Well the credit card game concluded last night. It was a brutal night for Action Dan. We had an excellent dinner, I had the boneless Ribeye with smashed potatoes and a Ceasar Salad as a starter. I saw many other types of steaks on the table as well. The final bar tab tally for Action Dan was $623.00 + Tip!!! Has to be a new record. Action Dan laughed all the while, and was ready to re-up the game this morning. I think the game is done for this season; We shall see.
Breakfast was at 8am. The usual morning routine, eggs over easy, bacon and your choice of toast. By 9:15am, we took a small jaunt out to the viewing pier near the Perce' Rock to try and get some group and individual photos with the Rock. However, the pier was closed this time, so we headed back to the trail head and got some great pictures from up high.
The morning drama was that the gas station next to our lodging was closed, with garbage bags over each pump. We had 32 miles to go to the next first gas opportunity. And, of course, Connecticut Jim was low on fuel, and puckered up that he was going to have to hit Bar Tab again. Lucky for him, he made it in on fumes.
At the 50 mile marker, we came across a local club's warming hut for a quick break on the trail. Ole tagged the warming hut front door window with one of our Darkside Adventure stickers, and off we went.
The trail report we got the night before was pretty accurate. The trails were predicted to be good until the warming hut, with rough trails for about 10 miles. Then smooth and fast trails the rest of the way in. The reason for the small section that was rough was due to a recent incident where the groomer had caught fire on the trail. It was still there when we passed, with lots of red ribbon tied to sticks surrounding it to warn the oncoming snowmobile traffic of it's presence in the middle of the trail.
We only had to clock about 105 miles today, so we took many breaks on the path in, but yet still arrived around 2:30pm. We are currently in Murdochville. A small town surrounded by mountains with wind turbines on top of them. There's a 2 lane road running down the middle, with 3 single blinking red lights at each of the 3 cross streets.
VIP Honors goes to Action Dan. Last night as I was unloading my gear in my room, I was plugging my life support machine in (CPAP machine/sleep breathing machine), the plug wires had frayed due to continual wrapping/unwrapping, and the wires had become bare. The touching wires arched, and very noticeable spark shot at me, and fear set in. The next 6 nights were going to be miserable for me. And my roommate. Snoring, and poor sleep, was going to make me an angry, miserable person. But Action Dan prevented a true catastrophe by using his knife to peel back the rubber casing of the cord, and using some electrical tape I had on my sled, and getting my life support machine back on the grid! A true life saver.
It's 4:30 here, and we are at the Hotel Copper for the night. We are all gathered in the dining room/bar area. There is a snowmobile museum in the basement with, what we interpreted, was about 70 classic snowmobiles of all makes and models. We will be going on a tour, shortly, once the owner is finished checking a couple guests that just arrived.
Time for another Darkside Rider Profile.
Tonight we introduce you to Ron Nicks. Or, SideShow Ron, as we refer to him on the trail. Ron has a menagerie of coin tricks, card tricks and slight of hand that he has dazzled us, and others on the trail, with all week. Ron started riding snowmobiles back in 1975, on a 1973 Bolens. He got the sled from a good friend of ours Chris Elrod's father, Howard for $300.00! Ron rode that machine all around his neighborhood with his friends. Jump forward to 1989, and Ron had progressed to riding a 1988 Yamaha Exciter, and began doing saddlebag trips with his buddies. In addition to snowmobiling, Ron is an avid motorcycle rider, doing saddlebag trips from Michigan to the East Coast/Maine, and has even gone out West to Wyoming. His wife Trudy enjoys the motorcycle rides, and often accompanies him on his journeys. Another interesting fact, in 1976, Ron borrowed a ten speed bicycle, and with a couple friends, BICYCLED from Flint, MI to the Mackinac Bridge and back. Over that 4th Of July weekend, they bicycled over 500 miles on the back roads, avoiding highways. Ron definitely has a adventurous streak in him, and he is thoroughly enjoying this ride thru Quebec. Matter of fact, he has already made it clear, he WILL be back next year!
Time for our basement museum tour, tune in tomorrow and see how we do.
Cheers,
Stick