GET FACTS STRAIGHT! Snowest Misleading Readers about Cooke City.

[TurboT]

TRS and khogan bring valid facts to the table on this subject. If anything were to come out of this it better be in writing! If you have ridden the trail to Pilot LBS you would understand there is no room below the slide area to make a new trail system yet alone the money to build one! Not picking @ you and I do understand your right to prosper, but this might become a very bad deal for the state of Wyoming!!! Like TRS stated, Wyoming will cease with plowing if this does happen. This I know firsthand also! If plowing does happen, can you really be sure the govt. will keep their end of the deal for you going north like khogan said? Cooke will be busy on Friday and I know of a few friends that are bringing "big rigs" in. Will be interesting with all of the media there! And I think we may know who started this grand idea in the first place. Not 100% sure yet but I think she may reside in Cheyenne!!!

 

[khogan]

The decision can't be based on emotion. It has to be on facts. Fact is we stand much more to lose (as clearly laid out by TRS) than to gain.

 

[WyoBoy1000]

Seems to me, other than the trail issue it all depends on weather you live on the west or east side for the most part. The people from cooke and on the east side would prefer it plowed, on the west side, well its already plowed for you guys. I wonder what would be said if it where the other way around / aside from the trail issue.

 

[khogan]

Hold on Wyoboy. This isn't about me or you and our personal preferences. If they want to stop plowing the road at Silvergate and make us ride in...I am fine with that. This is about the riding as a whole. Losing access, volume of people, impact on infrastructure, and most of all costs. Cost that taxpayers will bear the burden of.

You bring nothing factual to the table, only, "me and my friends want it plowed". You refuse to look at the impacts, and cost. I rode that side for 25 years and never thought twice about it. I didn't move to the west side because 212 was not plowed all the way to Cooke. You could though.

And to say everyone from Cooke wants it is just not true. If you truly know the people of Cooke, you know that there are 3 wintertime business that want it and they are raising this issue. Three businesses. NOT all of them.

Call Exxon, Sinclair, Antler's, Soda Butte. See if they want it. The three businesses (that want it) I speak of DON'T EVEN RIDE. So why would they care. They want the money nothing else. You are being too short sided for what you think would be best for you and not for the area as a whole.

If you need the numbers and names (owners) of the businesses I would be happy to provide them to you so you could do some research.

Going at this half cocked with the additude just plow the road and we will work the details out later....will get it all closed down. Additionally, do you think having greenies and wolf watchers travelling through the area will help us. You will only see more scrutiny of our sport.

 

[TRS]

Just received the new agenda for the meeting. Here is a copy. Funny there are no organization logo's or sponsors on this document. Who put this together?

 

[TRS]

I found this hidden in the e-mailed agenda. I thought I would share it with you

Hello All,


Attached please find the preliminary agenda for the May 20th "Snow Plowing" meeting scheduled for May 20th in Cooke City, MT. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.


This is the final call for written comments, questions, etc. that you would like to have included in the preliminary meeting documentation that will be sent out Thursday morning, prior to the meeting. Including comments in this documentation is a great way to ensure that everyone connected to the meeting has access to all information gathered.


Thanks, and I look forward to seeing all of you on Friday.


Kim



Kim Capron, Project Coordinator
Friends of the Beartooth All-American Road
PO Box 983
Red Lodge, MT 59068
307.250.1510
info@beartoothhighway.com
www.beartoothhighway.com

 

[WyoBoy1000]

Khogan,
did you read the post I posted about being in the middle on the issue stating I don't have near enough info to stand on one side or the other and realize after this discussion that there are far greater issues that need to be addressed with the plowing of the road than just the actual plowing. If I didn't get that across in the earlier post thats what I was trying to state.

Then I posted some comments from others(just info), and then without facts or anything it does appear that there is a west and east side take on it, most from the east want it at first take. It would be convenient, but I think after the info started coming out I think if others had all the facts out in the open I think they would agree that where it would be nice it may not be worth it, at least not without fixing a lot of issues.

I am not in anyway pointing fingers at you (as a current west sider), or anyone else in this thread that is actually bringing real info to the table.

Another reason why I suggested a certain time line for the road to be open to see if there would be a down fall. It would accommodate both sides if there weren't.

 

[TRS]

Here is some interesting reading on the questionable ownership of this orphaned highway. Who's responsibility will it be to carry the burden to plow? You will have to scroll down.
www.thefreelibrary.com/An+orphaned+highway.-a0161918034

 

[Jeff C]

The drive around will cost you 1 hour.

Are the convienences worth ruining Cooke?

Our, you could ride somewhere that you can have all of your amenities. Right? Here are a few - Alpine, WY; Jackson, WY; Togowotee, WY, Rabbit Ears, CO; Wolf Creek, CO; Island Park, ID; Snowies, WY; Bighorns, WY; Pinedale, WY; Vale Pass, CO; Meeker, CO; West Yellowstone, MT. = Problem solved.

All these places are no Cooke, but will have your amenities.

Another random thought....put your tie downs away, lock your truck, and buy a padlock for your trailer. That easy.

Another random thought, locking your truck does nothing to stop someone from breaking the glass and taking your stuff. First time out there, and did not realize there was a 15 mile drive into town and had to take extra measures not to get our stuff stolen.

As a matter of fact, we have found a place with more of what we are looking for......... Island Park.......

 

[TRS]

Island Park is a great place. We would drag our stuff the 85 miles across the park to West four or five times a year and ride there. Until they closed the park to us. Now we have to drive around. More lost riding. More windshield time.
I haven't had my equipment broken into or stolen in any snowmobile parking areas across the country. But I have, under security lights, in enough cities. But I feel for you. This is not what we want in our parking areas. Someone in our snowmobile fraternity did this, and it saddens me..
Don't go to Revy, they take your truck and trailer to haul off your tie downs.

 

[WyoBoy1000]

The steeling is BS, and they better hope we don't catch them, the only thing they will have left is tie down hanging them upside down in a tree.

 

[khogan]

Another great article by TRS (I don't know where he finds this stuff).

Most people who are not familiar with this road don't know that it literally is an orphaned highway. Montana does not have a maintenance shop, nor do they perform maintenance on this section of road. Begging again the question who is going to plow it.

Furthermore, Montana had nothing to do with the reconstruct's just recently performed. It was done by the FHWA. FHWA contracts this work in National Parks and National Forrests where the states don't really have any net gain from maintaining or building the roads.

Montana crews do maintain, but NOT PLOW, the switchbacks during the summer months. Again, the plowing of this section is in an agreement with the NPS along with "the plug".

And, here we are right back to the question that LSB still has not answered....who pays for it. Who pays for plowing, parking, maintaining, alternate trails, etc., etc., etc. We don't need a knee jerk reaction that will ultimately kill Cooke City.

 

[khogan]

Jeff C-

I am happy you found a place to ride that accomodates you. Isn't Island Park a hell of a lot further drive (like about 4 hours longer) than going to Cooke???

You seem dead set to weigh in on this discussion, but you have only been there once, and that was 10 years ago.....Your driving right by the paved road to Cooke to get to Island Park. (???)

And, lets not exaggerate it. It is a 9 mile ride, not 15. I am sorry your things got taken. I guess I am not as trusting and I lock up everything anywhere I go. I have never heard of windows getting broken out. Are you saying they broke your windows too.

 

[TurboT]

I've never had anything stolen either...lucky I guess but we lock everything up. Every year the sport of snowmobiling gets hammered on and it just doesn't make any sense. Right now we're dealing with tree huggers claiming snow impaction is reducing vegetation and destroying mole furrowing in the Snowy mountain range; among many other complaints that are blatant lies!

 

[TRS]

Thats funny. My yard was packed tight all winter from traffic and now that the snow is gone it looks like 40 miles of mole tunnels. If compaction gets rid of them, I'll try a vibrating roller next winter. That should take care of them.
I thought I had taken care of that infestation last summer..

 

[skidoorulz]

Here is proof that it is about profits. I finally found a thread worth boosting Snowests profits for and Snowest should thank LSB for starting the thread he boosted theirs while trying to boost his. I am still dead set against plowing the road. After some of the facts that TRS and Khagen have stated I am even more against it. The other side has presented no actual facts on why this would be a good thing. I have only had one thing stolen from my truck at the lot at Pilot and that was some gas. My friends were mad because we had to cut our day short and all I said was if they needed it to get back to town on their way back from totw it was fine. What ticked me off was they took my can. With that said I really don't think that the theft problem is that bad with as many rigs that are out in the middle of nowhere.

DO NOT PLOW!!!!!!! and I am one of those so called east siders.

Who are the 3 businesses talked about that are for plowing. I am pretty sure of the ones that would be against plowing

 

[LSB]

All the statements from TRS are factual and he has a lot of experience dealing with these agencies in the past. It is my hope that we can all come together with the help of folks like him and solve all of our problems. He is highly knowledgeable and concerned about the Wyoming trail system. I respect him greatly for that.

I'm not responding to other comments or questions anymore as the facts no longer have anything to do with this conversation. Read back to what I said about the survey, and stop with this 3 business thing. Your just spreading more false lies I don't care how much it bothers you that people here want a road plowed.

 

[khogan]

LSB, if you would tell us the "all" the business that support and don't support then we would all know WHO to support when we come to town.

Seems fair enough to me. You stated earlier that it was public knowledge, you obviously have access to it.

 

[hobbes]

Why do they even plow past Red Lodge anyway then? Just save the money and shut down that whole road. If people want to snowmobile WY they can drive around too.

 

[SnowXTC]

I have not read everyone's responses, have to work to pay for my riding habit.

Rob, let me know what you need Sean and I to do. As always, we support you on this effort and we support the town of Cooke City.