Pipeman

Traded the BMW 1200 GS for a KTM 1290 super adventure, this thing is a blast !

Neige Chapais today

Practicing my Rouge drinking skills while enjoying fall colors at my cabin.
When you sit down with people like Groomer and Timbo, you need to be prepared, they are professionals!
 
 

 

They are great. 
I am looking forward to the great dinners that we made there.....  oops sorry Pipe I forgot you didn't get any.  ;)

Looking forward to it Redge, Thanks !  I don't know about a ride with Iceman though, he didn't but the Yam / Cat turbo and I get tired of waiting on people at intersections to catch up....... ;)

I look forward to the awesome breakfast they cook every morning also, can't beat their hospitality !

This years spring order program came with a bag of spare parts to carry with.

Redge, Nancy and Iceman.....
 
I am ready !!   I will sound the horn !!   haha.   Looking forward to another great season. 

Mine didn't.   Hmmm,  maybe those were just the parts that were left over after putting yours together.  ;)   Who needs brakes anyway.....

I guess you won't be having to wait for me then....  ;)
Looking forward to another great year.

This years spring order program came with a bag of spare parts to carry with.

I don't have a good answer, I just know that every time the government gets involved (here in the USA) progress is slowed to a snails pace , the cost is insane and as usual there is no tracking of where all the money goes or any accountability. I doubt it is much different in Canada. First thing I would like to see is where all the money ends up from the trail passes and other money collected throughout the season. One thing I have learned ( and I am not very bright) is throwing money at a problem is not always the answer....Look at Chicago for instance.

I agree with a shortage of funding for sure.  Some are saying we don't need the extra costs in bridges and culverts, here I disagree.  We need expertise in the infrastructure projects, this helps to ensure the bridges and culverts installed can handle the water flow from the drainage areas the water comes from.  There are way too many undersized installations in now that will washout in the future.  The new crossings are designed to handle the extra flow that our extreme weather seems to be a regular occurrences now.  We need to make sure trail dollar spent will with stand extreme weather and not fail.  Club volunteers have been doing a great job at this for years, however the demographic is changing and there are less volunteers and more hiring contractors to do these jobs, lets do them right the first time.
 
As for funding assistance:  I would like to see a snowmobile button on every cash register in the province, for any snowmobile related purchase whether it be: purchasing new or used sled, accessories, gas, lodging,......and so on.  From this take 3 or 4% off the provincial tax and direct it to the FCMQ for funding infrastructure or trail projects and equipment. 
 
My $0.02 worth. 

Yup, 
sounds like the Government needs to pay up more money to these clubs. It Is the Government that benefits the most from all the Tax$$$$$ that snowmobile tourism brings to Quebec. Need to spend money to make money. 
Things are getting way too complicated for simple Sh*t, if they had all the expert engineers and freaking environmental studies back years ago we would still be riding in horse and buggy and living by candlelight. Enough with the overthinking of simple stuff. Clubs been building bridges for many moons. If it holds the Surfacer then good enough. No need to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Things are getting ridiculous. 
I have no doubt in the coming years we are in serious jeopardy of losing alot of interconnection between regions. 
 

Ooops!  Guess they popped the champagne corks too soon that night!
Oh, wait... I'm offended by champagne...

President Trump could cure cancer and the press would tear him apart for taking so long to do it. Or they would accuse him of inventing it so he could take credit for curing it. Some F''ed up crap going on in the media, they are not there to tell the truth anymore only push their agenda. Best one I heard is the Dems were on track to win the election until after 5,  then all the republicans got off work and voted !

Very cool! Thanks for posting 

Interesting event.
http://www.lhebdodustmaurice.com/actualites/societe/2017/8/28/la-piste-de-casey-revit.html
 
Google translation not perfect.
What was initially an informal friendly meeting, launched by a resident of Beloeil on the Pilotes Québec forum, has today become an important happening that will bring together a hundred pilots in Haute-Mauricie during the great weekend of the Job.

From 1 to 4 September, dozens of aviation buffs from Quebec and Ontario will be on the Casey airstrip, located about 150 kilometers from La Tuque.
Rendez-vous Aérien (RVA) Camping Casey began in 2013 when nine pilots had made an appointment at this former military airfield built in 1953 by the Canadian government during the Cold War period with the USSR.
Bad weather in 2014 had disrupted the event but the following year, 44 aircraft had landed on the concrete runway, more than 8,000 feet long. In 2016, RVA Camping Casey really exploded with the presence of 91 planes, 9 seaplanes, 2 twin-engined and 4 helicopters.
 The track of Casey revit
Several participants bring their camping equipment to spend the weekend.
(Photo courtesy Pierre Nadon)
Given such a success, the organizers anticipate just as much this year, if not more. Participants in 2016 included Switzerland's Bernd Van Doornick (24,000 flying hours in helicopter) and comedian Gaston Lepage. An Antonov An-2, the biggest single-engine biplane in the world, was one of the planes listed. This year, Van Doornick will be back as well as two retired bush pilots who will surely have good stories to tell.
Autonomous and responsible
On the spot, participants set up their tent; placing around a campfire (if the flammability index allows); make picnics; visit the remains of the former encampments - destroyed in 1964 and 1965; and some will even soak their toes in the Ribbon River that passes close to the track. During the day on Saturday, a marquee is erected where hot dogs and corn are served.
As this appointment remains informal despite its growing popularity, there is no service on the premises: no toilets, drinking water, garbage cans, chairs, picnic tables, first responders, ambulances, security services, etc. In this context, each participant must be autonomous and responsible because no organization is in authority.
Little known to Quebeckers because it has been abandoned for half a century, this military track evokes a famous episode going back 25 years. On the eve of Colombia, pilot Raymond Boulanger landed on November 18, 1992 at Casey in a Convair 580 with 4000 kg of cocaine on board. Chased by two F-18s of the Canadian Armed Forces, he had succeeded in sowing them, but when he arrived in Haute-Mauricie where his accomplices were to be found, it was rather RCMP officers waiting for him. His story was the subject of a book published in 2013 and titled Raymond Boulanger, the mercenary pilot.
Having completed his sentence in 2013, Raymond Boulanger obtained permission two years later to fly again. The story does not say however whether the man will return to the scene of the crime this weekend at Casey ...
Rediscover Casey
To know more about the short-lived Military Airfield of Casey, read the chapter that the Latvian Gaston Hamel dedicated to him in the book of the centenary of La Tuque published in 2011 by the Historical Society of Haut-Saint-Maurice. Another Latvian, Yvan Savignac, located Casey intrigues his novel The track MAUDITE, also published in 2011. In June 1973, a 120,000 pound airplane responsible for spreading insecticides crashed there. The crash had occurred at 200 meters altitude, just 60 seconds after take-off.
Finally, it is essential to visit the website of Pierre Nadon which contains the majority of the information taken from this article on the rally of pilots of plane to Casey. The site campingmaster.weebly.com/rva-camping-casey contains hundreds of photos, hyperlinks and information about the former aerodrome. A must.
As Pierre Nadon writes on his site: The abandoned track of Casey is not so far away, it's just that the convenience stores are far ...

"The 343"
Ask any firefighter, and they'll say
All the Brothers and Sisters agree
That day, the one that won't go away
The day we lost 343
Where were you when the Towers came down?
Cries will be heard throughout the years
Where were you when the Twin Towers fell?
And we realized our worst fears
The old man asked this of the young boy he met
The lad looked up and answered politely
"My Daddy's a fireman, he died that day,
But I still say a prayer for him nightly"
The old man moved on, and he found a young girl
And he asked the same question of her,
She answered slowly, "I don't think I know,
For you see, I wasn't born yet Sir."
But ask any firefighter, and they all know,
The day, the time, and year
For those of us who fight smoke and fire
And have little time for fear.
We know that day, and it won't go away,
The day we lost 343.
So when you see a firetruck go speeding by,
Staffed by those who fight the fight
Or you hear a wailing siren, in the middle of the night,
It seems so far away, on some lonely thoroughfare,
Pause for just a moment, 
and think a silent prayer
Poem by:
William Mackle
FDNY Retired
Art: "American Grace" By Alan Albaitis
#NeverForget
#BrotherhoodStrong
Brotherhood of Fire

Thanks for all the support people...just got a call from her. Seems STX got very lucky this time with the turn to the northwest. 
Diane update: She's still in the bunker with the dogs. There is a curfew on the island until 6PM. (Hopefully that will be lifted earlier). Power is out and powerlines/poles are down around the island. She will try to get back up to her house when curfew is lifted. It is so good to hear her voice and I am so very thankful as I see the videos and photos of the destruction caused by Irma.
Sending prayers to those directly in the path of Irma and saddened to see what Irma did to St. Martin, St. Thomas, etc. Hoping family and friends in Florida and beyond heed the warnings and stay safe as Irma heads that way. 
Look around today, take a moment or two and BE THANKFUL for the life you have and the roof over your head; so many people no longer do.

No matter what our president [Mr Donald Trump] does or says they the clinton sanders followers will not be satisfied.

President Trump could cure cancer and the press would tear him apart for taking so long to do it. Or they would accuse him of inventing it so he could take credit for curing it. Some F''ed up crap going on in the media, they are not there to tell the truth anymore only push their agenda. Best one I heard is the Dems were on track to win the election until after 5,  then all the republicans got off work and voted !

President Trump could cure cancer and the press would tear him apart for taking so long to do it. Or they would accuse him of inventing it so he could take credit for curing it. Some F''ed up crap going on in the media, they are not there to tell the truth anymore only push their agenda. Best one I heard is the Dems were on track to win the election until after 5,  then all the republicans got off work and voted !

President Trump could cure cancer and the press would tear him apart for taking so long to do it. Or they would accuse him of inventing it so he could take credit for curing it. Some F''ed up crap going on in the media, they are not there to tell the truth anymore only push their agenda. Best one I heard is the Dems were on track to win the election until after 5,  then all the republicans got off work and voted !

A friend sent the following to me,
 
"Half the presidents on Mt Rushmore were slave owners. When do we tear that down?  Twelve presidents of the USA were slave owners. Should we stop celebrating president's day?  How soon before we have to stop flying the American flag because it offends someone?  Where does it end?
  The way I see that statue of General Lee is that it was part of American history and a reminder of how far we've come and a reminder of our past so as to never be repeated.   No place in any of our rules and laws does it say, "You have the right not to be offended."   All this political correctness is truly getting annoying.  Maybe every time a native American sees another building go up on the land we stole, they get offended?"   and I couldn't agree any more.