ATV Ride

The high point of the week was, for me, a ride on my ATV with other members of the Grand Junction ATV club. Destination: Battlement Mesa. (Rather than make the trip to Lead King Basin solo this weekend, I changed my plans to take advantage of a group ride.)

Battlement Mesa is a huge area, around 500 square miles, and contains numerous ATV and Jeep trails. I had ridden a few trails up there but knew there were many more I had not yet visited. When the club announced a group ride in an area new to me I made plans to make the ride.

Unfortunately I left my camera in the truck and had to rely on my cell phone for photos.

One disadvantage of group riding is that you can’t stop everywhere you want to take pictures. The ones included in this post were taken at stopping points for breaks and lunch.

Trail sign post

Group stops for a break

Vista view from lunch stopping point

Club members enjoy looking over the Interstate Corridor – Rifle to Silt – from this overlook

My ATV parked under a tree at a vista view overlook

What I was not able to capture were photos of the variety and profusion of wild flowers in bloom, including my favorite mountain flower, columbine. Also missed were photos of high mountain meadows with views of Vega Lake. I’ll have to go back and photograph some of these views!

We had 11 machines on this trip and the route was just under 40 miles long. One of the members suffered a flat tire on his rig which slowed us down; the cut could not be plugged (he tried) and frequent stops had to be made to put air in the tire. The result was loss of more than an hour on the return leg so I arrived home later than I had anticipated, but had called Pam when I came into cell phone range and let her know the situation.

Overall it was a good trip and one I will make again when I have the opportunity. The route does not have much for water features (a few very small streams) but it did show off mountain vistas, meadows, wild flowers in profusion, and would be considered a moderate trail; a few times in low range to climb hills and only once in 4-wheel drive and that only for about 50 feet.  It was a good outing.

In other news, Pam made a pie from the cherries she picked off our tree; if anything the pie turned out slightly sweet even with reducing the sugar content recommended by the cookbook. I will be picking the last of the cherries later today. Pam already has enough to make another pie or two (in the freezer).

Cherries – first picking

Maintenance item: I replaced the main drive belt on my John Deere riding lawn mower; that job took a few hours. The old belt, original to the tractor which dates from the late ’90s, was badly cracked and was making noise as it would around the pulleys. Hopefully the new belt will last as long as the original. The mower deck had to come off and various guards removed and I even had to unbolt part of the steering linkage, all jobs that require me to work underneath the tractor. I knew the job had to be done before the old belt broke completely and left me stranded in the yard, but I was not looking forward to it. I’m glad to have the replacement completed.

Pam will have a few comments about the foster cats and their moms, but for me, not much else  (other than trip above) happened this week.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Mom and four kittens now out of the “cat room” so two less pens to clean.  Second feral mom to vet for spay this week, then release.  Remaining kitten Solette will be in-house for awhile yet. She is a spunky cutie, and I don’t really want her to go to the shelter, so will need to devise some other placement scenario.

Three feral kittens (they appear to be 3-4 months of age) made their first appearance at the back deck feeding station a few nights ago.  The beat goes on — I can never help them all.

Cherry pie is not really my thing; this pie was for Fields (cherry pie is one of his favorites.)

Happy Trails.