Snowmobiling
Snowmobiling
My parents along with Carolyn and Al, Ron and Hazel and my real Aunt and Uncle, Carol and Jack were big snowmobiliers. They had bought their first sled when we still lived in Maine. A 70 something Skidoo TNT. After we were all transferred to NY, they got back into it. It was at this point that I received another Aunt/Uncle combo. Uncle Hib and Aunt Betty. Hib owned Nash Skidoo in Rome (where the restaurant Fric and Fracs is now). I spent every weekend and evening that we weren’t riding in that shop. Dad would bring me with him and plop me down on a sled and there I would be for hours. I loved it!
We had an array of sleds through the years. We were (are) die-hard Skidoo people. Carolyn and Al and Ron and Hazel had John Deers (nothing runs like a deer) and Carol and Jack were big on Polaris.
I have been riding sleds since I was 3 years old. Every weekend all winter long, we would pack up the car, hook up the trailer and head north to Ol d Forge. I would be wrapped up like the kid in The Christmas Story. snow suit, scarf, facemask, mittens and I had these really cool goggles. The entire ensemble would be topped off with a bright yellow helmet.
Every year a dealer up north has a big clothing sale and every year we would hit it. Hours we would be there. It was always packed, so there was always trouble with parking. The racks were so tightly fit into the store with big bulky snowsuits on them that you couldn’t ever move freely. Mom would hunt through all the clothes for something that might fit me and then I would have to try on a hundred and fifty different types of suits and jackets and helmet etc. Then they would all stand around and talk about what sleds they had and where they rode. It was kind of like a pissing contest that dragged out all day.... that day was the only snowmobile related event I hated.
When we would go riding it would be an all day event. I remember having to pee in the woods all the time. Careful not to pee on your suit! Mom was always stocked up on tissues in case I had to go. There were places we wood stop and make campfires to cook hotdogs over and drink our hot cocoa. There is an old quarry off of Trail 5 that we call the playground. It had a huge hill to slide down and jumps for them to ride the snowmobiles over. We always had our little flat roll up sleds with us. They would ride us to the top and we would get off the snowmobile and slide down.
Down near Uncle Al’s house there was a field with a hill for kids to slide down as well. Days when we didn’t want to drive up north to ride, we would just ride over there. The adults would play on there sleds and us on ours. Aunt Hazel sat me in front of her and was following the trail to the top so that I could glide down. Every time we got to the top I would have tears leaking down my face. So, my mom tried. Same thing. They couldn‘t figure out what my problem was. There was a rock in the trail and every time we went over it, I would smack my chin on the handle bars. That hurt! Finally they figured it out and I was able to make it to the top with dry eyes.
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