My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks guys.....Clay.....always appreciate the feedback.....

Woke up much too early yesterday to the sound of a semi idling close by. Looked outside and the rains had diminished significantly. We loaded ourselves into the truck and headed west on I 90. After passing through Sheridan, Wyoming, we exited onto a gravel road and decided to have a walk in the cool, lingering rain. The fog was heavy and it was so nice to walk and be alone, deep in my thoughts. Not sure how far we walked that morning but it felt great for the three of us.



We made a stop in Billings, Montana for fuel and lunch, and then drove westward on I 94. My plan was to skip Bozeman this year but it's a magnet, and I'm like steel. I just have a connection with this town. We arrived late afternoon, sent a text to my friend Happy, and got an immediate reply saying "come over now !". Time flew by as we caught up on our lives. Her husband, Brian eventually arrived and we talked on and on. These people have become wonderful friends of mine. Brian is leaving next week with some friends on his 50' fishing boat and they'll be traveling the coastline of Canada and Alaska. What an adventure !

The dogs and I walked into town last night just as the sun was setting. It was an awesome day on the road and I'm so thankful everyday for these opportunities.....

"Camping" at the Bozeman Walmart.....

 

[Micmac]

Finally got a chance to catch up on your posts. And good news about your real estate holdings! I'll keep up now that I know you're on the road again. PS The rig looks great!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks Ed.....got lucky again......

So I've begun to diddle daddle in Bozeman, Montana. I'm just so content living here at the Walmart and the weather is just perfect. Yesterday consisted of errands in town, a warm shower at the high school gymnasium, dogs swimming at the park and long walks, and sitting at a sidewalk table at Wild Joe's drinking coffee with Happy. I met a French couple at Ace Hardware doing some world travels in their Defender 110. Check out the pictures.....very cool rig. I shared some beta with them regarding nice campsites that they could use as they travel south and I also took them over to the high school so they could get showers as well......

 

[jason77]

Always great reading about your travels. I just caught up on the Nepal trip and the new Alaska adventure. I hope to do something similar to your camping trips with my wife and son soon, since I work 5 weeks on and 5 weeks off. Get a little bit in each time I'm home.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks Jason......I would have loved a work schedule like yours......you're very fortunate. I can remember back when my sons were about the same age as yours now. That's when I can honestly say the best times of my entire life began. Enjoy and to you I'd say something that I hear often when traveling.....I'm envious......

So (3) days and nights resting in Bozeman has done us well. All that time behind the wheel can get a bit old but it's time to move on. We're gonna meet Happy this morning for coffee and then we're ready to run......

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued west on I 90, music blasting, enjoying some of the best scenery in the world. I don't know.....I just love Montana. We stopped for lunch at a small lake in Beaverhead Deer Lodge National Forest. The dogs swam 'til they could barely move......



Back on the highway, headed for Missoula, windows down, more great music blasting and life is good. We arrived in town and temperatures were rising, topping out at 99 degrees. We walked around town a bit, and then down to the river with the rest of the Missoula population. Check out the picture below......Yukon hurt her ankle after repeatedly shooting these rapids. This morning she's barely walking.....

 

[ClayH]

Montana is my favorite state to visit as well. I went there to visit a friend years ago, she worked for the Fondas (Jane) and was in charge of her collection of quarter horses. We got to tour some of Teds buffalo ranch by horseback. We stayed a week and me and my travel buddy were close to calling home and quitting our jobs to stay and find work there. One of the best trips of my life.
Looking forward to more posts.

 

[jason77]

Just to see if I'm the only one. Does anyone else read this with the voice of Rex Allen, narrator for the old Disney nature movies as Jerry's voice? Sorry to hijack, carry on, sir.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks for reading and posting guys......

Yesterday we said good bye to the interstates as we continued our push to Deadhorse, Alaska (previously I was posting that I was going to Barrow, Alaska which was incorrect). Our first stop of the day was a visit to Yukon's birthplace. Can dogs remember where they were born ? I can say with all honestly that when we were within (3) miles of the farm she became soooo excited. Just makes me curious.....



Our next goal for the day was Sandpoint, Idaho. We took Route 200 along Clark Fork (River). I thought over the years I'd seen the best that Montana had to offer, but maybe not.....this is an amazing drive and absolutely loved every minute of it. This may seem difficult to believe but we swam in (4) different places throughout our day. But then you can't blame a guy with no schedule and traveling with (2) retrievers in Montana. Come to think of it.....surprised we didn't stop more !







This spread had me thinking.....why is my home in the city ?



We did make it to Sandpoint, Idaho yesterday. Today should be our last day of traveling in the U.S. Tomorrow morning we plan to cross the border into Canada. I can't wait.... the Canadians are a very welcoming bunch and their country is outstanding......

 

[ABCanuck]

We would travel down to sandpoint, every summer as kids. I absolutely love that place. Your probably on your way to the border already so welcome to Canada


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks ABCanuck.....we should be crossing this morning......

Started the day out at the Sandpoint Antique Boat Show.....



We left Sandpoint just as the skies opened up with a light drizzle which turned into a major downpour making driving pretty damn hazardous. The woman in front of me hit a deer and did a ton of damage to her Jeep as well as killing the deer. I had (2) deer encounters myself during the day. One was very close, the other only close. Anyhow we continued west on Highway 20 through the Selkirk Mountains. As we approached Sherman Pass (5,575') the transmission heated up pretty good so we pulled over and did some hiking. After our hike we descended and crossed the Columbia River.......



And then found ourselves a spot at Whistler Canyon Trailhead (located just south of Oroville, Washington) to spend the night......



Mileage to my home......2,662

Mileage to Deadhorse, Ak......2,593

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Just a quick update.........made it across the Canadian border with no problems. The border guard was great and since she wasn't busy we had some time to chat. We headed north on Highway 97 towards Kelowna, B.C. and then northwest to Kamloops, B.C. Highway 97C between Peachland, B.C. and Merritt, B.C. kicked our butts......I thought the grade at the Selkirk Mountains was bad but this exceeded that by far. We finally made it to 100 Mile House having put in about (300) miles for the day, had dinner at Tim Horton's, and then called it a day as the rains moved in. No pictures to post today.......continuing north this morning........

 

[mvanbogart]

Great read. I've gone through the last 59 pages over the past 2 nights. I'm hopefully on the downhill side of a battle with C and I've been inspired by your journey. I've been reading a lot lately and come to the realization that I've had the 'dream' all wrong. I want to get out on the road and explore just like you have.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

mvanbogart.........yea cancer sucks........I think somewhere in those (59) pages I mention that when I found out I had cancer, I never once thought geez I wish I had been more successful and had more things. I was sooooooo very grateful for my decision. Wish you the best of luck.........

So we pulled out of 100 Mile Horse and headed north on Highway 97. I was feeling fairly grungy and had my eye out for a nice lake swim. Finally saw the perfect one (B.C. has tons of choices so you can be picky here !). The water temperature wasn't bad at all so the three of us jumped in and had ourselves a rinse and swim.......



Next on the day's agenda was a nice long walk. We stopped at a great rest area (another thing you can be picky about in B.C. cause they're everywhere along the highway).......





Early evening we arrived in Prince George, B.C. driving through the passing showers once again. I decided to stop and purchase groceries at "Save A Lot". Now I always try to make it a point not to be negative in my blog (nobody wants to read that) but I must say here that sticker shock hit me pretty good as I looked at the food prices. For an example I like Simply Lemonade.......it's $2.00 per bottle in the states........here it was $4.99. I limited my purchases and have decided not to eat much food now that I've crossed the border.......I guess I could pull my rig down the highway and save on fuel since it's way higher too. By the way this isn't something that I didn't already know......but it's still a shock. On the plus side of things (important to always look for the good and be positive) my credit card company no longer charges international transaction fees and the U.S. dollar is really strong against the Canadian dollar.

This morning the skies are blue and the air is cool. I'm loving Canada and am thankful to be here. The dogs are quite content as well although Yukon's leg continues to bother her.......



Hey Jeff.........if you're still reading this it looks like I'll miss you since the timing is just bad. I decided not to have cell phone service on this trip and I'm using public internet access for my postings. Thanks again for the offer.

And now we continue north and west on the Cassiar Highway........

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Yesterday was much like the day before. We headed west out of Prince George and our first stop of the day was at a lake for a rinse and swim.......



Spotted this nice rig as we were passing through a town......



Did a little hiking in a beautiful forest......



Drove through some beautiful valleys and saw some awesome mountains......



We made it to Smithers' B.C. and called it a day......