My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We returned to Highway 24 and we continued driving south.....at the intersection with Highway 200, we took a right and then drove west.....



Highway 200.....then Highway 244.....then Highway 87.....followed by Highway 12 .....the last state highway was Highway 191.....



Days spent without seeing another person.....well, that was spectacular.....



When we finally connected with the interstate.....Interstate 90.....I had a longing to go back.....



The prairie.....I found it to be a special place.....where there is nothing.....and nothing is exactly what I found to be so special.....



Honestly.....it was tough to look into that rear view mirror and see what we were leaving behind.....as it became a distant memory.....



We made a few stops along the way.....



My favorite was at the old bridge.....



And before I knew it.....I was standing under a stream of hot water washing off a few weeks of praire dirt from my body.....and being grateful that I got in one more road trip.....

 

[ITTOG]

We made a few stops along the way.....


My favorite was at the old bridge.....

Funny that you say "a few stops". As I was reading your last two posts I felt like you were stopping every couple of miles to take a picture. I was wondering how you ever made it home. I know you do this for yourself and share with us out of your generosity and I just want to say thanks.

I liked the old bridge as well.

 

[Ace Brown]

Spent many hours on old truss bridges like that. Those thick planks felt pretty good underfoot in winter. Better than steel grate designs that came later. At least they seemed warmer.


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[longhorn1]

They flew directly to the west.....eventually crossing the mountain chain in the distance.....

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We walked the entire circumference of the lake in total awe of the show provided by the Sandhill Cranes.....

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I cranked up the tunes...."The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel was my choice.....over and over and over again.....combined with the bugling of the Sandhill Cranes.....phenomenal.....

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"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence"

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"In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence"

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Sandhill Cranes have a migrating spot and the Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area in North Central Indiana. We've gone up in Nov/Dec and watched from the viewing area. The Indiana DNR puts out a weekly head count in Nov/Dec. Fun listening to them flying over our house heading South. Been out of the loop for awhile😎

 

[longhorn1]

ITTOG.....Tanner truly is "awesome" and he's the perfect dog in every way. I never thought a dog could ever fill Yukons' paws, but he's done it in every way possible. Trapper, I love her to death, but she's a train wreck.....



"The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is located in the Robledo Mountains just northwest of Las Cruces in Dona Ana County, south-central New Mexico. It contains rocks of Permian age, from the Late Paleozoic Era. They are composed of sediments deposited about 280 million years ago, before the age of the dinosaurs. These rocks contain major deposits of fossilized footprints made by numerous amphibians, reptiles, insects, and crustaceans, as well as plants and petrified wood. Some scientists have called these features the most scientifically significant Permian tracksites in the world. These fossils provide important information about animal behavior in this ancient tropical environment on the edge of the supercontinent Pangea."

From the BLM Website.....

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We left Las Cruces, New Mexico that evening.....now headed north once again. We spent that night camped in yet one more New Mexico parking lot. The following morning we hit the trails in search of dinosaur tracks.....it'd been way too long I say sarcastically (although I do enjoy viewing them just for a change of pace).....

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We started out that morning on the Ridgeline Trail which of course gave us the best views of the Rio Grande Valley below.....

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On the return hike we detoured and took the Discovery Trail which is where all the good stuff is found.....

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I don't claim to be an archeologist (I can't even spell it without help), but I believe this to be one of the many fossils that we saw that day.....

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Further downstream we began to find the dinosaur tracks.....

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One thing that struck me here was the fact that these were recently discovered.....on June 6, 1987 by a guy named Jerry.....probably just another knucklehead like me......wandering around in places that most people wouldn't think to wander around.....

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I layed my ball cap down next to the footprints just to show the enormity of some of these dinosaur footprints.....and that's all I got to say about dinosaur footprints.....

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Wow! What an amazing find. When you post on things like this, I can't wait for Foy's response. If only he was right there with you. Can you imagine the info you would get.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....I guess there's two types of stops in my world. One stop is where I pull over to the side of the highway to take photographs of things that I think are worthy of recording. There are many of these types of stops most days. Then there are the types of stops which I actually mention here. These stops usually entail a long walk with the dogs (which is the type of stop that the bridge entailed). And yes, it takes us forever to go anywhere.....

Ace.....old bridges are great.....especially the old covered ones in New England.....

JD.....welcome back.....



I had mentioned that I was able to get a lot of reading in during this last trip.....so here's my latest book review.....

Yet one more David Roberts book.....two stories of his epic climbs in Alaska.....two great reads.....



This one by Tim Cahill was not a favorite.....as a matter of fact I struggled to get to the end. It's just a whole bunch of short stories.....some were interesting.....most were not (to me).....



Alone on the Wall was actually a pretty good read. I was surprised at Alex Honnolds' writing abilities.....I liked this book quite a bit. It didn't hurt that David Roberts was involved in this project. If you don't like climbing, then you probably won't like this one.....



Alone on the Wall really got me into the climbing book mood so I followed it up with Royal Robbins The American Climber. I loved this book, but again, it's a climbing book.....about his life as a climber so there's that. I loved it so much that I ordered his set of 3 autobiographies from his company's website. This guy was a true icon of American climbing.....

'When I touched the rock, it had in turn touched my spirit, awakening an ineffable longing, as if I had stirred a hidden memory of a previous existence, a happier one. While I was climbing, it was glorious to be alive."'- Royal Robbins



After returning home to the cabin from our trip to the prairies, we spent a few weeks relaxing and, of course, taking way too many long, hot showers.....then we were back on the road again.....



The mountains were calling.....as they always do with me.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

This trip, like all trips.....especially now that we no longer full time.....began with a shopping list and visits to the big box retailers. Unlike our other trips' commencements, there would be no walk down Main Street this time.....it was cold that day in Bozeman, Montana and the snow was coming down hard.....certainly not the best conditions to begin a road trip.....



We hit the interstate and drove west.....roughly 140 miles later we exited at Gold Creek, Montana.....



.....with plans to spend the night in a small parking lot adjacent to Gold Creek. Unfortunately our planned overnight spot has been discovered (it's on ioverlander) and now it's posted "No Overnight Camping".....fortunately I knew of another spot close by.....



We walked along the country roads and enjoyed sights as simple as seeing the cows that were amazed to be seeing a man and two dogs walk along their country road....



We admired the farmhouses and the ranch houses that dotted our skyline.....



We walked along the creekbed hoping to see that moose that we saw here the last time we visited.....





And finally, we walked along the railroad tracks for no good reason.....



The following day, and several more, were spent in Missoula, Montana.....maybe only 40 more miles driving west on the interstate.....



The weather now was as good as weather can get.....low 70's with a slight breeze and of course no humidity.....it was so good to be back out on the road again.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We drove north on Highway 93 out of Missoula, Montana and made our first stop of the day at the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas.....







I feel like it's nearly impossible for me not to stop here.....even though I've visited many times in past years.....







I sure was saddened to hear that the largest asphalt processor in the United States has contracted to purchase the land adjacent to the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas to build an asphalt processing plant.....sometimes progress (?) sure does suck.....







We continued driving north along Highway 93, and eventually stopped for the night just south of St. Ignatius, Montana....our campsite having the most fantastic views of the Mission Mountains as we looked to the east.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued north on Highway 93 and after less than an hour of driving we approached Flathead Lake from the south.....



It was good to be here so early in the travel season as the crowds were not yet so bad.....I hoped.....





We made several stops along the way visiting several of the small touristy towns that have over populated the western shores of Flathead Lake.....finally I gave in to the dogs demands and let my best buddies have a swim.....





It was Tanner's 7th birthday so we had a small party along the shoreline.....the cake lasting no more than 10 seconds.....



Onward north through Kalispell, Montana and then north & east to Columbia Falls, Montana along Highway 2, and then north into Flathead National Forest.....



I had hoped at this point in our travels.....finally.....that we'd left the crowds behind.....(lot's of hoping that day).....



The road we traveled now (North Fork Road).....followed the meanders of the North Fork of the Flathead River..... the river flowed south.....we drove north.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The plan was to spend a night or two at one of the nicer dispered campsites that I knew of, but unfortunately we arrived late in the day and my choice sites were taken. I parked along the road at a large pull out and called it a day.....good enough.....



I was prepared to watched the Northern Lights over the North Fork of the Flathead River but unfortunately I never saw that.....



Still.....it wasn't a bad place to spend a few nights.....the only downside was the number of rafters and fishermen that travel that road.....it's constant.....and it's all hours of the day & the night.....





At this point in our travels, I couldn't help but think back to my last trip to the prairies where we were all alone.....and honestly, I longed for that.....





We walked along the road.....but only the paved portions of the road.....and we walked several trails down to the river.....and the nights were the best as the road travelers thinned out.....





A young Bald Eagle perched on a dead conifer.....just outside the campers' window.....was such a pleasant morning surprise.....



These are the moments to live for.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued driving north and made a quick stop for a world famous (?) pastry at the small mercantile store in Polebridge, Montana.....



We drove west from here.....crossed the North Fork of the Flathead River and headed into Glacier National Park.....



I wasn't too sure what to expect since it was still the off season which is kind of a good thing & kind of a bad thing as well. We took the road (Inside Northfork Road) south and the good thing was that we had the road to ourselves.....





We were able to get in short hikes on the roadway since the dogs are allowed only here.....we parked along the shoreline of Winona Lake.....



.....which is where we saw our only wildlife during our brief stay.....a few deer grazing along the shore.....



We took another hike a bit further south where the road comes close to the eastern bank of the North Fork of the Flathead River.....



A gate across the road kept us from continuing onward.....that was the bad thing that I spoke of. We backtracked, and drove north, drove west, drove south.....and drove along the western bank of the North Fork of the Flathead River.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Eventually we left the river behind.....





.....as we headed back into Glacier National Park.....



It was kind of surprising to me at just how busy the park was considering that it was still not peak season.....





After filling the water bottles.....and taking a shortened drive along the southern shoreline of Lake McDonald, we left the park yearning for a place where we were mostly alone.....





.....which was on the other side of the Continental  Divide.....we drove east into the plains of central Montana.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We spent the night in the casino parking lot in Browning, Montana....



This was Blackfeet Indian Reservation land.....



This was probably the most interesting part of this short trip.....for me anyhow. I've begun to see the life, and the plight of the Native Americans so much differently these days.....it's the knowledge that I've gained from all the books that I've read that has done this to me.....



I'm able to envision what it was that they once had.....I see what was stolen from them.....and what they now have with the white mans' hope.....



We walked the streets around town.....where I found that generally speaking.....I really wasn't welcomed. I guess they see what I hope not to be.....an entitled white guy in his RV on his way to the park.....



The next day we headed out.....drove south through the reservation.....through some of the most extraordinary lands that I get to see.....



At some point I saw this herd of horses along the road and pulled off to the side for a few photographs.....



While I was stopped there, two guys from the reservation pull up and the passenger says "are you lost ?"..... and my reply was "nope, I want to be here." Then the driver says to me "there's a gravel road just a bit south of here. If you take it to the right, it'll take you to the park." and I said "no, I'm not looking to go to park. I want to be here".....



We talked for a good ten minutes while stopped along that road. Two more trucks stopped, we eventually had the road blocked, and we all just talked about life.....and I loved every second of my brief encounter with the men from the Blackfeet tribe.....



Then we continued on.....following Heart Butte Road south.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Bold, dark clouds were forming to the north and west of us.....I could hear the thunder and see the occasional lightning strikes.....



Still clear skies to the south and the east.....



The road took us through Heart Butte.....another Blackfoot Indian town.....that also had hope.....there's always hope.....I guess.....





At this point we really needed to move on.....it was getting late in the day.....and we needed BLM land.....







My thoughts as I left the reservation that day were.....the Native Americans are great stewards of their land.....their towns might not be so nice.....but they sure do know how to maintain their undeveloped lands.....



A last look in the rear view mirror.....



.....where the pavement ended.....and the rains began.....and we were now back onto BLM lands.....

 

[Foy]

The first time I visited Browning I was on a 6 week geology school field trip with 30 or so students and faculty. Every one of us was a pasty white kid in our late teens to early 20s. It was mid- July 1975. We spent a morning visiting the Museum of the Plains Indian before moving on southeast on our first leg of returning to NC. Everywhere we went in small groups--the parking area at the museum, a couple of small stores, a coffee shop, and a gas station--there was an unmistakable feeling of mild hostility from the locals to our group. Later that day, down in Choteau, some locals told us "that's the way it is in Browning--the Blackfeet don't care for tourists". Decades later I experienced similar feelings as I drove through Crow Agency on a hot summer Friday afternoon in 2010. Literally dozens of individuals cast their gaze towards my loudly rattling old diesel pickup as I worked through a 4-way stop intersection. Not a smile from nor a wave returned by any of them. Later that day, down in Broadus, a local told me that my lack of a front license plate (NC does not require them) pegged me as a tourist, triggering indifference, at best, from the Native Americans populating Crow Agency and Lame Deer.