My Journey

[vintageracer]

Jerry,Yukon, Montana and Tanner,

Your continuous thread is THE BEST TRIP PLANNING SITE ON THE WEB for those of us that want to travel the West.

Want to know where all the KOOL stuff is out West without all the weekend warriors?

Search "My Journey" for the answers to ALL your questions!!!

Great to have our resident "Tour Guide" back in the saddle!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Vintageracer.....that's just a super nice thing to say.....thank you.....




VALLEY OF THE GODS.....

DAY FOUR.....

In a place as majestic as the Valley of the Gods, it's a difficult task not to be taking photographs the entire day. Years ago when we had film, every shot taken was calculated.....today.....who cares. I sift through hundreds of pictures each morning trying to figure out what to share. These pictures were taken on Day Four in the Valley of the Gods.....

The day is about to begin.....



Majestic mornings.....



.....as the sun begins to shine.....





.....after a few mugs of coffee and a hearty breakfast it's time to explore.....





The sun brings warmth and the little pools of water cool the thirst.....





The weather so far could not have been better.....the nights have been cold but the day time temperatures averaged in the 60's.....

 

[halseyt]

Happy Thanksgiving Jerry, Tanner and everyone following along here.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

halseyt.....thank you.....stay safe.....



If I had any complaints with the weather.....well, it was the lack of those wispy white clouds that float across the sky and add an additional thrill to the experience.....





I can easily get bored with those skies that are a never ending blue.....



One of the benefits of traveling with no schedules and no plans.....for staying in one place for days on end.....is that weather is always happening.....





I once called Yukon the Sky Dog.....when the wispy clouds finally came I couldn't help but remember the good times of my past and my loyal best friend.....





We walked and explored pretty much the entire day.....cause that's just what we do.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

 

[chet6.7]

That road would be a nice walk,on a full moon as well.

 

[Ace Brown]

Good to see you exploring some of those side canyons. I’ve walked a few. Obviously you really liked VOG based on the extensive reporting. Me too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[longhorn1]

Happy Thanksgiving. Think I would have preferred being someplace out West as opposed to being at home and not being able to see our kids and grandkids. Dinner for two without family just sucks. Your posts make life better and allows us all to dream. Thanks

 

[nathane]

Some super photos there, thanks Jerry

 

[MSatt]

Weird first question/post - Jerry what kind of boots/shoes do you wear?

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

chet6.7.....I agree completely.....it would be sensational.....December 14th is the next one.....pray for good weather.....

Alan.....I feel like it's not up to me to dictate the number of words that I write or the number of pictures that I post.....that's the job of the story.....

JD.....thanks.....I guess our dreams are our plans for the future.....imagine life without dreams.....

nathane.....it's the landscapes really that are super.....that place is a wonderland.....thanks.....

MSatt.....never a bad question.....right ? So I'm a huge fan of La Sportiva boots. I forget the model that I buy but I'll get that for you and put it in tomorrows post (assuming there is one). I literally have 5 pair with me right now.....2 that I'm using and 3 new in boxes. I bought 5 pair before I left Montana.....




VALLEY OF THE GODS.....

DAY FIVE.....

THE DAY OF THE ENLIGHTMENT.....

We started our fifth day here pretty much like all the others.....I don't actually recall what came first but I'm guessing that Tanner and I were up in those rock cliffs exploring.....





And I'm just guessing and betting that we were really having a good time.....





Now one thing to point out here.....this area is miles and miles long. So every time we'd go up into those canyons and rockfalls, we were in different locations and each & every location was different from the previous.....





So neither of us could get enough of this stuff.....day after day.....we just continued moving along the Valley of the Gods Road.....from the west to the east.....





Looking at the face of that dog, into Tanners eyes, that tongue hanging out of his mouth.....and all that you can see is the contentment with this life.....same with me.....



One thing I do know about the fifth day in the Valley of the Gods is that that was day that I met the Mennonite kid living in a school bus riding an electric unicycle.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Some days were so good up in those rocks that Tanner & I would just pick out a comfortable spot in those rocks and we'd just sit there.....I mean just plop down and watch those wispy white clouds pass by. Heck.....we had nowhere to be and no one to answer to.....





It was always reluctantly that we'd head back down.....I would imagine that at times we had a grumpy face on.....



We were back on the Valley of the Gods Road walking past the old school bus when this young kid pops his head out from under the hood of that old school bus and he says "you aren't a mechanic by chance are you ?". A mechanic I am not.....



The best I could do for him, which I did, was to give him some of my water bottles. Well, it turns out that this kid owned an electric unicycle.....



Unbeknownst to me, later in the day, he rides that electric unicycle to Mexican Hat (Utah).....I believe that was about a 20 mile drive along a high speed highway.....



Now in Mexican Hat he meets a Native American man who has a nephew that is a backyard mechanic.....



And later in the day "the cavalry" as I liked to call them arrived. We hung out that afternoon & evening and these 2 guys from the Navajo Nation were so amazing speaking about their lives and the lands that surrounded us. And that is why I call DAY FIVE.....VALLEY OF THE GODS.....THE DAY OF ENLIGHTMENT.....



I now have their phone numbers and a standing invitation to visit them. They want me to meet their medicine man and I can only wonder how many people are given this gift. Maybe it was my thousand questions about their lives and my genuine interest in their lives that got me that invitation.....one day I hope to visit them and their clan.....not now with Covid-19.....another day and another time.....lights out.....

 

[ghostdancer]

jerry, you’ve put Valley of the Gods on the ”must do” list for me. I’ve passed through Mexican Hat before but didn’t see any reason to linger. I’ll have to give the area another shot. When I hike alone I always carry my PLB in my backpack and was wondering if you had one. I always think about the guy that fell into a slot canyon and got his arm pinned and had to cut it off with his Swiss Army Knife. With a PLB, just push the button and wait for help to arrive.

 

[ghostdancer]

I forgot to add. What got me interested in that area in the first place was the Jim Chee novels written by Tony Hillerman.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

That was Aaran Ralston, his book is actually a phenomenal read. He has a great sense of humor, " between a rock and a hard place". About his ordeal amd what happened in Bluejohn canyon.

A chat with their medicine man, what an incredible opportunity.

Happy tails and Safe travels
Hopefully sent from somewhere pretty and remote.
With my entertainment and navigation multitool.

Contract AEMT, Firefighter, MCPIC,Remote Medic, Safety Manager.