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Sorry about your grill, but on a good note I did see a few stray flakes falling earlier this morning. Currently cloudy, 39° and breezy here.

I just checked with Jeff and here was his reply.

Yeah, Michael Page uses my images quite a bit. I was never more than a few days without one. Cost of doing business I guess Nailed it.

I'm pretty sure Jeff had close to 10K on his Renegade 600 e-tech without any issues. I'm not sure how many miles Big Jim put on his.

From the OVSC website It is with great sadness that we need to inform our readers that past Club President and lifetime member of the OVSC David Bowles passed today at the age of 83. Those of you familiar with our Club know that Dave and his wife Betty were our cornerstone. Dave wore many hats in his selfless life’s devotion to our State, his beloved community and snowmobiling in the greater Mt. Washington Valley. He was a retired State DOT engineer, a lifelong member and officer with the Tamworth Fire Department and served in so many other capacities, including the board and county level at the NHSA, that we simply don’t know where to list all his contributions. Suffice to say there is a hole now in our snowmobile family that will forever remain unfilled. God speed Dave, our prayers to Betty and your loving family, we know you will be keeping a watchful eye on us from above as we move on to maintain and groom the trails you worked so hard to create. ****************** David A. Bowles, 83, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday morning October 9, 2018. He was the son of Roland R. and Lillian Walker Bowles. He was active right up to the time of his passing. Dave was a lifelong resident of Wonalancet NH. He was home schooled for grades one through three and once the Birch Intervale school was built in Wonalancet he attended through eighth grade when he graduated. Since there was no bus to Kennett High School, he attended Fryeburg Academy before going to UNH where he got his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He began working for the Construction Division of what is now the New Hampshire Department of Transportation in the summer of 1956. In 1959 he was drafted into the Army where served for two years. Upon his return from the Army, Dave worked for NHDOT for 38 years. During this time he was a Resident Engineer on projects all over the State. Most of his projects were road and bridge projects but he was also the Resident Engineer for the construction of the current Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway as evidence by a plaque with his name on it in the base station. Dave was involved in so many civic organizations that it’s hard to list them all. He joined the Tamworth Fire Department in 1962 and was involved right up until his death. The day before his passing he spent the day manning the Forest Fire Warden’s display for the whole day at Sandwich Fair. He was Chief for twenty-seven years. He was elected Fireward North in 1964 and was still serving in that capacity. He was also a founding member of the Tamworth Rescue Squad and was pleased to see the Fire Department and Rescue Squad merged into one department last year. Dave was also one of the founding members of the Ossipee Valley Mutual Aid Association where he served on various committees and the Board of Directors for many years. Dave was born into a sled dog racing family and spent time training dogs in the fall and winter. He participated in several races as well. He served as Chairman of the Tamworth Race for a number of years for the Tamworth Outing Club, helped start the Sandwich Notch 60 Sled Dog Race, and continued to help with the Wonalancet Fun Run Race. In 1968 Dave became interested in snowmobiling when he bought his first used snowmobile which he still owned and ran every year. He was a charter member of the Ossipee Valley Snowmobile Club (OVSC) and the Sandwich Sidehillers Winter Recreation Club. He was president of the OVSC for ten years and one of the trail masters for many more. He became the Carroll County Director for the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association in 2011 and was awarded the NHSA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Right up until his passing Dave was an active member of the Wonalancet Union Chapel. He has been ringing the bell, taking the offering, and served as Vice Chairman and Chairman for many years. Some of the other organizations that Dave was part of at some point, and many of which he was still involved with are: Tamworth Outing Club, Wonalancet Outdoor Club, Carroll County Forest Fire Warden’s Association, Tamworth Historical Society, Tamworth Road Committee, he served on the first official Tamworth Planning Board, Chocorua Village Association, Lakes Region Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee, the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club, and probably others. Dave had many interests and was always trying new things. Being a lifelong downhill skier, after he retired he decided to try snowboarding. He liked it enough after the first time to buy a used snowboard and practice in his field. He always liked trains and so again after he retired he bought a very used motor car, did some work on it and took to riding the rails. Just this past summer, since Betty wouldn’t ride with him on his 1959 BMW motorcycle anymore, he bought a CanAm Spyder three wheeled trike and gave her a ride. Dave was a true public servant and a devoted neighbor, husband, father, and grandfather. Whenever Dave was recognized for something he always pointed out that he could never have accomplished all that he did without his wife Betty. He is survived by his wife of 57 years Elizabeth (Betty) French Bowles, daughter Susan Bowles, Son Jim Bowles and his wife Diane, daughter Marsha Bowles Colcord and her husband Richard , grandchildren Jesse and Nick Colcord, grandchildren Michael and Kim Bowles, and new great granddaughter Carter Grace Colcord. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Simoneau, and his brother Bruce Bowles. Per Dave’s wishes there will be no calling hours. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at the Tamworth Congregational Church at 28 Cleveland Hill Rd. followed by a reception at Runnells Hall on Runnells Hall Rd. in Chocorua. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Tamworth Firemen’s Club, 132 Chinook Trail Tamworth NH 03897, the Ossipee Valley Snowmobile Club, or one of the other organizations that Dave was involved with.

All I can say is this site is what you, the members, make of it. Unfortunately social media sites have taken a substantial about of traffic away from forums. I'll admit that I haven't done much to help foster conversation here lately. I'll make it a point to try to help turn things around here, but I'll need your help. If you see or do anything related to snowmobiling post it on SledNH.

It looks like NH is trying to be like VT and price themselves out of the market. Sure, they may still get NH residents and second home owners, but Maine will be the winner at the end of the day.

Northern Extremes snowmobile rentals had a full parking lot when I drove by. I can understand waterbars starting to open up with all of the recent warm weather.

I drove through Bartlett today and was amazed at how much snow there was in town. Even the RR tracks were completely covered. Anyone looking for a day trip should consider Bear Notch.

I'm pretty sure everything has been explained to them I know, that's the reason for my comment.

I was hoping that there might be a few bridges on the land that need to be removed

From the Laconia Daily Sun. http://www.laconiadailysun.com/newsx/local-news/111693-sled-dogs-yes-snowmobiles-no-on-chocorua-trails TAMWORTH — Sled dog races will continue to start on Lake Chocorua and mushers will be able to use the same trails they have used in the past, but those trails will be closed to snowmobilers in the near future and removed from the snowmobile trail maps published by the New Hampshire Trails Bureau, according to Alex Moot, president of the Chocorua Lake Conservancy. He said an article published in The Laconia Daily Sun on Feb. 7 about the possibility that this year’s Tamworth Sled Dog race might mark the end of a 90-year tradition was not fully accurate. “The property owners referenced in the article have not closed the trails on their property to the annual Tamworth Sled Dog Race, and have never communicated this intention to either the Tamworth Outing Club or New England Sled Dog Association,” said Moot. He said one of the owners, who wishes to remain anonymous, grew up watching sled dog races every winter and is an enthusiastic supporter of the Tamworth Sled Dog race. “The property owners are now in direct contact with a TOC representative to reassure him that the Tamworth Sled Dog race can continue to use the trails on their property and to work out any race logistics,” said Moot. He said that, over the past several years, the property owners have been experiencing increasing problems with snowmobile users on their property straying off the trails, leaving trash behind, peering into the windows of their house, and intruding upon their family’s privacy in various ways. Moot said the owners are also concerned that the snowmobile trails on their property are being made broadly available online through snowmobile trail maps published by the New Hampshire Trails Bureau, since those maps attract multitudes of snowmobile users from all over New England and far beyond. He said that their names and home address were also listed online in one instance. He said the owners contacted the Trails Bureau and asked if the snowmobile trails on their property could be removed from online trail maps but remain open for use by residents of Tamworth and surrounding towns. “Unfortunately, the Trails Bureau told the owners that, if the snowmobile trails were removed from the state’s online maps, the state would need to close the snowmobile trails to all users, including local residents of Tamworth and nearby towns. As a result, the owners felt their only option was to reluctantly ask the New Hampshire Trails Bureau to remove the snowmobile trails on their property from its online trail maps, which apparently has the unfortunate consequence of the trails being closed to all snowmobile users. However, the owners have communicated to the Tamworth Outing Club that they are fine with local snowmobiles using the trails to groom the trails for the annual Tamworth Sled Dog race.” The outing club has partnered with the New England Sled Dog Club in holding the race since 1937. The NESDC was founded in November 1924 at a meeting at the Wonalancet Farm and Inn, owned by Arthur Walden and his wife, Kate. Walden, who developed the Chinook dog breed, was the first president of the club. This year’s Tamworth race, which was originally scheduled for late January, was postponed to the weekend of Feb. 24-25 due to poor trail conditions.

I've been using Invison software for about ten years now. I'm very happy with their service. They have also been trying to keep up with the times and give it a bit of a social media feel.

Drove from North Stratford, NH to North Conway today. They hadn't picked up anything new. However, it is snowing lightly here in the NEK of VT now, so they may get something tonight.