"The Nightmare Ride" Part II

So as my headache and I were heading back north to meet up with the rest of the gang, I decided that Elvis tripped me and Bigfoot hit me in the back of the head with the 2 X 4. Sally was there too. They were all playing go fish and smoking cigars.

Safety chain back intact, northbound and down on another 4 mile drag strip.  At this point I have no idea where we're going but we're making damn good time!  Speeds of about 70 MPH at times with an average speed of 45 or so.  Sunshine, snow and beautiful scenery.  Heading for the falls.  I thought "the falls" were water falls along side the trail we were going to stop at.  Nope, its actually Tahquamenon Falls State Park. So another 20 or so miles up the trail:

  This place! Rescue crew met us via actual roads, and we all sat down and told stories and had a nice dinner.

  Little did we know we were a mere 18 miles from a disaster of epic proportions, one that would affect everyone of us.  Last time we bought fuel was in Blueberry, Timmy says it's only 8 miles to Paradise, so we all decided it would be best to add the miles to the trip, fuel up and head home.  As we were leaving The Falls, it was about dusk, but still plenty of light left in the sky, but the temperature was starting to fall, we were back down to about 10* and we were all bundling up good and tight for the anticipated falling temps on the ride home.  Rescue Team was heading to Paradise to say hello to an old friend who lived there, and we would all meet back at camp at around 10:00.  It was now 6:30.  Turns out the trip to Paradise was closer to 10 miles, but nice trails along the power lines, and again not a bad ride at all.  Definitely getting colder, and seeing less and less sled traffic on the trails, the smart ones were calling it a night and going home.  Not us!

  We made it to Paradise, and I can say the only thing Paradise-like about it is the sign that reads Welcome to Paradise. They have an Arctic Cat dealer/gas station, a few motels and a blinking light at their only intersection.  We fuel up at the Arctic Cat dealer, guy bought some gear as the prices were end-of-season sale.  Met up with the Rescue Team to drop off the new gear, and headed south outta Paradise as the sun was setting.

9 Miles From Sled-Pocalypse

The seven of us roll outta Paradise on a mission, hell bent for Curtis.  Tired, my old bones are sore, and its getting darker and colder by the minute.  We all know this means slower average speeds, don't drive in front of your head lights, colder temps mean slow down as well, so its going to be a longer trip home.  Yeah, sure is buttercup, watch this. Bigfoot, Elvis and Sally decided to make it awesome!

  I'm the lead dog, about 10.5 miles from Paradise, check my mirrors and I'm alone, safety chain is broken.

.... to be cont....

"The Nightmare Ride" Part I

  This story will most likely end up being lengthy, I hope you have the tenacity to stay with me to the end, trust me, its EPIC.  I'm certain that in the months and years to come as this story gets told and retold, that the temperature will drop, bears and moose will be added, as well as other things we haven't thought of yet, but as for now the story you are about to read is 100% truth.  I made maps that will be added, so you the reader can put it all into perspective.

 A little background first.  10 guys from Ohio in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a long weekend of riding snowmobiles, and gaining material to tell stories.  We had NO idea...

  The Nightmare Ride story actually started out several days before the ride actually occurred. Once we arrived in The UP Pat was pushing us all to ride, ride, ride, and ride some more.  All of us were about riding, but Pat wanted a long trip.  "Let's go to Sault Ste Marie tomorrow!"  Ummmm.... Several of wanted to stay close to camp, and ride local trails, play on the hills.  Still riding our asses off, but closer to camp, play on the lake, hit a few trails that were close, within "DAMN IT'S COLD, I'm going to the cabin for 10 minutes" distance.  Nope, not Pat, he wanted long distance exploration! His inner Pirate was showing!  I perfectly understood his perspective, as he just bought a "new" used sled specifically for this trip.  I'd want to ride too!

Febrary 27, 2015
The night before:

 We ran from our base camp located near Curtis all the way up to Newberry.  Someone thought it would be a good idea to have ME lead.  I've been riding my entire life, but I have never been this far north, let alone on these trails.  I had my map and compass though, let's ride!

Made 2 wrong turns, cost us some time, made it to Newberry in 2 hours or so.  Fueled up and the group decided to head back home due to tiredness and temperature.  We made it home in 40 minutes.  Wait, what? 40 minutes.  OK, Newberry isn't all that far via trails, maybe Pat has some validity in his trip argument.

Our ride is highlighted in green.

 So later that night, after some arguing it was "decided" that tomorrow's trip would be from camp to Paradise and back, with a stop at Tahquamenon Falls State Park for a warm up and dinner.  I was sore from today's ride to Newberry and back, haven't ridden this hard since I was a kid.  So my plans were to help the gang get rolling then hang back, go play on the lake, hit some local trails and take it a bit easy.

February 28, 2015:

  With "the plan" in place, we all woke up at staggering times according to our internal clocks.  We all wanted to get an early start as we had a long ride planned and it's much warmer during the day.  This is when things started going awry.  Not enough to throw in the towel, not even enough to suspect a hint of things going bad.  Just a late start, nothing more.  I woke up around 05:00 and made some coffee.  Once the cabin came to life around 09:30, I went outside and started all the sleds and got them pointing in the right direction while everyone was getting their riding gear on. Except the Ole 440 that Uncle Ed loaned me for the weekend, as I wasn't planning on going on this trip.  In passing, I mention to Pat "You guys are all set, who's leading? Timmy?"  "No, you are."  "I'm not going with you guys, just gonna hang around here."

  "You drove 10 hours to sit in a cabin??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"  At this moment in time, a pure and simple YES would have made my life so, so very much easier.  I felt the word yes coming out of my mouth, but then FMS syndrome set in.  "'Fraid of Missing Something."  As I was saying "YES", the smell of 2 stroke exhaust from the running sleds wafted in, the sight of the boys gearing up, my brain said "Yes", but I became keenly aware of my senses and I actually heard myself say "Yeeeaaah, gimme 10 minutes to get ready."  I immediately thought don't let your mouth right checks that your ass can't cash.  So sore and tired.  Well, I said it, I'm in now.  With the gang ready to roll, it was decided that we'd ride to "Blueberry" again, and refuel, and see how things were, with the plan of hitting Paradise and back before nightfall. 150+ miles ahead of us. The time was 11:15 AM, and off we rode.  Myself, Timmy, Danny, Ed, Vadim, Jimmy, and Pat.  Seven sleds on a mission.  Stopped in Curtis to top off fuel, and then Ride Sally Ride, even though Sally wasn't with us, and none of us actually knew anyone named Sally.

  The ride to Blueberry started off enjoyable and seemed quick.  Sunshine in my face, even though it was only 10* it seemed warm, last time we rode it was -10*.  I knew where we were going, I had good friends behind me, Youngstown was the furthest thing from my mind.  I'd never been north of Blueberry, but I had my map and my compass and felt confident with the team behind me.  Thinking about my father and all the miles we put on the snowmobiles in my youth.  Beautiful scenery, and all in all a fantastic ride.  Then Dan broke down.  Almost expected, so no red flags yet.  Quick fix, minor delay and we were off and running again.  Just south of Blueberry, Dan broke down again. Big time electrical issues.  Only 7 out of 10 of us on this trip, so we had a backup sled at camp for him, if we're gonna do this, let's call in the Rescue Team now to meet us in Blueberry and exchange sleds.  Towed Dan a few miles to Blueberry, It's actually NEWberry, but Vadim called it Blueberry, so I'm going with it.

  Refueled in Blueberry, Rescue Team met us and got Danny a running sled.  Team meeting, 14* everyone is feeling good, off to Tahquamenon Falls it is!!!  Has anyone seen Sally? RIDE!  At this point, I'm getting concerned.  Not concerned about The Nightmare Ride that was looming in our future, we had no idea what was coming.  I was concerned about me leading on a 20 year old sled, in places I had never seen before.  I had my first-aid kit backpack on, a map, a compass, and gorgeous Upper Peninsula Michigan wilderness in front of me, and the best friends I've ever had behind me.  Giddy Up!  As you leave Blueberry to the north, there's an actual display of a mangled sled with a sign that reads Ride Safe!  At this point, we had already passed several "Death Crosses" on the trails, and it starts to hit me.  

  We are in the fahking wilderness, 35 miles from civilization.  It's easier to die out here than it is to live.

  So off we ride, I'm leading, "Little Bastard" is at the end.  There are certain rules you follow when you're out here because it's really easy to die and end up on the Discovery Channel.  Donner, Party of 12.  There's a chain of us 7, check behind you, if no one is behind you stop.  If you're the lead dog and no one is behind you, turn around, go pick up the second dog, you both go pick up the third dog, etc until you're chain is all back together. Safety in numbers, literally.

  We leave Blueberry to the north, again our trail is highlighted in green:

  Once we get North of Blueberry, I am reminded of Super Mario's different worlds.  Ditch Banging "woods" up to this point, and then holy hell.  The slowest sled leading, at the approach of an 11 mile drag strip!  ANYONE that knows me, knows what's about to happen!!  My throttle thumb got tired!!

After the 11 mile drag strip, I saw this:

Now this is exactly what I grew up on, "Ditch Banging" and I wasn't about to pass this by. So I decided to stop for a play session, stretch the legs etc.  This is the exact moment we should have turned around!

  I had a "broken chain" so I headed back south to find Eddie and Pat.  I passed them, so all was good.  I needed to turn around, and got lazy.  I didn't feel like dragging the Ole 440 again, so I decided to try a brake slide turn. Full throttle, slam the brakes and turn left!  Sled is supposed to spin around approximately 180*.  I forgot about the ice picks on the track.  It spun according to my intentions, but only about 30* until the picks dug in and stopped the sled.  In an instant I was on the ground, felt like someone hit me in the back of the head with a 2 X 4, and the Ole 440 was "Mmmm mmmm mmm" coasting past me.  OUCH!!!! But I'm OK, go back to original plan, dragged her around and headed back north with an incredible headache.

  

Haley Mae

I know I've already used this song, but I can't change, I can't change, I can't change....

Haley Mae was about 6 hours old when I met her today.  Yeah, she can change, she can change!

Haley Mae

I hope her parents find this somehow.  A basic, A Medic, and 4 nurses took her on a little ride in an ambulance.  I've been on this planet for 45 years, she was here for 6 hours, and I was the one that was chosen to send this little girl along her voyage.

Flu like symptoms, toe pain. Cut finger. General weakness. I think I'm gonna have a seizure.

100 times, you don't make a difference.

Then you meet Haley Mae, and that's WHY you do this!

Drops of Jupiter

Today's song, Drops of Jupiter.

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 HIT IT

  Coming up on the first of the year, all kinds of reflections. Got me to thinking, all of my certifications became due.  Funny coincidence (I DO NOT believe in coincidence!)  Everything expires on Jan 3 2018.  The same day I retire and walk away from the fire business.

  My 48th birthday I retire.  My 49th Birthday I become a Flight Medic.

  This song reminds me of my Niece Erin, because she has always had her head in the stars.  She can do anything she wants.  I like to think I taught her to be her own person, and take the world as it comes. And on Jan 3rd, 2018 I'm going to walk away.  From that day forward, look to the sky to see me!

  I'ts inspired me to be the best.  If you believe in yourself, don't be afraid to fly because you're scared to land.

  I'll see you Jan. 3rd!

BE THE ONE!

My friends,

  Now is the time.  In past blogs I've promised the "secret" to a better way of life, a better way of being, a better way of thinking.  A better version of YOU!

  I cannot wait to meet "future you!"

  This way of thinking has been going on for centuries, but not in the main stream.  We all get caught up in life, and making a living, taking care of our families.  This is the exact point I'm going to make, You can take care of your family, and still be up on this higher plane.  Nicola Tesla, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford!  They have all done this.  Look it up.

  I'm planning a seminar on my 45th birthday, Jan 3rd, 2015.  I want to share this way of thinking with you.  I hope you can be there, but rest assured as I stand in front of you, I'm scared!

  Scared is good!  Out of the comfort zone, which is the only way to learn something new.  And what a way to learn, by teaching others.  Whatever is going on in your life right now, we'll take it up a notch.  I'm a firefighter, so I'll show fellow firefighters all about the 360* bubble.  But that 360* bubble is all about life in general. It's called "Situational Awareness."

  This is SO simple! Yet SO complicated!  I'm going to tell you again, no matter who you are, what you are doing, you need to BE THE ONE!

You've seen me post time and time again, "BE THE ONE."   Its not easy. Its not something you just decide to do.  Its not something you do on a whim.

  Its a dedication.  A dedication to complete strangers.  A dedication to Citizens.  A dedication to fellow humans if you will.  A dedication to yourself.

  And now, I ask of you, a dedication to being a Warrior.  A dedication to me personally if that's what it takes.

  But what I'm really looking for is a dedication to yourself.  Its right in front of you!  Its time to "Be The One!"

Mad World

  PLEASE do me a favor on this blog.  As usual, I have a song tied to the blog.  But on this one, I want you to listen to this as you read.  I made the link open in a new window.  Less candy crush, more thinking.  Clicky Clicky ---->  MAD WORLD

  I've spent 24 years on a fire truck.  Planning retirement in 4 years, but I can't seem to get away from the chaos theory.  After this long, it becomes a way of life.  At first it was exciting!  Then a "job."  Now, I actually need it to function.  What am I gonna do after the Fire Service?  I can't deal with calm.  My retirement home has waves on a minute to minute basis, and an ever looming threat of a hurricane.

  Oh! EMS!  Good idea!

  All around me are familiar faces. Worn out places. Worn out faces.... Mad World.

  I love my less than a year old career on "my" ambulance,

  "Going nowhere. No expression"

  "I find it kind of funny.  I find it kind of sad.  It's a Mad World."

  "The Dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had."

Mad World.  It's a Mad World.

  The things I've seen, the things I've done.  I would never ask from you.

  But somehow after the black clouds part, and you see what you've done in some little way that has affected so many lives.  Then sometimes you don't get to part the black clouds, yet you still see how you have affected so many lives.  "No Tomorrow."

  Your soul and heart only have so much to give.  What I have learned to do, is to take those "No Tomorrow's" and turn it positive, and be the best that you can be, on YOUR tomorrow!  "No Tomorrow" yesterday, cannot bring you down today.  They are counting on you.

  Put yesterday behind you, they need you at your best.  They don't care about your Mad World, they care about theirs.  They're scared.

  Be confident.  Be safe.  Situational Awareness.  Take over like you OWN IT!

  They're looking at you for the day they feel good.

  It's a Mad World, and their looking at you!  Be The One!

Blinded By The Light

  Blinded By The Light

  I was fortunate enough to work with a Paramedic that I respect yesterday.  She is one of the Paramedics I wish to pattern myself after once I graduate Medic school.  Definitely out of my comfort zone, which I enjoy.

  She's going through some personal struggles, and I'm thankful I can help her, at least a little, with them because she is giving SO MUCH back to me by being a mentor.

  Our shift started out uneventful, and pretty much stayed that way with only 2 runs.  First one was a little old lady in a nursing home that had fallen and really hurt her tailbone.

  The second run was for a 93 y/o man that had fallen and whacked his head pretty hard.  He is on blood thinners, so this is serious before we even get there.  On scene, he's "ok" but needs to go to the ER.  Load him up, his wife asks if she can ride with us. Sure can!  A neighbor lady helps her into the front of the boo boo bus.  Help in the back for a few minutes, and check his pupils, pinpoint and non-reactive.  Do you have Glaucoma per chance?  Yes, I do.  I'm legally blind.  My mentor Medic and patient in back, I'm driving, 92 y/o wife in front with me, off we go to the hospital.  No lights or sirens.  I introduce myself, and explain what's going on in the back with her husband.  She seems worried, but assured.  Just another run, I was thinking to myself.  Yeah, right!

  En route to the ER we chat about this that and in between.  She tells me that they have lived in that same house since 1953, and were married in 1951. 67 years!  Mr. Patient was coming in from the garage, and tripped on the carpet.  "You know how us old people kind of shuffle our feet instead of picking them up to walk."  Yes, I sure do.  She also informs me that she too is legally blind.  Well, now that poses a problem for me.  Family members cannot go into the ER where we take the patients in.  The entrance for family is around the corner, about 300 feet or so.

  I shout into the back of the ambulance,
    "Lori? We OK?"
    "Yes Sir!"
    "Is he stable?"
    "Yeah, why?"
    "I have to make a quick stop if I can."
    "Go for it, they didn't trauma team him. We're good back here!"

  So once we get to the hospital, I stop at the family entrance and escort Mrs. Patient into the waiting room.  I tell her that once we get her husband in a room, I will come back out and get her.  Stop at the security desk, and let them know what's up.  Back to the bambulanze, and take Mr. Patient in through the other entrance.  Do our thing, get him admitted, and into a room.  Put my cot and ambulance back together, and go back to his room, Dr's and nurses are already taking care of him, so I patiently wait outside the door.  ER nurse comes out, "You need me?" Nope, just need to know when his wife can come back.  OH! She can come back now, we're all good.

  So I go through the ER to the waiting room, and as I get close to Mrs. Patient, I can see that she recognizes me, and she smiles and stands up.  "Your husband wants to see you."  "Can you help me?  This is a new place, and I can't see very well."  Are you kidding me?  ABSOLUTELY!  She takes my arm, and we walk through the ER towards her husband's room.  The ENTIRE ER smiles at us walking arm-in-arm. Family in the waiting room, other patients, doctors, nurses, EVERYONE.  That right there made my day!

  But then we get to the room....  I watched a blind man's eyes literally light up when he realized his wife of 67 years was there!

  She leaned over to give him a kiss and says "You need to learn to pick your feet up, Clumsy."