On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...an assortment of sweet gear from Kmart, your snowmobile headquarters.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...a snowmobile trip that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...five in a Cat family*.

* Awesome photo of the Johnson's from a handful of years ago.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...four honking cylinders on a sweet King Kat snowmobile.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...a wedding with Mother Nature, Waiting for Winter Guy and Tucker.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...this ridiculous inflatable snowmobile toy.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...An electric start kit for my snowmobile

When the advertising agency is told to hype the Puma, they know EXACTLY the kind of photo that will sell some sleds. Even if the photo makes zero sense.

It seems like winter is on cue this year, at least for much of North America.

I know weather is local, and that what's on the ground at your house might not be the same at mine. That said, I'm PUMPED that I live in a band that delivered about 5 inches on Saturday night, and that there are tracks in yards and ditches near me.

CLICK HERE for more detailed information at NOAA.

Because... cross-country. That is all.

The 2018-19 ISOC National Snocross season kicks off this weekend with the Duluth National at Spirit Mountain.

It's going to be a season of change at the top end of snocross. Lots to see.

Click on the image above to launch the Livestream window and enjoy what I hope will be an awesome race opener for Team Arctic.

Think all goggles are the same? Think again.

Like snowmobiles, goggles are on a "continuous improvement" cycle as manufacturers test, tweak and improve the product for better optics, comfort, fit (especially in modern helmets) and reduced fogging.

The new Authority Goggle from Arctic Cat is the latest example.

I'm thankful for my trusty Panther, saw and red scarf.

I'm thankful for all those cowpokes back at the ranch.

I'm thankful for the lone cow trail that'll lead me back home.

And I'm thankful it's Friday, Nov. 16, 2018.

It's been 11 years since legendary snowmobile journalist CJ Ramstad and his son J.J. died in a tragic automobile crash.

Today would have been CJ's 73rd birthday. I’m remembering his life by sharing this awesome column he wrote in his Letter From Pops column for the November 1982 edition of Snowmobile magazine.

Letter From Pops and his book The Collected Works of Pappy were mainstays of his early career, as well as entertaining reading for snowmobilers all over the world.

I grew up reading this stuff and it's still very dear to my heart.

Happy Birthday CJ. And thanks for the gifts you gave us.

I was at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wisconsin, over the weekend, where winter delivered a few glorious inches of snow to announce the beginning of winter at one of my favorite places in the world.

Click to see a few pix of what's happening at the SHOF, including the brand-spanking-new display museum.

Snowmobile Show season is coming to an end in North America just as Winter is nicely beginning to introduce itself (a light dusting of snow is on the ground outside my window as I write this).

For as long as I can remember, hitting the closest autumn snow show was central to the yearly snowmobile experience. It was THE place to grab trail maps, brochures of cabins and resorts that catered to sledders, as well as catalogs from every company doing business in the sport.

Recently I ran across a few photos of one of the early first-ever Wisconsin Snowmobile Show while perusing some of the historical artifacts at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wis.

Click to see some pix and read a few thoughts on the matter.

Now entering its second year, the Arctic Cat ZR 200 has even more going for it than being a sweet sled capable of giving young (and old) riders an awesome and very real snowmobile experience.

The "more" I'm talking about is sweet accessory/custom options for those so inclined. Like a Snocross Handlebar Kit, Speedometer, Heavy-Duty Suspension Kit and more.

Click to see four of the newest and coolest. 

Frank couldn't figure out why, after he left the kids home alone for the weekend, the garage smelled like burning rubber and the track lugs on his Thundercat were ground to shreds...

Waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy back 27 years ago on Halloween, Mother Natured delivered one of the all-time great weather events for a large swath of the Midwest. Dubbed the Halloween Blizzard (10 inches of snow fell that night), it was a trick-and-treat of epic proportions, with upwards of 30-40 inches of snow that eventually blanketed parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

It paralyzed cities and caused hardship for some. But it gave snowmobilers the greatest candy of any Halloween ever.

For two days friends and I snowmobiled all over the Twin Cities. On freeways, highways and throughout neighborhoods where snowmobiling wasn't legal. It was incredible.

This happened in the days before decent storm prediction, and the weather people completely missed this one until it was already happening. Thus nobody was ready for it, myself included. It was a gift for winter lovers, and a scary-as-hell fright for everyone else.

Nothing like that predicted for tonight, however I'm hearing reports of snow up north this coming weekend.

Winter's coming, happy Halloween!

Now click to see some pix of the great blizzard.

Autumn was in full swing during my 2-day trip to Arctic Cat and Textron Off Road in Thief River Falls last week.

New snowmobiles, new dirt toys and familiar faces make trips like this my favorite days of the year.

Click to jump into this brief factory tour with me.