As the damage to the machine progressed (everything underwater, seals and u-joints and ball-joints working at full speed buried in mud, wiring breaking all over the place), the thought did enter my mind of just writing it off as a total loss and burying it where it sat.
The main reason I didn't is because it's full of fluids that couldn't be completely removed that would've destroyed the eco-system of the lake once it filled back in. Secondary reason is that despite the fact it's going to cost thousands to get it back into proper running order, it'll still be a fraction of its replacement cost.
As soon as I get as much mud as possible removed and fix what I can (mainly the broken external wires -- possibly the in-cab stuff), it's going to the local repair shop and I likely won't see it again for a long time. Part of why it got stuck in the first place is that the power available at the front and rear buckets has been gradually decreasing and their operation has become pretty erratic.
My daughter and I are still trying to figure out something we found on the way back down to the lake to get the 4-wheeler. A perfectly-formed lump of clay that I originally thought was a front wheel. Down to the lugnut holes and the shape of the rim. Weird. Had to poke at it a lot to make sure it wasn't just a mud-covered wheel.
Partway throught he retrieval process I saw that the right front tire was no longer on the rim and nowhere to be seen. and the left front was flat. When we went down to the machine to get pictures (it's in front of the workshop right now) we found the right tire sitting on the ground behind it. Somehow it managed to stay stuck to the machine somewhere while I drove it about 1/4 mile to the workshop only to fall off at the most convenient place.
Hope that's a good sign.
