Sand, Mud and Critters. Oh My!!

I spent this past weekend with my husband, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and two friends in beautiful Black River Falls.

Why were we there?

ATV trails and A LOT of FUN!!

The trails open on May 15th and close on October 15th so we always go those weekends. So do a lot of other people which makes it even more fun.

Black River Falls - Over a 100 miles of ATV trails winding through scenic Black River State Forest and Jackson County Forest. "Sandy and Rolling" is the best way to describe these trails.

But - every once in awhile you will come across a "mud bog".

[Exhibit A] - Bret (the brother-in-law) was the first to get stuck this weekend. He usually is the first one so this was not a surprise. By the way - we had only been on the trail for about 5 miles when he "slipped" into the puddle.

During the three day - 180 miles driven we had several "adventures".

• Jeff almost hit three deers over the course of three days.
• Jeff almost hit a wild turkey.
• Gina almost ran over a porcupine.
• Bret is the first one to get stuck in the mud. (see Exhibit A)
  

Exhibit A

• Joe's machine over heats and he spends the rest of the day dealing with it. (See Exhibit B)

Exhibit B

• Gina plays at the "playground" by going through a really big puddle. (see exhibit C)

Exhibit C

• Gina made the mistake of teasing everyone about getting stuck over the last few years and then bragged that she never had.
• Gina got stuck three times after her "stupid" comment about never getting stuck.
• Gina "bumped" into a tree while trying to avoid a mud bog by going through the woods.
• Gina had to explain to the husband why the front grill of her 4-wheeler is "bent".
• Joe tipped his machine over and gracefully jumped free from it in front of about 40 people. Machine and Joe are fine.
• Joe gets stuck by taking a way that Gina had been thinking about - but thought he should go first. Gina went a different way. (see exhibit D)

Exhibit D

• Bret's machine dies and the weekend is over. Joe has to tow Bret's machine back and Nate volunteers to "drive" it. There are two or three mud bogs to get through before getting to a parking lot where the machine can get picked up. Joe has to go through these mud bogs very fast so that they don't get stuck. Nate ends up with a lot of mud on him in only 1.5 miles. (see exhibit E)

Exhibit E

In Conclusion: Even with machine problems we still had a GREAT time. These trails are awesome and by the end of the weekend they are REALLY rough. We pay for it physically but it is totally worth it.

Before we left the hotel to go home we were already planning the October weekend.

I can't wait!!