Thanksgiving / 2 Man Football with Grandkids

Gas @ $1.89, good stuff.

Cheers! A bit of camping under a brilliant moon the night after Thanksgiving.

 

Thanksgiving 2016 / Go Find Some Mud and Ride Your Bike / Listen To Your Great Grandpa

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 Favorite place to hang out with our Fat Bikes, you guessed it "The Swamp", Louisville Swamp that is... all the precious maintained trails are off limits now with a bit of moisture in the air.

Hell, ya got to have an adventure and sometimes it means getting off the beaten path. The River Bottoms have been an ever changing system since I have been wandering along the banks of the Minnesota River for the past 43 years. Man what the hell happened, 43 years, still kicking ass and looking for the adventure that the River offers. The nastier the conditions, the more the memories are made. Night rides are the best because the world shrinks to the size of the lights or sometimes in the winter, just the moonlight.

 The riding is good, but the 28 years or so that I had a good dog running in front of me was the best way to experience the winding trail along the River. No dog now... Like George Thorogood said..."people are kinda funny", about dogs running with ya when on the trails. Seems that the dogs were eating and scaring all the wildlife, that's what the sign says... HaHa!

 Some would think that the weather in the Fall is bleak and drab, not so Pilgrim. Black and white is good. I gain energy from the stark landscape.

Bloodlines Have a Direct Impression on Ones Lifestyle 

 Flashback to my Great Grandpa who hung around rivers... Here he is pictured back in the 1950s with a big ole Catfish in front of his 1937 Chevy. Great Grandpa Aker on my Mom's side. He lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, worked on the railroad. He was an avid Pheasant hunter and made many fishing trips to Canada.

He was on the job riding the train one night at the ripe old age of 55 and had a heart attack. They put him in a boxcar and transported him back to a town that had a hospital. I visited him several times when my boys were very young, he took pleasure telling me about that night of his heart attack. They told him he had to retire at the age of 55. Well, he continued to hunt and fish for the next 41 years, all the while collecting his Railroad Pension... He told me " ya gotta just keep moving", wise words.

Cheers to all ya Pilgrims out there that are livin' life like every day could be your last day...

Ride On!!

Giving Thanks for a Ride Along the River and Through the Woods

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Amazing the natural sculptures that make up the River Bottoms. The Fall season eliminates the underbrush and makes the trees the stars.

 

 A good river ride is scattered with stops to soak in the starkness of the bare trees and just simply watching the water flowing. Always being alert for wildlife and the sounds of the woods.  

 With the cold snap that has froze the ponds the waterfowl has found open water along the river ice. Canadian Geese and a Mallard...what's with the Duck?

A sea of prairie grass typifies the fall season blowing in the wind.

Sled Mods & Thanksgiving

These are the 4 modifications that I made to the M8 Arctic Cat to prepare for the mountains. The first trip to Wyoming and Colorado is coming up quickly so I was glad to finish the project. I took the pictures in the dark trailer, I'll get some better pics on the snow.

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3 " Riser block to raise the handle bars.

Ice scratchers (the black coiled spring on the rail) to kick up the snow to keep everything running cool on the track and the engine cooler under the tunnel. They release off the rail and drag in the snow

The new seat, it is shorter, taller, narrower and 4 pounds lighter.

The all important snowboard rack. It went on with only drilling 2 holes. I am able to remove the rack with 2 twist knobs and releasing 2 straps that attach to the rear bumper. There is still plenty of room for a plastic gas container on the tunnel.

SUV Powder CAT.

Thanksgiving Day

Three of my 5 grandkids at their house for Thanksgiving.