My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

So I've spent the past month selling most of my belongings, renting a small storage unit for some of the things that I just couldn't part with, and completed the sale of my cabin at 4:00 p.m. yesterday. I now find myself homeless and living on the road. This is something that I've dreamed of for years so I finally decided to take the plunge. I'll have a close friend along for the first three weeks. Last night night we traveled about (130) miles and slept in Cumberland, Maryland. We were headed for Montana but this morning we have changed our minds and decided to stay further south, hoping that the weather will cooperate and the temperatures will stay cool enough. We are also traveling with a Golden Retriever and a Yellow Lab. And yes it's quite cramped in the little camper but we all get along great. I've posted a picture below to give you an idea of my rig. I hope you enjoy.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Paint me jealous!! Have a fun and safe adventure!!

 

[Fester]

Sounds like a great adventure!

I'm taking the summer and fall off to travel the western US and Canada. Maybe we will run in to each other.

Happy trails

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Nothing is better than traveling without a schedule or destination. Yesterday we took our time getting on the road but we drove for most of the afternoon and evening and covered nearly (500) miles and we spent our second night in Corydon, Indaina. It's a real challenge to make this story exciting or even interesting at this point as interstate travel just isn't exciting nor interesting. We are having a great time and look forward to some awesome times.

My friend has never been to the western U.S.A. so I would love to take him to the Grand Canyon (as well as many of the other lesser known awesome places out there), and from there go north. Eventually we'll make it to Montana where he'll depart and fly home. I'm thinking of going to the Arctic Circle this summer and then possibly heading south into Central America for the winter. But I don't know. Maybe I'll find a cool town and stay for a few months or longer. My motto for this trip is definitely "one day at a time".

 

[SulVento]

Awesome. I'm jealous!

Looking forward to following your story!

 

[jcdespaux]

Looking forward to following this trip also, good luck

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Another high mileage day and nothing to write about again. We made it to Topeka, Kansas (about 550 miles for the day) where we spent the night in the Wal Mart Parking lot. We hit our first toll booth of the trip. I never quite understood why we pay federal taxes for our highways and then get hit again for using them. I guess we are always victim to this double taxation but it just seems more blatant on the highways. Anyhow, the plan for today is to continue west and we hope to hit Colorado tonight. And we'll stop for our first shower of the day later this morning. Can't wait !

That's Yukon and Montana shown below. Two of my travel companions.

 

[EdwardBernal]

Cool travel buddies bud - I will be reading about your travels. Enjoy and stay safe!

 

[irish1371]

If you hit the grand canyon, then you have to go an hr and a half to Zion , near st George where I am at. Tons of good views of rock formations along the highway here. Then head north and hit Bryce canyon and bear lake before leaving Utah and going up to Jackson hole and into Yellow stone. (grew up in Bozeman MT So I know the route well ). There is a ton of stuff to do up into Montana Utah is full of crazy amazing sights The following are local to St George , for a slice of whats here.




A few views of the surrounding hills and our hidden swimming hole, Good luck with your trip

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Another (500) plus mileage day mostly done on the interstates. We took time to stop by a Flying J and get ourselves showers. I usually last much longer without a shower but my friend likes to be clean. In the afternoon we stopped at one of those beautiful Kansas wheat fields and went for a short hike with the pups. We've made it to Colorado Springs and are once again staying at a Wal Mart. Tomorrow things will get better as we plan on visiting Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve. I love that place.

Irish1371.......most of those spots are on our to do list. I've been traveling out here for years and actually owned land in Bozeman. I'll be staying there with a friend. I have lots of history with that town and love Bozeman.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Today we were up with the sun and on the road early. After (4) days on the road and (4) nights at Wal Marts we were both ready for some back country adventure. We made it to Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve in the early morning hours and hiked up to the highest points on the dunes. By the time we began to descend the place was packed with tourist and the sand was so hot the poor dogs were dancing. Below is a picture of my friend and my dog Montana on the sand dunes.

 

[mph]

Love the dog/wheat field shots! Nice!
Enjoy your travels...
Headed to Durango area next week for a trip. Can't wait...Enjoy your time in Colorado!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

After the sand dunes we continued west towards Durango, Colorado. We found a nice forest service road near Wolf Creek Pass for some back country camping. After (4) nights at Wal Marts I couldn't wait. We found a waterfall in the late afternoon and did some rock scrambling. Since we we were camped along the Continental Divide Trail we decided to take an evening hike and we came across some elk. Pretty nice hike. Slept well that night and woke up to a welcomed 29 degrees.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Up early again the next day and off to Mesa Verde. We checked out the Indian ruins and enjoyed the scenery as well as the brand new Earth Roamer. Later that afternoon we continued west again with the Grand Canyon being our next destination. Since it was 90 degrees that evening we decided to stay in a campsite where we could hook up to electricity and use the a/c for the night. We were up the next morning at 4:00 a.m. and were able to catch the sunrise over the canyons. Well worth the early wake up and so very beautiful. It seems as though I can never get enough of the national parks in the western U.S.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

After leaving the Grand Canyon that afternoon, we went to Lee's Ferry for a swim in the Colorado River. The water temperature was 49 degrees but it didn't matter to us since we were feeling so grubby. The dogs couldn't get enough of it while we were happy for just a quick dip. Afterwards we found ourselves a cool spot in the higher elevations near the north rim of the Grand Canyon with lots of shade from the large pine trees. It was so beautiful and truly one of my favorite spots out west. This morning we finally chose to sleep in and we are now in Hurricane, Utah on our way to Zion National Park. All is good.:sunny: