Ranger Ride

First, I'd like to apologize for the hiatus in blogging. Life has presented many inconveniences to creation: end of semester wrap-up, graduation, partying after graduation, wedding tasks, and so forth. Summer has begun, however, and so the adventures will most definitely come more frequently, and include more details and personal accounts. I am changing the angle ever so slightly in this perspective of topic. From now on I plan to write specifically of the adventures I have encountered this summer, while incorporating many, many more photographs!!! :) Who doesn't love a visual?



I begin this new take on Aroostook Adventures with a Sunday afternoon Ranger ride. First, for those of you who are unaware of what a Ranger is, it is a similar to a four-wheeler, but it rides six people instead of one or two. It is a grizzly looking machine, resting roughly three feet off the ground on massive rough tread tires. It has no window shield and a sturdy metal frame for the worst case, a tip over or roll scenario. In addition, the Ranger can reach a speed of roughly 71km/h and is capable of making its way through almost any type of land.



On this particular occasion, six of us piled into the Ranger. This was only my second ride in the machine, and I was very excited to be exploring the rear area of Cross Lake, nestled right beside Square Lake. First, we took a journey through what must have been a snowmobile trail in the winter time. It was narrow and full of small hills that jolted up and down along the way, with murky puddles of mud and rainfall complicating the path.



Next, we explored multiple large rock pits, climbing almost straight up the sides. At the top we enjoyed the view of lakes and mountains as far as the eye could see. Northern Maine, incidentally, is heavily littered with such lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, mountains, and hills. The view was amazing! All people should see such a sight at one point in their lives.




I wish I could have a Ranger of my own. Perhaps some day I will, but for now it is exceptionally nice that I have access to one belonging to my cousin. Off-roading is the best! Sure, the mud will probably ruin those jeans, and wind-tangled hair may be tough to comb out, but it is well worth the hassle. In a four-wheeler or Ranger, it is possible to drive almost anywhere. It makes exploring the wild a more personal experience! The sounds are all around, louder and clearer than usual. There is a certain thrill about encountering animals, candidly thriving in the forest as the Ranger rounds a corner. The adventures are plentiful when civilization is left in the dust, and the experience is breath taking.