Spring Has Sprung

We FINALLY got a warm, dry, weekend day to go outside and play! My poor ATV hasn't been out of the garage for two months!

We figured that our best chance of getting very far off the road was in the Pryors, so we headed south. It was crazy windy, but that wasn't going to stop us! As we got close, we could see that there was still a lot of snow on top, but the main road was dry. 

We took the first side road, then the first side road off of that one. It was a fun ride, but we hit a spot that was a little too much like "technical riding" for relatively inexperienced riders like us. ("Technical riding" is ATV-jargon for "DUDE... That. was. INSANE!") We walked up the trail a little farther, but it was obvious that we had gone as far on this road as we were going to get. So we headed back to the main road.

Coming out, Dan spotted a high point that just had to be conquered, so we parked the machines and started up. However, we kept getting distracted by cool rocks. (Rock hounding is a lot of fun in the Pryors because of the high concentration of crystals and geodes.) We did ultimately make it to the top and the view was incredible.  

We spent the rest of the day alternately riding, rock hounding, and hiking. It was just SO good to be outside again! We did find some lingering snow. I made it up the last drifted incline of the day, but Dan was good and stuck, so I turned back. He got himself out before I got back, but we decided that that was the end of that road for today. In spite of the snow, I am convinced that Old Man Winter is losing his grip at last and that spring has arrived. Seeing bluebirds and a robin only has me more convinced that summer will get here after all. Bring it on!