Pulled over by a FED.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

Saturday was Field Day for Ham radio. 20 miles from my house on dirt roads is a place called Crystal Mine and a few friends were up there with their radio stuff. My kids wanted to take our utility quad up there, even though it was a long drive. My quad is a Polaris 500 Sportsman and it's 12 years old.

Well, I drive it with my two kids as passengers up on the trails all the time. I'm careful, safe and even made a custom seat belt for us while we ride. My kids always wear their helmets and goggles.

That said...I know that if I am ever stopped by Forest Service Law Enforcement, I'd get a hard time for having my kids on my quad -- and that's what I was worried about since Crystal Mine is so far a ride.

I took my helmet and packed it, but didn't put it on. It gets in the way and bangs on my daughters helmet...plus I can't hear or see as good. I don't drive fast or take risks...just cruise carefully and breathe in the fresh air.

Just like I suspected, an hour into the ride and 20 miles out - a Forest Service LEO got behind me and did the aggressive following thing, so I pulled over. As soon as he walked up, my 2-meter HT, with Motorola speaker mike and morse code identification code coming over the radio, caught his attention. I had my Alinco radio with me to call the guys on the hill when I got close so they could give me directions.

"Oh, are you with those guys up on the hill?"

I told him I was. He asked me if I knew what I was doing wrong. I said, yes. (I don't think I was doing anything wrong, but Yes was the proper answer...trust me). I informed the officer that I am a former LEO. He asked where. I told him. He asked where my helmet was and I told him.

Long story shorter....He gave me directions and told me to be safe. And asked me with a "Please", not to ride with my kids anymore. I never informed of being armed. We took off and then I realized that I lost my seat belt on the road somewhere. We looked everywhere and never found it.

After a nice visit up at Crystal Mine, we left after dark. I started the quad and one of my headlights didn't come on. The two lights in the bumper lit up fine. I started to worry. It was a long trip back and pitch dark out in the forest without light. In my pack was my Stream Light in case of emergencies.

We headed out. At the bottom of the road in complete darkness was a man shouting at us. I stopped and put my Stream Light on him. He had a flat tire, but said he didn't want to trouble me with it because I had kids.

We continued on as the wind grew colder and my kids began to whine about wanting to go home and how cold it was. I put my arm around my daughter and made sure my son had his arms around me.

Suddenly, a giant owl swooped at us from the tree tops. I swerved and then stopped. We looked for it, but it was gone. An Omen? We drove on.

About 12-15 miles from home, my other two head lights burned out. It was so dark, we couldn't see two inches in front of our faces.

"Oh crap."

I turned on my Stream Light. Good, it had enough battery for a while - even though my daughter was turning it on and off before we left earlier in the day. I took it from her and explained it was for emergencies and wasting the battery before we leave was a bad idea. She learned her lesson as soon as all the lights went out. I told her everything would be okay and I'd get us home.

With my neck on fire (I have a metal plate in my spine and it hurts all the time), I held the flashlight up over our shoulders to light the dark dirt road ahead of us. I prayed the battery would last. It was another half hour to an hour home. I had no cell phone service to call anyone. We were just going to have to make it...period.

The road seemed bumpier without lights. Every little groove, rock or sandy gravel felt more dangerous. The Stream Light flickered and dimmed, but held steady. I pushed the throttle and felt the ice-cold wind bite into my exposed arms. I couldn't put my arm around my 5 year old daughter because I was steering and holding the light. Guilt set in. Then I re-named "Field Day" to "Ride from Hell".

Another few miles, more blind curves and another complaint from my 7 year old son sitting behind me. I told him we were almost home.

When we got to my gate, my wife was waiting. She was worried enough to stand outside for us in the dark at our gates. After I pulled into my driveway, she lectured me on taking the kids on adventures with our 12 year old quad.

She was right.

Today, I noticed my sunglasses are severely scratched from taking them off and putting them in my bag to put my helmet on for the ranger's benefit. So I lost my custom seat belt, ruined my $80 dollar sunglasses, burned out three halogen light bulbs at $15 bucks a pop and probably lessoned the life of my Stream Light bulb...

With gas, the trip cost me around $165. Do I know what I was doing wrong? Yeah... Next time I'll take the truck.

[BonoVox]

Man what a story! Lucky you all made it back ok. Now it is a good camp fire story!

[G36 Steve]

Originally Posted by SierraNevadaCCW

When we got to my gate, my wife was waiting. She was worried enough to stand outside for us in the dark at our gates. After I pulled into my driveway, she lectured me on taking the kids on adventures with our 12 year old quad.

She was right.

Today, I

Thought you were gonna say, "replaced 12 y/o quad with a new Polaris Ranger".

Great story. Glad it has a happy ending.

[PHM]

Wow, I'm glad you and especially the kids made it home safely!

You are quite the writer, I felt like I was reading an action thriller. You ever considered writing a book? I think you would be good at it.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

Originally Posted by PHM

Wow, I'm glad you and especially the kids made it home safely!

You are quite the writer, I felt like I was reading an action thriller. You ever considered writing a book? I think you would be good at it.

You're joking, right? Sarcasm? That was some of my worst writing.

I wrote a book last year.

[PHM]

Originally Posted by SierraNevadaCCW

You're joking, right? Sarcasm? That was some of my worst writing.

I wrote a book last year.

LOL, I really did like it!

Maybe your next book can be titled "How to own a quad and not get stranded"!!

[zinfull]

Go for it. I believe your wife said to buy a new quad,

By yorself no problem but with kids I would not want to be in your spot.

jerry

[Truckoholic]

Sounds like a fun trip! ha ha I am a ham radio operator too. General class. Never been to any field day outings though.

I am always too afraid to take my Yamaha WR450 out after dark even though I have a headlight. Having just ONE headlight makes me nervous. But yeah, thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

[gr8fatman]

What an ordeal. Glad it turned out well. I too enjoyed the writing.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

Thanks for the writing compliments, everyone. I went to the local auto parts store today with the three light bulbs to replace the quad lights.

When I walked in, a greasy geaser who was wiping his blackened fingers with a dirty rag approached me and asked how he could help me. I handed him the three bulbs. Thinking the shop was small with limited stock, I said, "They have to be exact matches to those bulbs to work right in the fixture."

The dude get's smart with attitude in his voice and says, "Yeah, that's kinda how it works." etc. etc. I almost said something to him about being a smartass, but I kept my composure...even after he looked at me with anticipation - to see if I was going to react.

A while later we were looking at different bulbs in the back room and he said something about the bulb he had, possibly working for me. I stopped him and said, "They have to be exact....that's KINDA HOW IT WORKS." And I smiled at him.

He smiled.

I said, "If you are going to dish it out...you'd better be able to take it."

Before we left, he apologized for being a smartass when we walked in.

Sigh.

[libertarian]

Glad everyone's ok.

Originally Posted by SierraNevadaCCW

After I pulled into my driveway, she lectured me on taking the kids on adventures with our 12 year old quad.

Look at the bright side, she just gave you permission to buy a new one!

[Gronk Bronson]

Great story....thanks for sharing this. This will be one of those "remember when we rode home in the dark on the quad" stories that you and your kids will share forever. Glad to see it had a happy ending!

[Ken_In_Colo]

Originally Posted by G36 Steve

Thought you were gonna say, "replaced 12 y/o quad with a new Polaris Ranger"....

That's what I thought too!

Now that would have really been a happy ending.

[True Brit]

Sounds like an adventure...one you could have done without, but you will have things to laugh about in a few years.

Lights and replacement LEDs...this man makes some neat replacements. Malkoff LEDs

[Karatediver]

You forgot the number one rule of Ham Radio operating away from your home station. Something will either break, get lost, stop working for some reason (but will be working when you get home), or be forgotten! You covered several of those!

Worked 40 meters for about an hour saturday afternoon on a QRP rig at home on emergency power. Made about a dozen contacts and was really happy. Never been one of the die hards that can go the full 24 hours. Even the guys from our local club only did about four hours.