As you may remember, last year, the finance and sales teams headed down the Skykomish river for some serious river rafting. Class V stuff. Not for wimps. This year, the finance team once again spearheaded another group outing with the partner relations and marketing departments. A number of activities made the shortlist –- hot-air ballooning (too civilized), horse racing at Emerald Downs (but we wouldn’t be able to ride the horses), go-karting (nah – usually too slow and a few laps around an indoor track isn’t enough for us to get our blood boiling) and ATVing (ahhh – this sounds promising).
So we booked our morning with ATV Action Tours out of Monroe, WA. The key word here is “action.” We like action. As a result, 13 brave Zillowites hopped on 600 hp + quads and took off with Les and Jamal (our fearless and stoutly ATV operators) into the wilderness.
Needless to say, the fun began right away. We followed each other (mostly single file) at around 25 mph around various Cascade Mountain trails. Now 25 mph doesn’t sound fast unless, of course, you’re on an ATV and your toes are 2 inches off the ground with rocks, boulders, branches, tree stumps, fallen logs and deer, yes, deer, turning your pretty scenic trail into a gauntlet.
Then…there was mud. Our guide Les had this to say to describe his sense of satisfaction when 13 clients decided that to take their ATVs through 2 foot deep mud pools:
A great day and only three broken quads. Note to self, don’t let the clients pick the speed through the puddles.
Damaged digital cameras, clothing that couldn’t be salvaged, unrecognizable faces (see picture below), one busted ATV with a water-logged carburetor and a lot of smiles were the result. After 4 hours of ATVing through varied terrains – Alpine mountains, damp and muddy woods, river crossings and desert landscapes, our day came to an end.
Maybe next year, we’ll all end up at the Calaveras County Frog Jumping Contest or the Annual Bobbing for Pigs Feet Competition. Who knows. But just like the Captain Morgan’s commercial that asks “whether you have a lil Captain in you,” I think the finance team has a little bit of the Captain in them — we like our outings to be daring and wild.