Today I took advantage of a rare (as of late) beautiful sunny day and headed to Bay Roberts for an ATV ride with Dad. He had lent me his new enclosed trailer for the summer & fall hunting season, he was now ready to take it on a trip to Indian Bay. 

We left Bay Roberts taking the old railway right-of-way to County Road. Dad was leading the way on his Can Am Outlander while I piloted Project Foreman. I'm not familiar with the area so don't remember all of the route names and trails, but it was a truly wonderful run. Temperatures were brisk but really not bad for November here in Newfoundland.

Dad's machine continues to run very well. Other than a defective cooling fan and worn out rear U-joints in the driveshaft, the bike has only required regular maintenance even with quite a few miles logged on the clock.

Our destination for a boil-up was alongside Gander Pond which was absolutely beautiful.

We gathered up some dead firewood, quickly got a small campfire burning and the kettle on to boil.

On the menu today was Iris's leftover goulash which was easier to slowly heat on dad's propane burner than the campfire. As usual it was absolutely delicious especially when paired with a hot cup of tea.

Dad picked up this battery operated Shihl chainsaw last summer, and its become an invaluable and very easy to use tool on the bike, snowmobile or side by side. He especially likes it because the battery lasts all day and there is no fooling around with fuel & dirty carburetors.

From there we headed further into the country to a beautiful site where Dad and Kevin hope to erect a backwoods day cabin like so many others have done across the area. If successful it will be a truly spectacular site.

Later in the afternoon we popped into one of these backwoods cabins for a sit down and rest, like other visitors we left our mark in the guestbook.

Our final spot was alongside a beautiful gully. Trouting season is currently closed but it looks like a great spot to try this winter!

It got quite cold on our way back to town especially as the sun went down. Thankfully good outerwear and heated handgrips & thumb warmers on both bikes made for a comfortable ride home! A great end to a truly enjoyable day.

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith