My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The smooth surface of the lake changed faces often as it mirrored the ever changing skies.....







That smooth surface was occasionally broken when a fish would grab an insect and leave that small, circular ripple in the lakes' surface.....





Our campsite was on the eastern side of the lake so we got colorful sunsets that reflected onto the lakes' surface.....you get black & white.....





I think I could have walked these roads forever.....





.....but we came here for the mountains.....so that's where we went next.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We dropped the truck somewhere along the Oregon Trail.....



.....and once again took the Jeep up & into the Wind River Mountain Range.....



That road got rough as we ascended those mountain slopes.....





We made multiple beautiful stream crossings as we pursued the Big Sandy Trailhead.....





Now I had been doing a lot of thinking while on this road trip.....and most of that thinking revolved around my displeasure with bouncing around in a Jeep, seeing all of these amazing places that I would have loved to have explored, yet still a month away from full recovery.....unable to really get into the mountains.....





And the fact is that there really is not much enjoyment in this type of activity for me (driving around in a Jeep).....it's like driving to the candy store yet never going inside & never making a purchase.....it all seemed a bit senseless to me.....



When we finally reached that trailhead.....well, honestly, it was a bittersweet moment for me.....and I thought.....maybe it's time to just go home.....I wasn't sure what to do next.....

 

[mekcanix]

Jerry, I am very sorry you feel that way. I can't imagine the frustration you are feeling.
I really hope you heal up well enough to continue your pursuit of summits and beautiful vistas with your pack on foot and not from the seat of your jeep.

 

[chet6.7]

Your feelings are understandable, I have similar feelings, yet I know some folks wish they could still be driving the back roads now that they cannot.

 

[sigma_oasis]

Your feelings are understandable, I have similar feelings, yet I know some folks wish they could still be driving the back roads now that they cannot.

I agree. We should all strive to take joy in what we've got and not place attention on what isn't.

 

[halseyt]

I understand... my osteoarthritis has progressed to the point that I have to find new amusements and forgo some others. I fully planned on riding alpine snowboards in my 70's and enjoying free lift tickets. Last ride was age 70 some years ago. Now slowing down but still happy to be out here cruising my old Dodge and making new friends..

Whatever you do please keep us posted.. always good to see what you and the dogs are up to.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

mekcanix.....thanks and it's no problem as I'm definitely on the mend. As a matter of fact, I'm now beyond my restrictions that the Orthopedic Surgeon put on me.....which means, that I'm now allowed to be stupid again.....and believe me when I say that I am.....enjoying life.....

chet6.7.....no doubt.....especially people on this site where I see tons of people doing exactly that.....

sigma.....I enjoy what I enjoy & don't enjoy what I don't enjoy. It seems as though you're suggesting to just make the best of things.....I prefer an alternate to that idea.....it's called Plan B.....

halseyt.....great rig ! I miss my BigFoot still.....13 good years of exploring in that rig.....



I found myself parked that evening along the side of a county road.....overshadowed by the peaks of the Wind River Mountain Range. It was 5:00 p.m. approximately when I made the decision to go home. A big storm was crossing the western states, I was three hundred miles from home, so it was now or maybe never (for awhile anyhow).....as the mountain passes would soon close.....

We arrived at the cabin at midnight.....dewinterizing took a few hours and we were sound asleep by 2:30 a.m. It felt great to wake in the cabin.....with less than twelve hours before the storm hit.....



The (166) Quaking Aspens that I had planted previously had finally turned yellow.....those leaves quaked in the winds that the oncoming storm had stirred up and the sounds were amazing.....no regrets.....



Late that afternoon I found time to make a run to the farm & ranch store to acquire a snow blower.....this was going to be a big storm.....



It snowed off & on for four straight days leaving nearly a foot of snow on the ground.....and it was late October only.....





It was the first snow in the valley.....the first is always the best.....on a mountain summit or in the low lying valleys.....it's all the same.....amazing.....





The dogs, of course, were loving it.....Trapper resembles a Polar Bear.....hard to get her inside when the snows arrive.....



Relaxing in the log bed after a day of playing in the snow.....I get such a warm feeling while watching the dogs as their eyes close and they begin to fade away after a hard day of play.....



I had & have no regrets regarding my decision to come home.....travel is good.....as is life at home.....one evening over the summer I pulled out my journals and added up all of my nights spent in a tent, hostel, tea house, motorcoach, and of course truck camper.....I'd spent 65 % of my later years in life on the road.....so, no regrets.....

 

[chet6.7]

Jerry, I should have also said there is nothing wrong with going home, you can chase 70 degrees when you are ready. Anyone remember that old Simon & Garfunkel song Homeward Bound? I liked the song when it came out, I was in HS. Years later, waiting for a float plane to pick me up in AK, I really understood the song.

 

[longhorn1]

ITTOG.....agreed.....

PNWY.....Wyoming .....it's a real nice place.....

Foy.....it went well for us other than the north side road being covered in snow & ice. I'm not real comfortable in that rig of mine in that situation....fortunately, it being so late in the season, we had the place to ourselves.....



A brief stop at Fiddlers Lake was next.....

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Yet another brief stop at the Little Popo Agie River crossing.....

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And then a stop at Louis Lake.....

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Here.....we actually took some time to explore our surroundings.....there's a lodge here with a half dozen or so rental log cabins (everything appeared boarded up for the winter season).....as well as the Louis Lake Guard Station.....

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As we continued along, we exited the dense pine forest and next found this area with these amazing rock formations.....here we stopped the longest.....these rocks spoke to me. This was probably the most emotional moment of my inaugural trip after having survived two surgeries. More than anything I wanted to leave the rig behind.....I wanted to explore those amazing rock formations.....I wanted to crawl, walk, hike & climb.....yet I couldn't. My love for adventure is not satisfied by driving a Jeep off road.....it never has been. For me, it's always been about the boots.....the boots on the ground.....and so I can hope that this new reality is only temporary.....cause hope is all I got right now.....

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Your picture of the Little Popo Agie River reminded me of Sinks State Park just South of Linder. Boulders as large as homes in the River. I tried to fly fish. There is an under ground spring that surfaced on the other side of a hill full of trout (no fishing)🙃

 

[Ace Brown]

No place like home. If it was me I’d restrict travel to 10-15 day windows. You have a lot of BS&T in that cabin. Relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

chet6.7.....going home most certainly was the best decision that I made that day.....indeed a great song......

JD.....I stopped there years ago on another trip while traveling in the BigFoot truck camper.....beautiful place.....this time we didn't bother to stop as the last thing that I needed to do was to climb on big rocks.....

Ace.....I'm not sure what the future holds.....probably most trips will be like this one.....no real planned itineraries, no real planned destinations and no real timetables. Prior to this trip, I posted that I had two fantastic choices that I could make and I still stick by that claim.....life in a Montana cabin or life on the road.....we will be leaving soon I think.....



The four days of intermittent snow storms were followed by drastically dropping temperatures.....



One morning I awoke to 2 degrees Fahrenheit.....the lowest temperature of this season that I can recall.....



Now we watched the world mostly from inside the cabin sitting in a dog chair next to a warm fire.....



The birds seemed to get more active after the snow had fallen and the temperatures had dropped the way they did.....



I suspected that they're setting up their winter stashes.....I'd read recently that this is something that they do.....those tree branches that I attached to the side of the cabin sure have been appreciated by my visitors.....and they are often used.....I had to add a fourth bird feeder due to the great number of visitors that come here to feed....



Last winter a pair of Doves hung around the feeders.....this season the word must have gotten out that there's plenty of free seed at the cabin.....I've counted ten pair out and about in the yard.....



I'm guessing that maybe ten or so species of birds visit the feeders or the ground below.....I have no idea what most are called.....not something that seems to matter to me.....



It's interesting to see the birds eating the seeds from the Sunflower plants that they themselves planted this past summer.....now every plant seems to be completely bare of seed.....



The Pheasants were quick to return after a summer of their absence.....



Last year we had two males and ten females that regularly fed here.....so far this season only a single pair has returned to feed.....I'm hopeful that the remainder of the Pheasants didn't find themselves on someone's dinner table.....I'm currently throwing out their special feed along the tiny hillside hoping that they'll all return.....and maybe more.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The sudden drop in temperatures was followed by a sudden rise in temperatures.....fortunately for me......



I do enjoy sitting by a fire.....sipping on a mug of hot coffee.....and reading a good book.....it's been awhile since I've mentioned what I've read, so here's a few.....

Of course another great read written by David Roberts.....I think it's probably my 15th (+/-) book of his that I've read. This one gives the reader a great perspective on the life of the American Indian once the white eyes (as called by the natives) arrived.....

"Once I moved about like the wind. Now I surrender to you all and that is all."
Geronimo



I've read several books, maybe as many as five, that were written by famed travel writer Paul Theroux .....this was not one of my favorites.....



And finally I got around to reading a John Steinbeck novel.....what a fantastic book this turned out to be.....I guess it'd be hard for a truck camper guy that loves dogs not love a book about a guy traveling in a truck camper with his dog.....



.....often the deer are dropping by for a visit.....sometimes at night I see them looking into the cabin.....here a small doe is feeding below the bird feeders.....



And even during the daylight hours, they come to see what they can see.....



The deer and the dogs.....well, they're still working things out.....



The rising temperatures, sometimes reaching the lower 60's, melted all of the snow so we were right back outside.....a friend gave me a bunch of 4"x6" timbers.....the garden seemed like the right spot.....



As you can easily see, the garden needed some work.....



It took awhile.....first I removed 8 to 12 inches of dirt & sod.....then a one quarter mile roundtrip to a free pile of topsoil.....I hauled load after load.....day after day.....in my wheelbarrow to make what I hope will be a productive garden next year.....

 

[Ace Brown]

Travels with Charley, read it long ago and probably some of the inspiration for me hitting the road. I tried his clothes washing method of the bucket hanging in the closet. Didn’t work for me.

We have deer in our yard constantly but my windows are high enough they cant peep in. Besides my dog chases them out of our fenced yard. But they can be best friends touching noses through the fence as long as they stay on their side.


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