My Journey

ITTOG.....I'm curious, what were your surgeries like ? I'd like to know more. Did you use a walker ? Why cruthches as opposed to a cane / walking stick ? The narcotics that they gave me made me deathly ill. I puked my guys out. I stopped them Day One. The worse thing now is the compression socks that I'm wearing. I had no idea they were coming. I absolutely hate them.....with a passion. Anyhow, tell me more about your experience(s) if you would please.
A bit late to the party, but try the compression sleeves instead of the socks. You can put real socks over the top if wanted.
 

Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
A bit late to the party, but try the compression sleeves instead of the socks. You can put real socks over the top if wanted.

I may have posted that suggestion. But that is what i do for a blood clotting issue. Just cut the foot off. I do get some blood pooling in my feet but its pretty minor. Sure is easier than the full socks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
Amazing pictures. All of them are fabulous. But the simple pic of the dogs in the passenger seat watching the road go by was my favorite.

So, we came in from the west.....and made our first stop in Bozeman, Montana .....loaded up with supplies for a trip with an undetermined destination for an undetermined length of time. We continued east on the interstate, arriving in Livingston, Montana thirty minutes later....then we left the interstate and headed south.....



It felt sooooo good to be back on the road.....it had been way too long.....we slept well our first night.....awoke only by a pack of coyotes that passed by the camper while on a night hunt.....oh man, I love their howls.....
I love that your length and plan are undetermined. I can't wait until I get to that kind of freedom.

Coyotes... I too love the sound of them at night. It can be so peaceful. I hope to one day camp somewhere that I can here wolf's at night.
 
Ace.....to answer your question, yes & no. The woman that I gave Bridger to is the perfect companion for Bridger. She's a retired national park ranger, loves the outdoors, loves dogs having once owned four Golden Retrievers, and now is dealing with a major life changing health condition. When I first told her about Bridger, I mentioned her bad limp, and her reply was "perfect, I have a limp too". They are a match made in heaven so yea, it was difficult but at the end of the day, it was, without a doubt, the best decision to be made.....

Sparse Grey Hackle.....yep, you are very late to the party but thanks for chiming in.....

ITTOG.....one of the few advantages of old age (and working my *** off for years, saving & retiring young).....



The original plan was to camp a few nights in Yellowstone National Park but those plans were quickly dispersed of after a stop at the Visitors Center in Mammoth Hot Springs. Only one campground was open and that campground was not along our planned route. So the new plan was to spend the day in the park, and to then spend that night just south of the park boundary in the National Forest. I left the Visitors Center disappointed and accidentally slammed the truck door on Trappers' snout (just kidding but it seems like a likely explanation for the picture below).....

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Often I like to grab a picture of the entrance sign for my journal but as I entered Yellowstone National Park I forgot. But I did get a picture of the sign as we exited the park. I don't know the people in the next picture.....they were sign hogs and took way too much time, or maybe I was just impatient.....who knows.....but you get the idea.....

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You would think that someone that's traveling through such a picturesque place as Yellowstone National Park, would have some sensational photographs.....I don't. I was actually surprised at how few I took, and at how bad they actually were.....

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We saw plenty of bison, elk, and a fairly large group of mountain goats.....

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There was a good bit of snow at the high pass near Mount Washburn (10,219')....

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The mountains behind Yellowstone Lake are so beautiful when blanketed in the early fall season snows.....and then we continued south.....

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.....and proceeded to the.....

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.....where the scenery just continued to be sensational.....a place where you almost feel alone.....but not quiet there yet.....

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I swear the dogs love the travel & adventure just as much as I do. I'm beginning to think that they missed travel & adventure just as much as I did as their faces are constantly plastered to the windshield or the side windows of the truck.....

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That night we camped at one of my most favorite spots in North America (if you were to look back one year ago or even more, you'd probably find me saying the exact same thing).....along the bank of the Snake River.....it's become an annual thing for us now it seems.....

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We chose campsite #3 and shared it with just one guy camped in his Sprinter van.....the views from our campsite looking to the south & to the north were broad & encompassing.....

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We spent the late afternoon and evening here taking longs walks along the forest service roads.....

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.....and just relaxing and enjoying everything that Mother Nature had to offer.....

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That night was cold.....my neighbor said that it was 28 degrees that following morning.....

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We took an early morning walk both on the road and down by the river as well.....

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I find it just absolutely amazing the way in which Mother Nature is constantly changing.....the seasons change, the weather changes, the skies change.....it's constantly changing.....everything.....and constantly showing a new face.....

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I have a newly found appreciation for Mother Nature now as maybe you might expect.....everything in my world has changed just as Mother Nature continues to change.....and more than ever I see why I need & should embrace change.....

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Arjan

Fossil Overlander
You feel good out on the road again.

The Goldens obviously love it as they're always wanting to see what is next behind that tree...

Safe travels.
 
PNWY / Arjan.....it's a double edge sword for sure. This trip may be short lived.....I'm still not certain. The hip surgeon wouldn't clear me for travel as he said I needed at least another month or more of home recovery. I went without their blessings. I'm now paying a price. I long for my life at the cabin.....and I long for my life on the road.....I've been blessed with two fantastic choices.....


"Descending from the heights we met the first blade of grass and the first flower, and finally the slopes were hairy with sage brush. Perhaps our passage from the cold upper reaches to the familiar earth had been too rapid; as I looked back at the lonely peaks, then at the huts and fields below where people groped their whole lives away. Torn between contentment and longing, caught between two worlds, one that possessed me, yet could never be more than a passing phase, and that other which is a part of human existence, I yearned to retain my dual identity." George B. Schaller........Stones of Silence, Journeys in the Himalayas



Our next stop in our travels was not a far drive from our last. Just a mere 4 miles from the Snake River spot, there is a small forest service campgrond with maybe a dozen or so campsites.....

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The campground is located at the end of a short, one lane forest service road.....a road & campground that is surrounded by dense pine groves.....

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I'm not sure if there was a bad site here to pick.....so we went with the first site available although nearly every site here was vacant as we shared the campground with only one other camper (initially).....

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This is bear country.....and everything here reminds one that this is bear country.....

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Literally everything installed by the forest service seems to have had a bear warning sign on it.....even the picnic table.....

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Of course food storage is required here.....

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We took an evening walk up the road to the horse corrals and found a trailhead with a trail leading into the dense pine forest which looked like an ideal place for an evening walk. I looked to my right and saw what appeared to be a large, dark colored boulder in that dense, pine forest but it was dark in there and I was unsure.....

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I thought I saw movement which then made me think that maybe it was a bison. When it lifted it's head from the ground where it had been rummaging, I clearly saw the face of a huge Grizzly Bear. I don't have photos of that encounter.....I consider myself an experienced woodsman.....not a photographer. The bear hadn't notice us and the dogs hadn't noticed the bear.....fortunately. I backstepped as quietly & quickly as I could.....the bear, the dogs, and I all live today because we acted responsibly.....

The following day I returned to that site and paced from our sighting spot to the Grizzly Bears' spot.....40 paces.....close enough for me.....

The spot.....

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A bear (for those who wanted a bear photograph).....

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Riversdad

Active member
PNWY / Arjan.....it's a double edge sword for sure. This trip may be short lived.....I'm still not certain. The hip surgeon wouldn't clear me for travel as he said I needed at least another month or more of home recovery. I went without their blessings. I'm now paying a price. I long for my life at the cabin.....and I long for my life on the road.....I've been blessed with two fantastic choices.....


"Descending from the heights we met the first blade of grass and the first flower, and finally the slopes were hairy with sage brush. Perhaps our passage from the cold upper reaches to the familiar earth had been too rapid; as I looked back at the lonely peaks, then at the huts and fields below where people groped their whole lives away. Torn between contentment and longing, caught between two worlds, one that possessed me, yet could never be more than a passing phase, and that other which is a part of human existence, I yearned to retain my dual identity." George B. Schaller........Stones of Silence, Journeys in the Himalayas



Our next stop in our travels was not a far drive from our last. Just a mere 4 miles from the Snake River spot, there is a small forest service campgrond with maybe a dozen or so campsites.....

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The campground is located at the end of a short, one lane forest service road.....a road & campground that is surrounded by dense pine groves.....

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I'm not sure if there was a bad site here to pick.....so we went with the first site available although nearly every site here was vacant as we shared the campground with only one other camper (initially).....

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This is bear country.....and everything here reminds one that this is bear country.....

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Literally everything installed by the forest service seems to have had a bear warning sign on it.....even the picnic table.....

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Of course food storage is required here.....

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We took an evening walk up the road to the horse corrals and found a trailhead with a trail leading into the dense pine forest which looked like an ideal place for an evening walk. I looked to my right and saw what appeared to be a large, dark colored boulder in that dense, pine forest but it was dark in there and I was unsure.....

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I thought I saw movement which then made me think that maybe it was a bison. When it lifted it's head from the ground where it had been rummaging, I clearly saw the face of a huge Grizzly Bear. I don't have photos of that encounter.....I consider myself an experienced woodsman.....not a photographer. The bear hadn't notice us and the dogs hadn't noticed the bear.....fortunately. I backstepped as quietly & quickly as I could.....the bear, the dogs, and I all live today because we acted responsibly.....

The following day I returned to that site and paced from our sighting spot to the Grizzly Bears' spot.....40 paces.....close enough for me.....

The spot.....

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A bear (for those who wanted a bear photograph).....

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We've been here for 26 years and this is the first time we've seen a bear. He's eating dog food that we put out for the raccoons and possums. My wife, me, and my 130 lb. Newfie mix are about two feet away and as you can see he doesn't seem very concerned. He looks really skinny so we sent a picture to a biologist and he said he was probably about 11/2 years old and had been cut loose by his mother and trying to figure things out.
 

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ITTOG

Well-known member
.....I consider myself an experienced woodsman.....not a photographer.
Maybe it is just me but I found that hilarious. Most likely a good call.

We've been here for 26 years and this is the first time we've seen a bear. He's eating dog food that we put out for the raccoons and possums. My wife, me, and my 130 lb. Newfie mix are about two feet away and as you can see he doesn't seem very concerned. He looks really skinny so we sent a picture to a biologist and he said he was probably about 11/2 years old and had been cut loose by his mother and trying to figure things out.
That poor thing. You need to buy a goat for it to eat. If that picture is recent, he may not make it through the winter.
 

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