Dogfish

Yesterday we went to Dogfish, an area along the ocean on the other side of the mountain ridge we see from our porch.  It's where all the good bear hunting is supposed to be (so knowing our way there is a MUST) and very beautiful, but beauty comes with a price.  The "road" there makes roads on the side of cliffs overlooking lakes of death with no guard rails seem like pleasant sunny strolls.  Okay, so maybe it's just a small section, but it's still enough to make my blood pressure go up.  Mike, of course, thinks it's great fun and most of our good old, mudding boys back home would be jealous of the trip.  To get to Dogfish we have to go along the side of second lake, IN the lake.  Yesterday was very windy so the waters were a bit rougher than usual, and the water is already high on the ATVs and UTVs.  To add an extra level of adventure to the trip, there is a steep drop off along the edge of the lake so you have to keep the vehicle just along the edge or join the rather lengthy list of those who have lost theirs in the lake (something nearly everyone here has done at least once).

 However high the levels of my blood pressure and Mike's fun, we did survive the lake portion of the trip and the rest went quite well.  We did some fishing on the beach, saw lots of bear poo but no bears, and watched a couple grouse with babies.  While there we also punctured a tire, but we are thoroughly prepared so we were ready for this exact situation.  Mike pulled out our handy dandy tire plug kit and had the tire plugged before all the air was gone from the tire.  We then pulled out our 12 volt air compressor only to discover the cap would not come off the valve stem.  They came off every other tire with ease, but the punctured tire's cap refused to budge regardless of our efforts of persuasion.  Still, we're not terribly concerned because we are thoroughly prepared and also have a spare tire.  Unfortunately the lug wrench that came with the Ranger does not work on our new wheels so we weren't able to change the tire and had no choice but to trudge home.  Luckily the tires were stiff enough and we had enough air to make the trip and get the necessary tools and remove the tire.

We've definitely already had lots of adventures and learned some valuable lessons along the way.  I can't think of a prettier place to do some learning!



Dogfish