Out here in the rolling prairies, where the skies are vast and the trucks are big, off-roading could be considered the unofficial national sport.
Friday night, three men discovered why it's prudent to be selective of where trucks are put to the test.
"We'd just done some work on my truck and took it out for a bit of a test drive," said Battleford resident John Philpot.
Philpot had installed a new suspension lift kit and mud tires and decided to put them to the test on the riverbank east of the Battlefords Bridge, along with friends Scott Sample and Brian Lavallee.
Sample was driving when the vehicle became stuck on a sand bar in the middle of the river.
"We realized that we had to walk back to shore," said Philpot, explaining they removed their shoes and socks and waded through the freezing water to the shore.
All had cell phones, and they called a friend to come pick them up and take them back to Philpot's house so they could get chains to pull the truck out.
But before leaving, Philpot said, "we noticed that the RCMP were at the top of the bridge with the spot light on the truck."
When they saw the RCMP, Philpot immediately called the non-emergency line and informed the dispatch that all the occupants had safely left the vehicle and no assistance was required.
"The lady did not ask me for my name or my phone number," said Philpot.
The three men were at Philpot's house when they were surprised to see not one, not two, but five RCMP units pull up to the house.
Philpot said the RCMP asked who was driving and upon learning it was Sample, arrested Sample, detaining him at the station for approximately half an hour before releasing him without charges.
"It turned into a mess, it really did," said Philpot, adding he had no idea emergency crews went to the vehicle.
Philpot expressed dismay the call wasn't relayed, saying it could have saved the RCMP and fire department much hassle.
Nevertheless, Philpot called Fire Chief Pat MacIsaac and apologized for the debacle.
"He was not happy about the situation," said Philpot. "I apologized to them for what they went through."
Philpot was able to recover his truck, needing only to replace the rear-end differential fluid.
As for the fun evening the men had planned - "It turned into an ugly night," said Philpot.
