusetts, rain sleet, snow and any combination of the above. Back home in one piece but lost some valuable work time, better luck next weekend.

Back to Business-Sort Of

Well after a few weeks of awesome riding, we hit a late January thaw. Several inches of snow dissipated very rapidly due to warm temperatures and rain. After 4-5 days of above average temps, things dropped to a more winter-like 20's, but the damage was done. The open areas took a bit of a beating, but the trails in the woods held up pretty well. I went up this weekend to pick up materials for next weekend, when we will work on insulating the upstairs, in preparation for wall treatment. This was a picture of the White Mountains heading into NH to go to Home Depot-that's where the closest one is. Picked up insulation, and some other miscellaneous stuff, headed back to unload and bring upstairs. After I lugged everything upstairs it was time for some lunch.
After a late lunch and a little cleanup, I went out for a late afternoon/early evening solo ride. There were very few other snowmobiles out for a late Saturday afternoon, which made it easier to stop and take a few pictures. This was a melting stream on one of the trails. And this was a strange house along the rail bed You can never figure out what people were thinking when they build I guess. Dusk fell and on the way back I drove by this barn out in the woods, and had to get a picture of it.
After a 40 mile jaunt, I headed back to the garage, and worked for a while installing soffit vents, then back to the hotel.The next morning, I went back and cleaned up a little more, and decided to head over to Walden, as the local snowmobile club there the Coles Pond Sledders were having a Pancake breakfast. I headed out on the trails, and took the scenic trail up to the scenic view. The view could have been better but it was a little overcast. There was a light snow falling and I was kind of able to capture a snowflake or two on my gloves On the way down to Walden I passed a familiar sight.

I arrived in Walden @ the old church for the pancake breakfast and it was mobbed! So many snowmobiles and cars lined up down the road. This is about a third of the snowmobiles out in the field. It would take too many pictures to show them all. Someone who is involved on the local club was there also with his unique snowmobile

Back to the garage with a full stomach, and the long drive back home. All told some work got accomplished, and 100 miles in on the trails.

Ride On

Well another weekend of slacking on work, but just riding. With all this snow I'll never get anything done. :-) Conditions are just too good to pass up, and the views are always breathtaking!

I brought a friend and co-worker up for his first snowmobile experience this weekend. He is an athletic type person and has ridden jet-ski's before, so he was pretty much a natural. Left Home Base ~9:30 in the morning, down the rail bed to Greensboro Bend. Once we rounded the corner from the railroad bed to the open trail we saw a beautiful house on the hill.We stopped @ Smith's store for a quick nourishment break. Then we went over the new Greensboro Bend to Wheelock connector, past a few cross country skiers. Nice trail, very small, but it was a good time maneuvering on the narrow trail. Headed north on 51 over to 53 then 52. Stopped to gas up @ East Burke, and soon as we got there they were having gas pump problems. Saw a few State Police sleds while we were there. We doubled back to Lyndonville to top off, crossing next to the old covered bridge. Then we headed back through E. Burke picked up 54 down to 2/5. Passed the groomer on 54 and another on 2/5.Trails were smooth for a while where the groomer had been.Drove through Victory, Kirby, then on to 5 through St.Johnsbury, and back home through the underpass tube. Here is a unique view of that.Stopped @ Goodfellas for a early dinner and back to chill.We did about 115 miles great for his first time. We probably could have ridden some more but didn't want him to get too tired of it too quick. He seemed to enjoy himself, which is good, though he was complaining about a little finger pain today (Monday) I call that the "holding on syndrome"
The amount of snow up there is still amazing. We have nowhere left to put it in the driveway it seems.

Soon I will have to shovel it out into the yard to make more room for it. Not necessarily a bad thing. :-)

Nothing else to do except........Ride On.
See you next time! The big ride coming in 2 weeks