Made it up to the ''ST HELEN ORV JAM'' 8/10 -12. Got there w/ grandson on his 450 dirt bike, his friend, on my sons TRX450r (fortunately for him since my son had to work) and my ''r''....rrrrr! Got there early in order to grab one of the last camp sites, since they were going fast, and filling up quickly! On Sat was the sand drags, and Sun the mud bogs. We fortunately had time to ride Thur. for a while, out on the trails, to get that out of the way, before the events started. We headed way out, towards N. of West Branch area, to show the kids the trails, quite a ways out from town. We were in the deepest/furthest part of the trail, when my sons ''r'' popped a rod, through the case....OUCH!! Had to leave his buddy there, while we headed back and drove grandsons pickup back in there, thinking we would never get to it,with bald tires spinning, w/ little traction, in deep, powder fine, like sand, but with a lot of luck, some engine revving & some swerving n swaying, finally made it! Needles to say that was the end of his buddies riding for the weekend! It didn't get much better after that, when grandsons bike blew a head gasket, way, way back in there, on the trails, but fortunately he was able to make it back to camp, by letting it cool down, on the way! Ever have a day like this, before?...err! That left me to ride alone, but gave me some time to explore some of the many trails, we've passed by in the past, but never took the time to investigate and kids admitted the trip was not a total washout, since we all cover miles of trails, they also were with ea other, having a blast, and not alone!! atv hill climbing, plenty of great sandy, orv play areas, riding through town checking out the babes lol, St Helen's beach, great camp fire cook'in w/ also some fantastic food in town! great weather too, finally! after the many past weeks, in the 90's! Way toooo ''HOT'' to enjoy a trip out on the trails, for over a month! along with the main reason for going, the drag races, and the many festivities they had to offer! Great time for sure, and hope to do it again next year, but hopefully with much better luck lol Not many places in the country where you can do so much in such a small town, that welcomes every type of orv, for kids as well adults! Almost like handing us the key to the town, like we owned it! lol Such an extremely friendly Town, as well as the many other cities, through our great state of Michigan!!⛺⛅....
