The Cajun Yeti

I recently had a few wonderful days of “YEE HAA” riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.

In late January.

The significance of that statement deserves its own paragraph. I’ve lived in south Louisiana my whole life. The slab on my house resides a whopping 24 feet above sea level. It rarely gets below 30 degrees in these parts. A few weeks ago, we had a quarter inch of ice and it shut down the entire State for 3 days.

Uh…. Yeah, this will qualify just fine and dandy as getting out of my box!!!

I met Mark the Poolboy in Arkansas on a motorcycle trip years ago and from the word go, I liked him. The quintessential “Good Ole Boy”, I don’t think Mark ever met an enemy in his life. His sarcastic sense of humor is contagious and whenever we are together, the laughing just never ends. Since then, even though we are a thousand miles apart, we often seem to find the same places to ride motorcycles and I always look forward to seeing him somewhere on the road.

As is customary of any friends who live in different places, Mark and I often talk about our home town interest. I’ve told Mark about coastal fishing, and even showed him how to throw a cast net when he dropped by for a visit. Suffice it to say that if we have to rely on Mark to supply us with a seafood feast, we are going to need a lot of rice. And Mark shared snowmobiling with me, which I found fascinating. Every time he described it, his deep voice kind of lightened a little bit with excitement. I listened to his stories like a little kid.

One day a couple years ago, in a bold and ballzy verbal vomit, I told Mark that if he could help me out, I’d like to try snowmobiling some time. He responded positively and I waited patiently. Then in November, I got a text saying they had an opening on an upcoming trip and I immediately replied “IN!!!” I would have gladly rented a sled, but imagine my joy when Mark indicated that his buddy (whom I had never met) had an extra sled that I could use!!

So I bought a plane ticket and some fancy pants long johns and I waited with excitement. And we had a hoot!! I hope you enjoy the pics.

Programming Note: The airline wouldn’t let me bring my camera (lithium battery) so I apologize in advance for the crappy cell phone pics on this ride report.

Day 1: Lafayette, LA to Lead, SD

My flight was perfect and on time. Mark and Wes picked me up at the airport and it was only a short 90 minute ride to the Recreational Springs Resort near the town of Lead, South Dakota.



The others were a little ahead of us, and the first order of business was unloading the trailer.



The guys were nice enough to let me ride a Yamaha sled.



I walked into the lodge and rented my gear. They were out of stock for the boots in my size, but that was only a temporary issue.



Mark and I took a short ride down the trail so that I could get familiar with the snowmobile. I remember a couple observations from my first ride:

1. When you put the heat to it, this puppy goes!

2. They put the brake where the clutch is on the motorcycle and that took some getting accustomed to. Once I stopped feathering the brake, things got better.



The Black Hills sports a groomed system of some 350 miles of trails. They were much wider than I expected. Plenty of room to make a mistake in these parts.



We went back and picked up the others for a short trail ride before dark just to make sure the sleds were running well.



Then it was back to the resort for some happy hour. Mark remembered to bring my favorite happy juice!!



From there, we walked 50 feet to the lodge restaurant for dinner. I tried this beer brewed in nearby Sturgis and it was pretty good.



After dinner, it was back to our room to have a few snorts of the good stuff before turning in.

Day 2: 110 miles on the frozen trail.

Mark snores like a lumberjack, so I put the ear plugs in and after that, slept well. The lodge restaurant doesn’t open until 8 am, so we decided to hit the trail early and eat along the way. I asked the crew for a salute and they didn’t disappoint.

Pictured below are:

Font Row:
- Craig, who does public works for a smaller city near Council Bluffs
- Chris, a car mechanic shop owner who was kind enough to loan me one of his sleds.

Back Row
- Mark, the Poolboy and my friend from Council Bluffs
- Wes, who owns and operates a heavy equipment dirt moving company with his dad.
- Jay, a mechanical engineer riding the lone Skidoo sled
- Randy, who installs swimming pools and is from Connecticut

Everyone was so cool and really made me feel welcome. We had a lot of fun cutting up the whole time.



We rode about 25 miles through the hills and though the forest of mostly Birch, Aspen, and Ponderosa Pine trees. We even found a closed road and I had an opportunity to pin the throttle up to about 60 mph with plenty more left in reserve. At that speed, about 3 feet from the snow, you really can feel it.

We stopped at this place to gas up and eat breakfast.



Fuel cost about $4.25 a gallon in these parts but that’s the price you pay for convenience and I was honored to support the local economy.



Then it was back on the trail for some more frozen fun. Even though it was about 25 degrees, I was toasty warm and even got a little hot at times. That gear is very effective.



Heading generally north, we crossed a border.



As you can see, everything is so nice and well maintained. All week, I never saw one piece of litter anywhere.



I’m starting to get the hang of this. I’d describe it as a cross between riding a 4-wheeler and a jet ski.



Despite great benefit from girth, my first attempt ever at a snow angel didn’t come out too well. Mark said I wasn’t on the right snow.



We continued north through the forest to a place called Cement Ridge.



Here, it was snowing and the view was somewhat obstructed. The guys said it was only a very light snow shower, but it felt like a total blizzard to me.



Occasionally I gave Randy a hard time about riding Harleys, but he was a good sport and ribbed back at me whenever he could. I enjoyed being with him.



We continued on to a place that these guys call The Honey Hole. It’s a wide open untouched area of deep powder. Here, I start to understand the difference between a sled designed for the trail, and one designed for deep powder.

Here, Mark is playing in the puffy stuff.



I played around in it too and then found a nice area where I could watch the others have fun and just sit and be thankful for my blessings.



I’m very surprised to find that hardly anyone is here. The whole time we basically had the entire forest to ourselves.



Mark’s 800 cc Artic Cat Sno Pro will definitely get the job done!



We played at the Honey Hole for about an hour and then continued on for more adventure. A few places on the trail have these warming huts where someone can get out of the weather in case they are stranded. There are some matches and a little firewood in there.



They showed me this place in Spearfish Canyon where some of the movie “Dances With Wolves” was filmed.



This whole place is a winter wonderland!



I’m a big orange Cajun Yeti!!!



This is Roughhouse Falls. Apparently, if the water is moving, it won’t freeze. Pants is learning all kinds of stuff about this place.



A short ride up the road we gassed up here and had a beer in the lodge.



Just beautiful.



Then it was back on the trail for some more fun.





We arrived back at the lodge safely about 5:30 pm. I didn’t realize we rode over 100 miles for the day as the whole thing was so much fun.

We popped over to the lodge for some dinner and cold beer, and then back to the room for a nightcap (or four). What a fantastic day I had!!

Day 3: More Yee Ha!!!

I started with the ear plugs and slept straight through the night. I was a little sore in the back of my neck, but otherwise, no worse for the wear. Again, the lodge opens too late so we decided to eat on the run.

Along the way without warning, Craig’s frozen rooster tail behind his sled died abruptly and I had all I could do to avoid slamming him from behind. Lesson learned Pants, keep you following distance in check!

Anyhoo, I was excited to see what the sudden stop was all about – about 30 huge elk prancing around.



After breakfast at the TrailsHead Lodge, we rode back into Wyoming and stopped at this place.



I wouldn’t want to come head to head with this critter on the trail!



We don’t have many of these fish species in Louisiana!



Later in the day, we stopped at this place to take a break. Everything is so pretty and white.




The business end of these machines does an amazing job!!



The engine coolant heat exchanger is located under the seat, where slinging snow cools it. That’s so foreign to this gear head!

Here, Chris and Craig broke off to head back to the lodge, load up, and head home early. Craig and I swapped sleds so I wouldn’t have to deal with the leaking oil line.

I can’t thank you enough, Chris. I hope to return the favor one day, my friend.



The sun came out and Wes led us to the next area. Again, we’ve got the whole place to ourselves!!



Unfortunately, Mark started having some trouble with his snowmobile. At first we thought it was a loose track. We didn’t have the right tools with us to adjust it, so Wes and Randy rode back to the lodge to get tools.

No problem – I just took a nap.



Well it turns out the track wasn’t the problem. Apparently, something is coming apart in the chain mechanism that connects the clutch to the drive device. Mark babied the bike for a ways, but in the end, he had to get towed by Wes.

I quickly learned that this ain’t the first rodeo for these boys. They had everything they needed to handle the unexpected.



There’s a full moon on the rise, but the weather is good and we are very close to home now.



Our friend Big John came over from Spearfish and suggested we go to the city of Deadwood and eat at Legends Steakhouse. My ribeye looked like it weighed about 3.5 pounds and it was delicious!



Day 4: One more day of snowmobiling!

The weather forecast was holding as the rain/snow crap wasn’t scheduled to start until later this afternoon. So we saddled up and hit the trails one more time. Mark carries this really cool spare gas that fits under his truck storage space.



Chris left an extra sled for us and Mark was able to ride that one for the day. This is the creek at a placed called Clayton Drough and it is really neat.



We found an old cemetery with the tombstones buried under the snow.



At the next stop, I asked Wes to try out his sled and see the differences in a Mountain Snowmobile. Here’s a video of that.




I really liked running through the powder!!



Pants with his new friends on the Frozen Tundra!!



Here’s an old shack that looks abandoned in the middle of nowhere.



We tore it up pretty good!



I caught this cool pic of Randy getting some air!!



The guys told me that until I get stuck, I’m not having fun. Well guys, I guess I’m officially having fun!!



Wes found this network of untouched trails deeper in the woods and we had a blast running all over them.



I sure had a good time riding a snow bike in the Black Hills.



We arrived back at the lodge about 4 pm and loaded up the sleds. Then we got into the truck and rode to Spearfish for some dinner. The ride through the canyon as the sun set was really cool.



Wes has got some bling on his truck. That’s how he rolls….






Mark told me about this place and we decided to try it.



Plenty of memorabilia to keep you interested.



If you are into big portions, this is the place for you. They serve your dinner on a pizza pan!! I got the sirloin with fries and it was very good. It came with “Cajun corn”, which was tasty, but was by no means Cajun.



Mark felt like two sirloins are better than one!



After dinner, Wes drove us back to the lodge in what looked like another blizzard to me, although they said it was just another light shower. Regardless, we made it back safe, had a few drinks, and called it a night.

Day 5: Road tour though the area.

Today, my friends must starting heading home. They load up early in the morning and get ready for the long drive back to Iowa. Big John is coming to get me from Spearfish and he shows up right on time at 7 am. I shook my new friends’ hands and bid them so long but not goodbye as I hope to see all of them again one day. I had a great time on the snowmobile trails and this is a memory that I will never forget.

Big John agreed to show me around and I was excited to see whatever he had planned. We rode the town of Lead, where we stopped to see the HUGE open pit gold mine that put this place on the map.



In Spearfish, we stopped for coffee and breakfast and then swung by John’s house to take care of his driveway. I even scrapped a little ice and realize that this is the “not so fun” part of living in the land of snow.



Then we hit the road heading to a bucket list item for me.





Rushmore simply has to be seen. The pictures don’t do it justice. We watched the movie that explained how the monument was sculpted out of the granite mountain. And we walked around the museum that contained a lot of cool information.

Pretty wonderous place.



Out of the parking lot, we spotted a couple of Mountain Billies rooting about.



I think President Washington’s nose may be a smidge bigger than mine.

Meh, probably not…



From Rushmore, we took a short ride to the town of Custer and lunch. Great burgers at this place and I’m pissed that I forgot the food porn.



Then it was on to Wyoming and the wide open spaces. What a great drive through this uncharted country for me. Yesterday’s snow was blowing across the road.



In route, we spotted a wonderful view of Devil’s Tower and that is where we are going right now.



We went into the visitor’s center to learn a little about this mysterious place, and the Park Ranger there gave us some interesting information.



Then it was on to Montana where we stopped at this old Saloon to wet our whistles.



In a short time, the weather turned and it started snowing. It didn’t seem to bother John much, but boy, I sure was nervous.



On the way home, we stopped at this place to poke around. I’ve bought some stuff from Alex online, and he is a real stand up dude. If you are ever in the market for motorcycle stuff, give him a shot.



We arrived safe at John’s house in Spearfish, and his lovely wife Jeane has prepared a delicious Elk and Venison Stew with all of the fixings.



She even made a chocolate cake for dessert. Holy cow, am I living right!!



After dinner, John poured me a snort of his Jamison’s Reserve (Mmmmm..) and we had nice conversation. But my flight is early tomorrow morning and we turned in about 9 pm to get some rest.

Day 6: Extreme temperature changes.

I slept very well in John’s guest bedroom and woke up about 3:15 to get ready to leave. John was so helpful bringing me an hour away to the airport in Rapid City so early in the morning. Even considering the early hour, we had fine conversation on the way to the airport, talking about our upcoming plans and looking forward to another great riding year. John is coming to my house in March and I look very forward to returning the great hospitality that he showed me.

So another Pants adventure is in the books. This one was well outside of my wheelhouse, but I was in great hands and had an absolute blast.

I’m not dreaming about my life. I’m living my dreams.

Cajun Yeti, signing off…



Stay thirsty, my friends….

I enjoyed showing you around Pants, can't wait to do it again in June when you and Josh are here on your bikes. I'm also looking forward to visiting you in March.

Nicely done 'pants!

--G

Awesome trip and pictures, beautiful area of the west. Wife and I drove through several of those locations back in 2010 on way to California(unfortunately we were in a car).

Glad you had a Yamaha snowmobile! I've been snowmobiling since I was a kid, great riding here in my state too. Only time I didn't get a chance to go were the three years in the early 80's I lived in Lafayette, LA.

GO FIGURE

Nice, looks like fun was had! Thanks for sharing.

Awesome - Now you have more retirement choices. Sometimes I miss living in the great white north - skiing. ice fishing and drinking some schnapps (I do believe that this is out of order).

Joe

Wow Pants, that was simply out of this world! Especially mine. Good on you man and good on Poolboy and his Pals - and BigJohn - for showing you around and introducing you to a whole different world than you and I know. Being from roughly the same latitude as you that entire scene is as foreign to me as the surface of Mars. But to have Poolboy and his pals introduce you to it and show you the ropes, I can't imagine a better way to experience the thrill. Despite you not having your camera and "just" having your cell phone, I thought your pictures were fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to share that with everyone, especially those of us that have only see the likes of which on the boob tube or big screen!

P.S. I was really blown away by the mobility of everything and everyone. Hey, let's run over here to this saloon for dinner tonight... To you and I, just the mere mention of a snowflake and our entire cities come to a screeching halt.

FJRBandit said:

P.S. I was really blown away by the mobility of everything and everyone. Hey, let's run over here to this saloon for dinner tonight... To you and I, just the mere mention of a snowflake and our entire cities come to a screeching halt.

Click to expand...

As someone once said "When we ride, we ride"

You had me going there at the beginning.

Excellent RR. Sounds like you had a great trip!

Excellent!!!Thanks for sharing hppants.

Looks like you lucked into some decently warm weather for sledding - probably a good thing for a Southerner.

One thing that isn't appreciated by those who are unfamiliar with snowmobiling is how FAST they are. Especially a performance-oriented machine on a good hard-packed surface. (It feels like you are going even faster!)

Looks like you had a great time. Remember this when you are "enjoying" the height of summer in Louisiana!

Definitely agree Ross. 60 mph on that thing felt like about 100 on the bike. I was told the sled I was riding can do well over 70. Jays skidoo is good for over 90. Holy cow.

Also, The centrifugal clutch is very effective. The sled doesnt even move until about 5000 rpm. Two strokers make power at higher rpm

Excellent RR as usual.

Those snow mobiles sure look fun.

I used to ride snowmobiles every weekend and the machined we had would do well over 90 mph 20 years ago. Two years ago I had an opportunity to get on a new Skidoo Summit 900 or something. With the new tracks and suspension when I grabbed a handfull of throttle, the skiis came of the ground and didn't touch again until I let go. Amazing power and acceleration on these new machines. Pants I am really jealous.

Great report, 'pants! Glad you had the opportunity to experience the other side of the climate offered in the northern latitudes.

Great and enjoyable RR, thanks for sharing hppants.

Well, I'll have everyone know that when we unloaded the sleds, Pants and I had "kinda" gone over a couple things about riding snowmobiles, but there really isn't much you can do to teach someone how to ride a snowmobile besides show them where the controls are and let them slowly putt around and let them get a feel for the machine.

We kinda threw Pants to the wolves so to speak. As we unloaded the sleds Pants was eager to help as you can imagine. As I was just pulling away to take my sled over to the lodge, I see Chris telling Pants to pull the sled he would be riding over to the lodge. Even though I couldn't hear the words I could see Pants with his hands and shoulders shrugging like " WTF, I have no Idea how to start, let alone how to make this machine move!" LOL!. Instantly after that I see Chris pointing to all the controls and Pants nodding. I went ahead and pulled over to the lodge and walked back just in time to see Pants sitting on a running machine, squeezing the throttle for the first time, the machine moves slowly down the small hill it was sitting on and one ski sinks in the snow the other one gently climbs a hard chunk and throws him off balance slightly, but he stays on, he he, and he manages to get the sled over to the lodge. He got off the sled and says something like, " It a lot easier to ride once you get in your head "the brake is Not a clutch" LOL

After getting settled in our rooms, we suited up and told Pants to ride around the parking lot as we waited for the last guy to show up. He rode around as we continued to get things situated. After a short time I look out into the parking lot wondering where he was and I see him come around the corner standing up on the foot boards, ONE ski up in the air like he had been ridding for years, LOL.. That moment just confirmed all my previous thoughts that Pants was going to pick up snowmobiling faster that the average "Cajun Yeti".

As we rode for the next few days it was a lot of fun hearing Pants asking all the right questions and giving us his feed back about the machine, the snow , the hills ect... He truly was learning how to ride a sled in leaps and bounds. Most of that is due to him riding all sorts of machines over the years. Every time we stopped for a break Pants would be smiling from ear to ear saying " THIS IS AWESOME " We kept saying, "it gets better" you haven't even got off trail.

All I can say is we had a fantastic time and it was our pleasure to be able to give Pants the opportunity to ride a "snow bike" for the first time. I'm guessing over time he will have to scratch the " I want to ride a snowmobile ITCH" again. If and when that time comes we will be glad to help him scratch the itch.

Thank ya'll for reading my report.

Moman - that is a coincidence, regarding your stay in my hometown. At least among these guys, Yamaha is viewed in high regard as a good piece of snowmobile equipment. And that definitely works for me.

John - you did great, my friend, and thank you so much for showing me around. It was substantially out of your way, and I really appreciate it.

Turk - I was a fish out of (frozen) water, but my boyz took very good care of me. I wasn't cold either as those fancy pants longies are the Bee's Knees. Didn't go thirsty, either....

Mark - thanks for your kind words, my friend. He's right - I got my terms mixed up:

(Pants) "Man, this bike really hauls ass!"

(Mark) "It's not a bike. It's a sled, man.

(Pants) "Oops, sorry"

If variety is the spice of life, than I am doing it the Cajun way - colorful, flavorful, and spicy. If you're attitude is right, then everything is good and the only limit is your imagination. And I can think of some crazy shit if I try. Anyway, that's how I'm trying to roll.

This is one experience I shall never forget.