My Journey
- Thread starter YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
- Start date
Pacific Northwest yetti
Expedition Medic
I have many fond memories of growing up showing livestock. In fact the Ag Ed, and livestock programs are one of things I miss the most with the new job. I knew it was a trade off though, and still send in buyers to support the cause.
And they are learning, everything from running numbers ( Both 4H and FFA, require you to turn in record books with a profit and loss statement, as well as weight and feed calculations), animal husbandry, business, hard work, and reward, really the list is endless....
Thank you so much for sharing, I really needed it!
I would probably make it back in time for my local fair, however its been shut down due to C-19..
And they are learning, everything from running numbers ( Both 4H and FFA, require you to turn in record books with a profit and loss statement, as well as weight and feed calculations), animal husbandry, business, hard work, and reward, really the list is endless....
Thank you so much for sharing, I really needed it!
I would probably make it back in time for my local fair, however its been shut down due to C-19..
The fair brings be back memories of going to the Big Timber 4H Fair in the late 1959-61. I returned 50 years later and sitting with my cousins watched these kids with their champion steers, huge smiles. Some had double sales. Someone paid top dollar and them a restaurant purchased again, and the seller got paid twice. Your in for a treat in those small town. I even got to see a couple Donkey Baseball game when I was 9 and 10.
When I was on the ranch I would help shuck wheat, stacking three bundles to dry in the field. I remember being up on a haystack, taking a wrong step and sliding down the ladder on my butt, wrung by wrung. My cousin's father (guess a cousin also) probably never laughed harder than that moment the rest of his life. Small Town Montana. Livingston is another neat town.
When I was on the ranch I would help shuck wheat, stacking three bundles to dry in the field. I remember being up on a haystack, taking a wrong step and sliding down the ladder on my butt, wrung by wrung. My cousin's father (guess a cousin also) probably never laughed harder than that moment the rest of his life. Small Town Montana. Livingston is another neat town.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
tikirob.....one thing that you don't see in that last set of pictures is that I did too.....
PNWY.....Fergus County had also planned to cancel the fair but what I heard was that since the virus is rare here, they decided to go ahead with it. This year they waived the entrance fee.....nice touch. Always happy to share.....
JD.....my opinion only.....Livingston has become a bedroom community of Bozeman and its lost its Montana feel & appeal. Much like Bozeman is today, few in Livingston are actually from Montana.....my opinion only. Lewistown reminds me much of Bozeman when I came to Montana nearly two decades ago.....and I like that.....
blanketslayer.....put Lewistown on your list of places to visit in Montana. Seems like a great place to raise a family.....
And so it was that we finally left town.....but it certainly wasn't a quck departure on that Thursday morning. The highway north departing from the campground took us directly through downtown and wouldn't you know it.....right there on a side street I spied what I thought to be a car & tractor show.....
It's rare that I'll pass a car show without stopping.....add a few tractors and you got me. We pulled over on a side street, parked in front of what turned out to be a community center where I saw a woman sweeping the walk and I said "good morning.....hey, you guys don't happen to have public showers do you ?" and her reply was "we sure do.....$2 all the hot water you want.".....
The one aspect of travel that I'll never tire of for sure.....you almost never can predict what will come next. It turned out that this was much more than a car & tractor show.....
We had stumbled onto the 2020 Lewistown, Montana Parade.....and I loved it too.....
I stood in that hot shower with a smile on my face.....I'm not sure if it was the same smile that I had at the fair, or the same smile I had while swimming in the creek, or maybe it was still the same smile I had while walking up and down Main Street, Lewistown, Montana.....
PNWY.....Fergus County had also planned to cancel the fair but what I heard was that since the virus is rare here, they decided to go ahead with it. This year they waived the entrance fee.....nice touch. Always happy to share.....
JD.....my opinion only.....Livingston has become a bedroom community of Bozeman and its lost its Montana feel & appeal. Much like Bozeman is today, few in Livingston are actually from Montana.....my opinion only. Lewistown reminds me much of Bozeman when I came to Montana nearly two decades ago.....and I like that.....
blanketslayer.....put Lewistown on your list of places to visit in Montana. Seems like a great place to raise a family.....
And so it was that we finally left town.....but it certainly wasn't a quck departure on that Thursday morning. The highway north departing from the campground took us directly through downtown and wouldn't you know it.....right there on a side street I spied what I thought to be a car & tractor show.....
It's rare that I'll pass a car show without stopping.....add a few tractors and you got me. We pulled over on a side street, parked in front of what turned out to be a community center where I saw a woman sweeping the walk and I said "good morning.....hey, you guys don't happen to have public showers do you ?" and her reply was "we sure do.....$2 all the hot water you want.".....
The one aspect of travel that I'll never tire of for sure.....you almost never can predict what will come next. It turned out that this was much more than a car & tractor show.....
We had stumbled onto the 2020 Lewistown, Montana Parade.....and I loved it too.....
I stood in that hot shower with a smile on my face.....I'm not sure if it was the same smile that I had at the fair, or the same smile I had while swimming in the creek, or maybe it was still the same smile I had while walking up and down Main Street, Lewistown, Montana.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Now one thing I can say for sure, it'll take an entire morning to watch a parade and take a hot shower. It was well after lunch before we finally pulled out of town.....maybe 6 miles north of Lewistown on Highway 191 we passed by a Fishing Access (Lower Carter Pond) entrance sign and at maybe 7 miles north of Lewistown on Highway 191, with my stomach grumbling, we pulled over at the next Fishing Access entrance sign (Upper Carter Pond).....
Here we had lunch and took a long walk.....
.....and I gave more thought about what will come next.....
I met an old man here.....he was employed with Fish & Game. He told me, like others have said as well, don't be in a hurry to go north. People here say it will be hot now and that the bugs will be bad. Tanner & I.....we are travelers much like the birds it seems.....what is next can change with the flap of our wings.....
I gave thought to staying the night along the shore of the pond but something said no.....so we moved on.....
Here we had lunch and took a long walk.....
.....and I gave more thought about what will come next.....
I met an old man here.....he was employed with Fish & Game. He told me, like others have said as well, don't be in a hurry to go north. People here say it will be hot now and that the bugs will be bad. Tanner & I.....we are travelers much like the birds it seems.....what is next can change with the flap of our wings.....
I gave thought to staying the night along the shore of the pond but something said no.....so we moved on.....
I agree on Livingston and Bozeman. The one thing that draws me back to Livingston is the old Northern Pacific railroad station. The architecture is beautiful. This is where my Grandmother and I would board the Northern Pacific Limited for Chicago. The first time my cousins took me to the train I spied 5 crosses at the bridge over the Yellowstone (on the East side of the river). The story was a mother and her children hit a patch of ice, went off the road, and plunged through the ice into the river with all of them drowning. I have passed it several times and always take a moment to reflect back to that family and their loss over 50+ years ago.
Pacific Northwest yetti
Expedition Medic
I dont remember if it Was Argentina or Chile, but they would paint a number and a heart in the road anywhere there had been a fatality, it was effective and sobering warning..and memorial.
blanketslayer
Member
Jerry, your posts have already sold me on as many visits as I can to Montana and would make that move if I could, but family issues will be keeping me in Wisconsin for at least a while. Time is certainly flying by as my kids get older and the daily obligations and moments are going by in a blur. My job in healthcare/IT is also an issue since it turns out there's not a lot of need for my particular skills in the national forests and more rural areas. If I could solve those pieces of the puzzle (or win the lottery), I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'll continue to ponder and plan the future while I do my nightly dog walk/run and think of your travels with Tanner.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
JD....you should come home. Sounds like you miss it as much as I love it.....
PNWY.....I never saw that during my travels there.....I wonder if that's a very recent trend or did I just miss that.....
Tgil.....it's definitely his favorite place.....
blanketslayer.....I understand.....
ITTOG.....yep.....a breed unto themselves.....
One day while walking along Main Street in Lewistown, Montana, I struck up a conversation with one of the locals and eventually we began to trade our stories, and he had an interesting story to tell.....
He told me that he completed his schooling in 1989 in Bozeman, Montana, and he went on to say that after his schooling was completed, the U.S. Forest Service offered him a job in Lewistown, Montana and he jumped at the opportunity.....
He said that Bozeman was too crowded back then so he came to Lewistown and bought himself 40 acres, he felled the trees right from his property that he had bought and built himself a log home. He married there, and raised a family there too.....he still lives in that same log cabin today.....in that cabin that he built on a mountainside in the Judith Mountains.....
He told me "don't leave the area without exploring the Judith Mountains".....he thought I'd love it there too.....
I was mixed about visiting the Judith Mountains.....several miles north of Upper Carter Pond, we made a right turn and headed east, and began our drive up Maiden Road into the "fabled" Judith Mountains.....
We passed through a valley and drove through miles of ranch land and passed by the occasional Montana log cabin.....
Eventually the road began to ascend into the mountains.....and we left the asphalt behind.....
There was literally one spot on this mountain flat enough to park our rig here comfortably.....that spot became our home for the next 6 days.....
That evening Tanner and I went out for a walk along the forest service road.....
As many of our walks seem to do, this walk seemed not to end.....well, eventually it did end.....but not until we walked 3.5 miles and we reached the summit of Judith Peak (6,428')....the highest peak in the Judith Mountains.....summited on day one.....
n
PNWY.....I never saw that during my travels there.....I wonder if that's a very recent trend or did I just miss that.....
Tgil.....it's definitely his favorite place.....
blanketslayer.....I understand.....
ITTOG.....yep.....a breed unto themselves.....
One day while walking along Main Street in Lewistown, Montana, I struck up a conversation with one of the locals and eventually we began to trade our stories, and he had an interesting story to tell.....
He told me that he completed his schooling in 1989 in Bozeman, Montana, and he went on to say that after his schooling was completed, the U.S. Forest Service offered him a job in Lewistown, Montana and he jumped at the opportunity.....
He said that Bozeman was too crowded back then so he came to Lewistown and bought himself 40 acres, he felled the trees right from his property that he had bought and built himself a log home. He married there, and raised a family there too.....he still lives in that same log cabin today.....in that cabin that he built on a mountainside in the Judith Mountains.....
He told me "don't leave the area without exploring the Judith Mountains".....he thought I'd love it there too.....
I was mixed about visiting the Judith Mountains.....several miles north of Upper Carter Pond, we made a right turn and headed east, and began our drive up Maiden Road into the "fabled" Judith Mountains.....
We passed through a valley and drove through miles of ranch land and passed by the occasional Montana log cabin.....
Eventually the road began to ascend into the mountains.....and we left the asphalt behind.....
There was literally one spot on this mountain flat enough to park our rig here comfortably.....that spot became our home for the next 6 days.....
That evening Tanner and I went out for a walk along the forest service road.....
As many of our walks seem to do, this walk seemed not to end.....well, eventually it did end.....but not until we walked 3.5 miles and we reached the summit of Judith Peak (6,428')....the highest peak in the Judith Mountains.....summited on day one.....
n
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Much like the Big Snowy Mountains to the south, the Judith Mountains provided us with some forever views of the prairies.....
.....and I would imagine that we may have seen the same mountain ranges that we saw from the ridgelines of the Big Snowy Mountains.....
.....and more than likely we saw Canada looking to the north, and Wyoming looking to the south.....
As we descended from the summit, my eyes scanned the mountain tops and the valleys below and I wondered what else there was that we needed to see here.....
This massive outcropping you see just to the right of the summit of Judith Peak in the photo looked interesting.....I wondered if there might be a route to climb it.....
Our camp was set on the western slopes of the mountain.....that provided us with some great sunsets.....
I realized while camped here that it had been quite sometime since I'd actually seen a sunset.....but we are now weeks past the summer solstice and the sun is finally setting at a bit more agreeable time for me.....
The days are noticeable shorter now.....
.....as the sun pokes its head up a little later each morning as well. The following morning began as every morning begins.....
.....and soon we are right back at it.....trying to see what we can see.....
.....and I would imagine that we may have seen the same mountain ranges that we saw from the ridgelines of the Big Snowy Mountains.....
.....and more than likely we saw Canada looking to the north, and Wyoming looking to the south.....
As we descended from the summit, my eyes scanned the mountain tops and the valleys below and I wondered what else there was that we needed to see here.....
This massive outcropping you see just to the right of the summit of Judith Peak in the photo looked interesting.....I wondered if there might be a route to climb it.....
Our camp was set on the western slopes of the mountain.....that provided us with some great sunsets.....
I realized while camped here that it had been quite sometime since I'd actually seen a sunset.....but we are now weeks past the summer solstice and the sun is finally setting at a bit more agreeable time for me.....
The days are noticeable shorter now.....
.....as the sun pokes its head up a little later each morning as well. The following morning began as every morning begins.....
.....and soon we are right back at it.....trying to see what we can see.....
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So right Jerry. I always wonder why I went 24 years after my youth to return, and that was to help my grandmother celebrate her 100th B'Day in 1984. She lived to almost 101. Then another 22 years to 2006, when we took the train. We have been returning every 2 years and I finding that is just not enough for my liking. I think 2021 will have a 4-6 week visit in store. Thinking Lewis & Clark Caverns, Kalispell, Flathead Lake, Whitefish, Glacier.
If you head south on 191, 4-6 miles north of Big Timber is a cut-off that will take you Half Moon Campground (free dispersed). Sits on Big Timber Creek, and near a trail head that will take you to Big Timber Falls. The trail continues up to 2 mountain lakes. This I believe is the only access on the East side of the Crazy's.
If you head south on 191, 4-6 miles north of Big Timber is a cut-off that will take you Half Moon Campground (free dispersed). Sits on Big Timber Creek, and near a trail head that will take you to Big Timber Falls. The trail continues up to 2 mountain lakes. This I believe is the only access on the East side of the Crazy's.
We spent a week at Half Moon Campground, just hiking and hanging out. I had been driving past the Crazy's for years and just decided it was time to go there. Other than some kids that came to party one night it was great and we plan on going back someday. Maybe we will check out the west side next time.