My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Two activities that I thoroughly enjoy these days are walking / hiking and of course relaxing with that good book. With Yukons declining health that's coming with her old age (she's now eleven and one half), the flat valley roads were the ideal place for her to get out and exercise. Dogs are not allowed at the garden but we definitely got some miles in on the surrounding roads.....







On Sunday there was an event at the gardens which I somewhat attended.....it was the 15th Annual Peace Festival and it drew a really huge crowd.....







I had looked forward to attending the festival but the crowds were definitely a deterrent so I barely attended any of the events.....and that was fine by me.....







I also have friends in the area so I needed to make time to reconnect for a brief visit.....and that would come next.....

 

[longhorn1]

I think I remember an earlier post. This has caught my attention and I need to see how close I will be when I cross back into Montana on Hwy. 12.ight just have to detour a bit and check it out. jd

 

[tgil]

We made a stop at the canal for a long walk & a swim before leaving Yuma. Montana just loves to gather rocks from the river and lake beds.....

View attachment 384817

Now, THAT, is a rock! My first golden played with rocks from the driveway, the largest would've been smaller than a tennis ball. I was constantly taking them from her. Found her dead in the yard one day at 7 yo. I have always assumed she choked on one of those rocks.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....bring a warm coat as we had the first snow of the season a few days ago. The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas is fairly interesting if you're into that kind of thing.....

Tgil.....that picture brings back fond memories of the dog I'll never forget.....thanks.....



Now we continued driving north and our next stop would be our nearly annual visit with the family that I purchased Yukon from over eleven years ago now. I'd be lying if I didn't say that this has become one of my favorite days of the year.....I've come to love these people and truly respect their simple ways in life.....



I never give these folks fair warning so my visits are always unexpected.....as I pulled into town and saw the wife walking along the road we were both quite surprised. Shortly thereafter the husband arrived and we reconnected along the side of the roadway. They were on their way out of town but they delayed their departure and invited me to their home.....



Our visit was fairly brief since they had plans to leave town.....I felt so fortunate to have caught them as I did.....and was so grateful for their hospitality.....



They loaded me up with fresh vegetables from their simply amazing garden.....all organic veggies of course.....



I had to stop him from filling that bag.....I'm just one old guy.....but I do love my fresh vegetables.....



As you know I've been on the hunt for a place to hunker down so they introduced me to a friend that builds log cabins.....



Unfortunately his plate was full as he already has three cabins to build. From the looks of his place I think it's easy to see why people seek him out.....



We took a drive over to see the farm where Yukon was born. Sometimes in the past I've thought that she has remembered the barn but this time there was no reaction.....



I think if there was a Shangri-la in North America that the Mission Valley could possibly be it. I just love this valley and the mountains that surround it.....



That afternoon I received a text from Tanner's family in Idaho with this picture attached. It's kind of funny how I buy a puppy and seem to make good friends in the process. Maybe I just get along best with the dog people.....

 

[ITTOG]

Does Yukon remember the people you bought her from.

I love that picture with all the dogs.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[longhorn1]

Wow! What a crew. My first dog was a golden, back in the 5th or 6th grade. Love our Yellow Lab, our second.

 

[Nautadoc]

Fantastic. What a wonderful world.

 

[Arjan]

Oh yes - field of Goldens....
Love the loghome

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....nope, not one bit.....

JD.....just can't go wrong with a retriever. Hoping you a have an excellent vacation.....

Nautadoc.....and what a wonderful post ! Thanks.....

Arjan.....honestly I love that post.....that one just makes me feel good.....



There's definitely a new feel to the air here in northwest Montana. As I mentioned in an earlier post the first snows of the season recently fell from the skies.....



When I began driving west a few weeks ago I had a plan in my head as to where I'd be in two weeks.....as do many of my plans, that plan never materialized. We are not even close to where I thought we would be. We've kind of just been treading water between Mission Valley and the city of Missoula, Montana. We've hung out in a nice little cemetery appropriately named Pleasant View Cemetery.....



I find cemeteries to be quite interesting.....this particular headstone certainly filled the description of being "interesting".....



And these two headstones tell a tragic story. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that these parents lived through as they buried two of their children, one having lived such a brief life.....





I guess nothing could exemplify more how unfair life really is when you see the nearby headstone of someone who lived for nearly one hundred years.....



A Montana Pioneer.....when I read that my mind began to wander to the likes of the true pioneers that first came to Montana and settled on this amazing stretch of dirt and stone.....



What a great place to waste the days away.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We've also been back to the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas a few more times. It really is a nice place to walk and think.....I enjoy myself here.....



Not too far to the north is the National Bison Range.....one more real nice spot to hang out and waste the day away.....



I've watched the Bison quite a bit the past two weeks.....they seem often to be on the move.....





I've encountered some other wildlife as well. I was squeezing myself between two strands of barb wire fencing when I noticed this guy about a foot away from my eyes.....he was just having a meal from the bush filled with fall berries.....



This black bear walked right by me while I was standing in a parking lot on a phone call. He was on his way to the same tree that I was picking apples from earlier. It was funny watching him standing on his rear feet with his head stuck up into the tree.....



Since I've been unable to find the log cabin of my dreams I've been considering buying a raw piece of land and building my own. I was out walking on a property when I nearly stepped on this guy and probably would have if had not been the sound of his rattlers that warned me of his presence.....maybe two feet away at most. It was interesting that the sound was much more like a swarm of bees, as opposed to the sound of rattlers.....not my first encounter with a rattlesnake but never before had I heard that sound from one.....



I've looked at a few pieces of property.....one had a beautiful stream.....



Another had great views.....I built rock cairns at my would be house corners and tried to envision living on the side of that mountain.....



It's a difficult choice.....the wooded properties with the trees and the sounds of the streams are amazing.....as are the wide open properties with the just as amazing sunrises and the sunsets....

 

[furbucket]

Questions:

Do snakes eat berries?!?
Do the woods have as many neighbors as the open grasslands?
Does a creek/stream = a better water source than a well?
Can we have some more pics of your dogs in the grass? Those are always fantastic!


Sent from an evil pocket calculator with a flashy screen using Tapatalk

 

[tgil]

The pic with the cairns, Tanner looks like he might be trying to get a feel for what his views might be in the future as well?
Keep on keeping on!

 

[ITTOG]

I am sure that quandary has perplexed many a man. I would almost always pick a mountain view but it is hard to pass up the woods with the stream in it.if the mountain view included a wooded property I would have to go for it.

Your pictures of the snow capped mountains where's beautiful and timely. I just flew over the Swiss Alps today on my way to Monaco. I get to spend a week here with my amazing and beautiful wife on vacation.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Furbucket.....I was under the impression that some snakes did eat berries but Google says nope. It's funny cause I spent the earlier days of my life picking blackberries and often would see huge (and small) black snakes in those patches. I've always assumed that they were in the patch for the berries.

Regarding wells and their source, I do know that it doesn't matter if you're close to a river or on a mountainside. Earlier this summer when I camped along the Salmon River and spoke with a guy building his log cabin, he was flat out amazed (and nearly broke) when the well drillers had to drill almost 500' down to get his water (nearly $40,000). His well was within 200' of the river. The property adjacent to the property with the rock cairns drilled 40' to get their water.

Regarding neighbors, currently I'm looking at fairly large tracts (+/- 20 acres) so that is not an issue for me.

Thanks for the comment on the dog pictures.....I seem to constantly think "people must be tired of looking at my dogs".....appreciate the comment.....



Tgil.....sometimes I think the dogs too are getting tired (of the lifestyle) so yea maybe he is thinking just that.....

ITTOG.....that sounds like an awesome vacation. Feel free to share pictures here.....



As I was saying earlier I've stalled in the areas between Missoula, Montana and St. Ignatius, Montana. One day the dogs and I were walking underneath an underpass for Highway 93 which is located on the Flathead Indian Reservation when I spotted this graffiti on the bridge abutment. Now I just thought it interesting cause I'd never seen graffiti like this.....and my guess is that you might only see it in this environment.....



The following day I was walking in downtown Missoula and I saw this graffiti on an alley wall. This got me to thinking about how much graffiti actually tells about us as a society.....and clearly it shows how different we really are in the ways we think.....I guess I never gave much thought to it in the past.....and I think it also shows, and I speak here from the perspective of someone who travels a good bit, is that one really doesn't have to travel to distant countries to see and experience different cultures, or even different geography.....it's probably right in our backyards.....





While in Missoula we stumbled onto a beer festival and since I'm a non drinker, the dogs and I pretty much just watched the people get loaded and we listened to some good tunes.....watching some of those people, well it made think I'm happy to be a non drinker.....



We came to Missoula this time to pick up a FedEx package and a screw up by the sender caused us to make a trip to the airport.....



Like so many places and things that I'll stumble across in my travels, airports too can be quite interesting.....



I like airplanes quite a bit.....the sight of one always makes me want to fly away and visit those far way lands (yep.....the ones I was just talking about).....



I hung out along the chain link fence just to watch this old bird take off.....it was absolutely beautiful.....



And then we jumped into the Jeep and were off to explore the other side of the airport.....

 

[tgil]

Jerry, I don't think any of us will ever tire of the dog pics. From what I'm seeing, many of us that follow your adventure are dog people. Those that aren't, well, maybe some day the will get the joy a 4 legged friend provides. The reservation graffiti made me chuckle. If you think about it, Indians were probably the first graffiti artists! ? Ah, people watching...one of my favorite past times! I do drink beer. I enjoy drinking beer, but rarely have more than a couple with a meal when out in public. I can't tolerate drunks out in public, so I usually steer clear of events like you happened on. I can see where it would be a great time to hang out and chill with your dogs though!
I'm still reading through your past. To the point now where you just lost the camper to fire. That summer just wasn't good to you!
EDIT: after reading another page in 2017. That Tanner was such an adorable pup! That stage in their life makes me melt! The pic of him on the dash cracks me up! People without dogs can't realize what all they miss out on!
Keep on keeping on!