Pole Haven - Camping, Quading, Creeks, & Cameras

We got home from work last Friday and our neighbor had left a note/map in our door. They said they were camping out at Pole Haven (in the mountains near Cardston) and we were supposed to meet them. So we packed the trailer and loaded the quad and headed out. Another family from Stirling came too. Saturday morning we went out quading and found some fun trails and mud. By the afternoon it was really hot out so we all decided to go down to the creek. Tim and I along with Dave and Jeff thought it would be fun to quad up the creek as far as we could go. It was a good idea until Tim and I went around one corner. It looked like a pretty deep hole, but we were hoping to just go along the edge and ride on the slope. No such luck. There was no slope. It was a drop off into waist deep water. Yep, we tipped our quad into the hole. I was able to keep my one hand, that was holding the video camera, out of the water. Jeff & Dave helped Tim right-side our quad which was completely under water. Then I remembered that our digital camera was in the cargo holder on the quad. We opened it up and a gush of water came out of the holder....the camera was drenched. We didn’t dare to try and start the quad so Dave towed us back to the camp. At camp we realized that the keys for the trailer and truck were no longer on the quad. They must have went into the creek. Went back to the creek...no such luck. We broke into the trailer and eventually were able to break into the truck with a coat hanger to get my spare keys. Back to the quad. The water damage was bad. We drained the oil and it was milky. However lucky for us our neighbor’s dad was out dirt-biking at Pole Haven too and he just happened to be riding with THE MECHANIC FROM KAWASAKI! The guy came over and fixed our quad in 30 minutes. Something that would have cost us $250-300 if we took it to Kawasaki. We tipped the quad around 1:00 and by 8:00 that night we were up and running like nothing ever happened....other than the fact that my camera was dead. So all the photos I have are stills from my video camera. Not the greatest quality.

Yesterday I went and bought a new digital camera. That was money that I sure didn’t want to spend. It’s got so many functions that I’m pretty sure I’ll just use the AUTO mode. I needed a new camera though cuz I use mine all the time. And it’s Britnee’s (my sister) highschool graduation tomorrow. Gotta have a camera for that!

That's as they're trying to right-side our quad. I didn't get any video of it under the water as they jumped pretty fast to get it out. Ignore the water drop on the lens.

Here they are again. Yep, that was a deeper hole than we thought.

Is that a tear? Nah, Tim doesn't cry.

Back up and running. Cheif Mountain in the background.

And some mud that we found while on a trail.

A little bit of this & a little bit of that!

So we got the truck. We picked it up Thursday night. We were able to go straight across from our S10. Which is so sweet cuz now we just got a new truck and we have no payments. I can't believe the dealership did that for us. They really didn't gain a thing. We love the truck. We went out camping this weekend and were able to pull the trailer and haul the quad at the SAME TIME! I'll post more about our camping trip later. I need to get some pictures and video downloaded to go along with that post.

Anywho, I finally got around to editing our video from quading in Jaffray on June 2nd. So here's the video that went along with this post. This Tim in the video, but I promise I do ride with him on these trips. But because I'm Tim's photographer and cameraman I'm never in any video or pictures. The first part of the video is at Koocanusa and the second part is near Buffalo Head in Jaffray. If you watch this video to the very end you'll get to see Tim almost roll his quad in a giant mud puddle.

New Truck

I think we’re getting a new truck. Well actually it’s a used truck, but you get the point. Tim wants something with a bigger engine to pull the trailer. At least that’s what he tells me. I’m pretty sure it’s cuz he wants to pull the trailer and have his quad in the back of the truck at the same time. Our S10 only has a 4' box and a small engine. The quad is 6' long and therefore to haul the quad we need to have our tailgate down. And if the tailgate is down then we can’t hook up the trailer. Well this F150 that we’re looking at has a 6.5 foot box. So it’s not 4 doors like our S10, but it is an extended cab with suicide doors. It’s looks like we should be able to trade straight across for this truck and that’s even taking into account our spider web windshield and the huge dent. Did I ever tell you about that dent? Tim ran over a wooden crate back when the truck was my truck not his. And we just haven’t fixed it yet (over $1000)...total ghetto. So here are a couple pictures. I’ll keep ya posted.

Belly River/Waterton Camping

The weather was miserable but we still had fun. We headed out camping in Waterton right after work last Friday. My cousin Evan and his wife Miranda (who live in Stirling as well) brought their tent and came with us. It was chilly Friday night, but at least the rain held off. Saturday we all slept late, had an awesome brunch, and then the rain came POURING down. So we left the campsite and drove to Red Rock Canyon. Tim and I got out our sweet ponchos so that we’d stay dry. They’re just so figure flattering. Ya, we look like nerds. Anywho, the rain stopped and we went back to the campsite. Tim decided no matter what temperature is was he was going to float down the Belly River in our dingy. It was SO cold. However I didn’t want to be left out so I squished in the kid’s boat with him. The rain held off (but it wasn’t warm out) till about midnight. When it started pouring again we called an end to the campfire.

Slacker Blogger

I’m behind a few posts. I haven’t even posted the video to go along with this yet. I have things to tell ya all, but I just haven’t had the time to write it out and post it. So I’ll start to play catch-up today.

Credit Cards

I just got a call from my MasterCard company this afternoon. The guy tells me that he’s following up on suspicious transactions on my card over the weekend. Ummm, excuse me? I wasn’t using my card over the weekend as I was out in the mountains (with no cell service) camping. Anyways, I guess someone got my card number and booked some flights with Air Canada and did some online shopping at La Senza (something sexy for Father's Day?) and a few other things. Anywho, I have no clue where someone would have gotten a hold of my card number. I still have the card, Tim doesn’t have a supplementary card, and I have NEVER used it over the phone or internet. That leaves me with three options: 1) Someone intercepted the supplementary card application that I sent in for Tim; 2) I never received the cheques they said they were going to send me...I just thought they were slow; or 3) Someone at work got into my purse. Well at least my MasterCard company (President’s Choice Financial–who I’ve sung praises about before) caught these "suspicious transactions" a month before I received my statement. They’ve cancelled my card and I’ll get a new one in a few days. And I won't have to pay those charges.

Here, There, & Everywhere–A Random Post

I don’t have a very exciting post for you today. My mowed lawn, empty sink, swept floors, and newly painted deck (all of which and more have been keeping me busy) don’t make for a very fun post. Life has been busy. Between real work, yard work, house work, church stuff, and exercise my days are zipping by. Midnight sneaks up on me every night. And 6am hurts every morning. But I’m not complaining. Things are going very well for Tim and I. We have plenty to do each day, but we get to slip in some fun stuff here and there.

I taught the RS lesson on Sunday. It was on food storage and gardening. Well my food storage is weak. Tim and I could only survive about three months on the Kraft Dinner, soup, and flour stored in our basement. And my garden just doesn’t exist. I guess I should add these two to my "To Do" list. Is it too late to plant a garden? Is it too late to sell my dogs so that they don’t dig and do their business in the new garden?

Did I tell you about my treadmill? I got it back in April on the same day Tim got his quad. Ya, that was a spendy day. Anywho, Tim has become the treadmill Nazi. You see, it’s a rent to own treadmill. So anytime that I don’t use it Tim threatens to take it back to Flaman Fitness. Ya, I totally whined for it and said I’d use it tons. Well, I do love the treadmill and I actually enjoy running on it...when I get there. It’s the lacing up the shoes and getting my butt there that’s the problem. My evenings are full so that only leaves mornings for my run. Have you ever tried running at 6am? I’m pretty sure I’m running with my eyes closed for the first 5 minutes. So I do my thing there and then get ready for work. Tim phones me on my drive to work to see how my run went. So what it all comes down to is that I don’t want to return the treadmill so I run on it daily out of spite.

Muddy?

Went to Jaffray this past weekend. Went out quading of course. It was so stinkin' hot out. We found some HUGE mud puddles. We got so wet and so muddy. By the time we took these pictures we had already been drying out for quite a while. Tim was wet to his armpits. He went through a mud puddle that almost sunk our quad...yes it was THAT deep. And of course we had to play in Little Sand Creek for a while as well. That water was freezing. So here are some photos and I'll post the video later on when I get a free moment to download it onto the computer. Please don't mind the hair in the photos. That's a result of wearing a helmet from 11:30am until 9:45pm. Yep, we quaded for that long. Just a short break for an ice cream cone in the afternoon and dinner that evening.