Snow (Mobile, Man, Ball)

Tuesday the 25th was my birthday. I'd nearly forgotten about it during all of excitement of traveling and activities in Idaho. I felt like I'd already been given an amazing gift. Who wouldn't want a two week vacation for their birthday? On top of that, my mother-in-law bought me two really great pairs of boots. Score! Travel and boots? It doesn't get much better.

Right?

Wrong. Enter, Grandma Joan. It was her idea to send us snowmobiling. She brought it up before we left her house to go to the mountains.  None of us has ever done it (or even thought about doing it), and she thought we might enjoy it--her treat.

So this day, being the day Nanabanana and Steve were heading back home, and being my birthday--we thought it was an excellent day to go enjoy Grandma Joan's fabulous gift. 

First, we had to drive to McCall again from New Meadows, where we rented two snowmobiles (two-seaters).

Included in the snowmobile rental are full snow suits, boots, helmets, and gloves--anything you need to stay warm and protected. 

From the rental place, we drove to a remote parking lot at the head of several trails and roads that are closed off in the winter to everyone but snowmobiles and dog sleds. 

We arrived a little early and decided to make a snowman in the parking lot while we waited for the rental people to bring out the snowmobiles.  This was our first snowman as a family.  The snow has to be just the right consistency (something else I didn't know before) to stick to itself.  You just make a little ball with your hands and roll it along the ground to pick up more and more snow, making a bigger and bigger ball.  How cool is that?  It reminded me of a cartoon or a video game the way the snow magically collected on the ball!  I realize I sound like a dummy at this point, but really... how can you know 'til you've tried it?  We dug through our backpack of snacks to see what we could find for a face.  What do you know, we had baby carrots?  One baby carrot for a nose and two almond for the eyes.  We drew on the mouth, though you can't really see it in the picture.




The rental guy arrived and explained to us (for a really long time) how to use the snowmobiles.  There was a lot to remember: 

• Don't use the parking brake. 
• Do gun the engine to get moving. 
• Don't gun the engine too much to get moving. 
• Don't go over 25 miles per hour some amount of time on a cold engine..blah, blah...
• Don't burn up the rubber thingy in the gears. (You see how much I got from this?) 
• If you do burn up the rubber thingy in the gears, here's how to change it out. 
• Don't go offroading in two-seater snowmobiles.
• (Here's where the guy looks at me)  Ma'am, the deep powder will call to your husband as it does to all men.  If he tries to go off into it, don't follow him.
• Here's where the tow rope is.

  There were some other things that I frankly just didn't listen to, and also an occasional rant from the man about tree-huggers and wolverines, or... something...  I was just ready to ride.

Finally, he gave us the green light.



Me and Hopers





Upper Payette Lake



We had four hours to do whatever we wanted.  Twenty-two miles down the road was a little place called Burgdorf Hotsprings, where you can swim in the spring, buy a meal, picnic, stay in a cabin, etc., but only if you have a snowmobile to get there. 

So we went!

The springs were hot indeed.  The naturally occurring waters pour up from the ground and have been sectioned off by the resort owners.  One section was too hot to stand.  Seth tried it out for just about two minutes before coming back to us with a perfect red line dividing the lower half of him from the top.  He'd been boiled like a lobster.  The main section of the springs were the perfect temperature.  We even learned that the water naturally contained lithium, which causes relaxation.  



Seth decided to have a seat at the picnic table.



Sitting was not so easy though, and he immediately slipped off backward in to the snow.  AAGGHH!!!   COLD!!  (Hee! Hee!)

 




Back on the road again, we headed back toward the pick-up spot.  The road was deserted.  The only other people we saw had been back at the hotsprings.  Suddenly, I noticed Seth head for the deep, powdery snow ahead and to the side. Noooooooo!  The old man's warnings rang in my head.  He's a man.  He WILL GET STUCK.  I watched as the snowmobile dove into a waist-high bank and tip slightly.  The tread vroooomed and spun but was no use.  They were stuck.  Of course.

Great.  Hey, at least I paid attention during the part about the tow rope.  Yay.  Just as I was connecting the two machines, a giant vehicle came lumbering up the road.  It was a truck, only with tank tracks instead of tires.  We'd seen it back in the parking lot, sitting with four feet of snow on it like it hadn't been moved in weeks.  What are the odds of that?  I quickly tried towing Seth's snowmobile out, with no success.  The tank/truck stopped and helped us, pulling the machine out easier than pulling a fork out of the dishwasher.



We continued on our way back, chucking snow balls at each other the entire way.  I tell you, you haven't lived til you've had a snow ball fight from the back of a fifty mile an hour snowmobile.  Awesome.

The old man from the rental place had asked me if this was on my Bucket List when I told him today's my birthday.  Honestly, I'd never even known to put it there.  It wasn't in my sphere of knowledge, you know?  But now that I've done it?  Wow.  Yes. 

It's on my Bucket List.

Checked off.

Happy Birthday, Me!