My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Foy.....Thanks for adding that information to the blog. I often think that I should Google places that I come across but it seems as though I rarely do......thank you.....

Ace.....they certainly could be there but I didn't notice them.....

OverlandNA.....those are great pictures ! Thank you.....

Arjan.....yes massive ! It seemed to go on forever.....



We would spend the next 6 days and 5 nights camped along the side of the road at the Black Hills National Back Country Byway. I only drove as far as the first pull off where the rig fit quite nicely (approximately one mile off the main highway).....



There was little traffic here and few people took the time to stop and have a look at the information posted on the sign.....



So this spot turned out to be perfect for us.....



Tanner and I hiked just a bit shy of 86 miles during our stay.....



And during that stay we would only see 3.5 miles of the actual byway.....



The real pleasure for us was not exploring the byway but it was exploring everything that laid on either side.....



There was so much to see and so much to appreciate that really it was just mind boggling. I get it that people here must think why wouldn't you at least drive the length of the 21 mile byway but we were content just to explore close by.....



We would climb many of the rock faces.....



And we hiked through a bunch of different ravines.....



I'll be posting many more pictures of this magnificent place in the days to come.....



Day 4 of my life living off the grid.....flatten the curve.....and save lives.....

 

[Sierra Valley]

The flowers are very nice. What might the actual date be of these pics of the flowers? Always nice to know when the blooms are in different regions.

 

[ghostdancer]

Looks like a beautiful area. I can’t wait to get back “out west” for our summer of travel, if the craziness pass by then. I’ll never understand why idiots shoot up info signs that were put there for everyone. They are destroying the very things their tax dollars paid for. They should just shoot them selves in the foot.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Sierra Valley.....we arrived March 12th and departed on March 17th. Yep, the flowers have been incredible and the show continues. Different varieties seem to just pop up here and there. I'm loving it.....

Ghost Dancer.....as you can probably see in that photograph someone had actually ripped the sign in half and threw one piece of it into the desert plants. I found it while wandering around and set it back up there. I had planned to repair it but a BLM maintenance worker happened by and he took care of the repairs. People pretty much suck.....dogs rule.....

I thought about you guys last night.....Tanner and I had a small memorial service for Yukon as we wandered in the desert. It was one month ago that she passed away.....







Trying our best to get back to our old ways, Tanner and I headed out to gather trash from the people that can't be bothered with using a trash can.....



We cleared three and one half miles of roadway and here's a collage of just some of the trash that we collected.....



The next picture is just an aluminum can but it represents so much more (to me anyhow). This can appeared shortly after I'd spent days cleaning the roadway. And it wasn't the only piece of trash that was left after I was done. There was the guy that came to shoot up and then threw his used needle and bloody napkin along the roadway (I covered it with boulders as I refuse to touch that stuff). It was incredible to see how quickly the trash came back. Like I just said, people pretty much suck.....



Directly across the roadway from our "campsite" was a large rock outcropping that we decided to climb.....



Now this wasn't much more than a 10 minute hike to the top and as we neared the top I noticed a rock cairn.....



Further along was yet another rock cairn.....



And then further along I noticed this set up.....something that was put here by the University of New Mexico.....I'm curious what it could be doing.....



Of course the views from up high were over the top.....



And so it was that we would climb many of these rock formations.....



Day 5 of my life living off the grid.....flatten the curve.....trying to do my part to save lives.....

 

[Arjan]

Good idea to have a small ceremony..

That solar panel etc. would be gone in weeks here in Europe these days.

Tanner looks better.

 

[ITTOG]

I can't believe it has already been a month. I could get sad but she would be smiling because the pain is gone.

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[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I'm going to guess for seismic readings, and is bouncing the data back to the university. ( although did not look to be burried)

Its pulling info from radio collars, amd storing the data.

We have base stations like that here, for farmers who are using autosteer equipment.

Yeah, i generally prefer critters to people most days.

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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Arjan.....Tanner misses Yukon immensely.....there is no doubt about that.....

ITTOG.....I'm still sad everyday.....she was such a huge part of my life.....

PNWY.....it's interesting to see the role that dogs are now playing during these challenging times. Adoptions are way up and foster homes are opening up at a pace never seen before. I was once a foster home for Labs and I found it to be incredibly rewarding.....




One morning Tanner and I were sitting at the table having our hot mug of coffee when I looked out the camper window and I began to stare at the largest rock formation that I could see.....yep, we would have to give this one a try.....



Later that day we headed out into the desert.....there are no trails here so it's just bushwacking our way along.....



Now I had no idea how long this hike would be.....as a matter of fact it seemed as though the closer that we got to it, the further away it was.....



The flowers on the western ridges were absolutely the best.....



At some point, and this point was very sudden, the flowers stopped growing and we found ourselves walking through a massive stand of cactus.....



I was careless here, and even though I was careless for not more than a few seconds, I found my right calf filled with cactus spines. The larger ones were easy to remove although the pulling of each one was quite painful. For the remainder of the day I hiked with my pants leg rolled up above the knee.....there was just no way to remove the small ones while still in the field.....they would come out that evening with the help of my tweezers.....





We continued hiking toward the massive rock outcropping until we reached a ridgeline and at that point I decided it was a no go.....



With no shortage of outcroppings of rocks, we simply turned our sights onto one that was a bit closer.....



And it was here that we spent our afternoon.....just playing in the rocks.....that's just the kind of stuff that we love to do.....



Day 6 of my life living off the grid.....flatten the curve.....social distancing save lives.....

 

[Mr. Merk]

I was curious about taking my rig south on State Route 191. Signs are posted stating nothing over 40' in length allowed but she took a look at the rig and said I should go for it.....and that's just what we did.....

Awesome! The "Devil's Highway" as they call it due to its former designation as US Route 666, has been on my bucket list to drive in my old 911. Almost drove it last May on my way to LA from Arkansas via Scottsdale but opted to take a more direct route through the Petrified Forest and southwest through the National Forests into Scottsdale.

 

[blanketslayer]

Jerry, reiterating just how much I enjoy your posts. Especially lately being locked down with 3 kids out of school and working in health care. It's strange and stressful times and having the temporary virtual travel through your lens and thoughts is very welcome. I continue to add destinations to my list that you share with us.

 

[180out]

Jerry, reiterating just how much I enjoy your posts. Especially lately being locked down with 3 kids out of school and working in health care. It's strange and stressful times and having the temporary virtual travel through your lens and thoughts is very welcome. I continue to add destinations to my list that you share with us.

ditto

 

[chet6.7]

Duct tape and wood glue may help remove cactus spins,I have not tried them.

 

[dieseldude4bt]

This used to be on 191 but has fell now. http://arizonaoddities.com/2012/09/mysterious-arrow-tree-sticks-out-on-coronado-scenic-byway-trail/

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I've used Elmer's glue and tape to remove splines from patients before, worked well actually. Sometimes a hot compress prior, to open up pours. Depending on the variety of cacti.

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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Mr. Merk.....great road for a 911 but be careful on the twists and turns.....it literally drops straight off from the edge of pavement.....

180out.....thank you.....

chet6.7.....I'm sticking with my tweezers but thanks for the ideas.....

dieseldude4bt.....I'll check out the link thanks.....

PNWY.....I'm a tweezer kind of guy thanks.....

blanketslayer.....I guess first I'd like to say thanks for choosing health care and for doing what you do. My friend is a doctor and is totally stressing these days, his sleep is compromised, and no doubt his good health will be challenged. It's simply mind boggling. My travel, like many others, is being hampered by the spread of coronavirus. It scares me to death. It seems odd that the best thing that I can do right now is to stay out of the way and to stay healthy.....one less patient. So I'm trying to make a daily post, share a few things, and post a few pictures. Your post touched me and it was so greatly appreciated. Stay safe.....




In a world filled with so much chaos, suffering and death, I feel especially blessed to have my solo time with Tanner climbing the rock outcroppings of southeast Arizona.....this morning I'm completely lost in the grief of others.....stay safe.....



















Will Gadd, a well known Canadian climber was recently quoted in a climbing article in Gripped The Climbing Magazine.....that I was reading.....and this is what he said.....

"The storm always stops, the winds always die, the sun always rises. We just have to wait for it".....

Seems fitting.....



Day 7 of my life living off the grid.....the decisions I make today could affect the lives of others tomorrow....