This wheelchair is taking Belle River's Amanda Loewen anywhere

For nearly two decades, Amanda Loewen's world ended where the pavement did.

Now, she's planning a trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

"I can go pretty much anywhere," she said. "There's no limitation… it’s life-changing."

At her home in Belle River, Amanda shows off her neon pink all-terrain Action Trackchair, a rugged, motorized wheelchair that looks more like a small tank than a traditional mobility device.

It runs on continuous tracks, like a snowmobile, designed to glide over sand, snow, mud, and rocky trails instead of sinking into them.

"I like to go very fast," she said, smiling.

Amanda lives with dystonic cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that causes involuntary muscle contractions.

Until recently, that meant carefully planning where she could go and where she couldn't.

With her trackchair, she's cruising independently across sandy beaches, into shallow lake water, and through rugged trails in northern Ontario.

"We’ve taken it to Florida, Arizona, northern Ontario," said her dad, Matt Loewen. "She wants to see the Grand Canyon … drive it right down the trail."

Each chair weighs roughly 230 kilograms and is powered electrically.

It's controlled with a joystick but built like heavy equipment — "like a skid steer," Matt explained — with durable tracks underneath and the ability to climb over obstacles that would stop a traditional wheelchair cold.

There's a seatbelt for safety, storage racks and attachments for gear.

"It’s not just for fun," Matt said. "It takes her wherever she wants to go."