My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

furbucket.....I've been thinking lately about getting my one man tent & associated gear out and headed up the Mineral Springs Canyon in New Mexico for a night or two. I guess time will tell on that idea.....

tgil.....I agree about the mud.....it's exactly what I thought and I thought it was beautiful.....




Of course here in the southwest there are plenty of reptiles so I'll share with you what I've seen so far. One afternoon Tanner and I were on a rather long walk way up high along the rim road when we crossed paths with this non venomous Western Patch-nosed Snake. Tanner was at the end of the 16' retractable leash and he actually stepped directly across it.....I'm assuming he thought it was a stick.....



I was on my way to also stepping across it when I suddenly noticed that it was not a stick but it was a snake trying to appear as it was anything but a snake.....



It only moved after I gave its tail a light brush with my boot.....



Now the next snake we saw was actually dead but what was interesting about this sighting was that an animal (a coyote I think) defecated on it. Now I've only one other time in my life seen this behavior.....that was in the rainforest of northwest Washington and there I thought it was the work of a black bear. I find this behavior odd and can't help but wonder what causes an animal to behave in such a manner.....



Lizards abound here and since the temperatures are warming they now seem to be everywhere. This particular lizard, also dead, is lightning quick and I've tried repeatedly to photograph a live one but I've had zero luck on that front.....





And then there was this guy.....the rattlesnake.....



We were walking along the road when I looked maybe 30 feet ahead and that's when I spotted this rattlesnake that had already taken up a defensive position.....he saw us before we saw him.....



I pitched small stones in his direction hoping that he would move along but no matter what I did the snake was unwilling to give up that pose. Eventually Tanner and I stepped off the roadway and into the desert plants.....yep.....I did not like not seeing my feet as we made our way along.....and I was quite content with completing our walk walking in the dead center of the roadway.....



Day 18 of my life living off the grid.....this morning I had planned to go to town to get some much needed groceries but I overslept so it's been moved to Thursday.....honestly I do not look forward to it one bit.....flatten the curve.....

 

[chet6.7]

I don't like not seeing the ground ahead.
I was walking a trail that had grass overhanging both sides of the trail,I thought I could see well enough to be safe. A snake that I never saw bounced off of both feet as it shot off the trail.A walking stick would have been a good thing to have.

 

[BigDawwg]

I don't like not seeing the ground ahead.
I was walking a trail that had grass overhanging both sides of the trail,I thought I could see well enough to be safe. A snake that I never saw bounced off of both feet as it shot off the trail.A walking stick would have been a good thing to have.

Ok,,,,, but I think you meant to say a "Lizard" bounced off the trail, as a "Snake" does not have feet......

 

[BigDawwg]

furbucket.....I've been thinking lately about getting my one man tent & associated gear out and headed up the Mineral Springs Canyon in New Mexico for a night or two. I guess time will tell on that idea.....

tgil.....I agree about the mud.....it's exactly what I thought and I thought it was beautiful.....




Of course here in the southwest there are plenty of reptiles so I'll share with you what I've seen so far. One afternoon Tanner and I were on a rather long walk way up high along the rim road when we crossed paths with this non venomous Whip Snake. Tanner was at the end of the 16' retractable leash and he actually stepped directly across it.....I'm assuming he thought it was a stick.....

View attachment 577860

I was on my way to also stepping across it when I suddenly noticed that it was not a stick but it was a snake trying to appear as it was anything but a snake.....

View attachment 577861

It only moved after I gave its tail a light brush with my boot.....

View attachment 577862

Now the next snake we saw was actually dead but what was interesting about this sighting was that an animal (a coyote I think) defecated on it. Now I've only one other time in my life seen this behavior.....that was in the rainforest of northwest Washington and there I thought it was the work of a black bear. I find this behavior odd and can't help but wonder what causes an animal to behave in such a manner.....

Hey Jerry,,,,,, yea I've seen this before, quite a few times actually, as growing up on my Grandfathers Ranch in the NW part of Nevada,-[ie... Sheldon Antelope Range]- Coyotes and Bob-Cats would kill a snake, Lizard, eat part of it, and then defecate and urinate accordingly as to "Mark-it" for a future visit and possibly finish consuming that particular kill,,,,,, or NOT, but anyway, it goes to "Marking" their territory,,,,,
Also you should see some of the Wild Horse's -[Stallions]- marking their territory,,,,,, Horse Dung in the same spot,,,,, up to 3 & 4' high, and 6-8' in diameter, and those piles will be miles apart, out in the High Desert Country.......
You and Tanner be Safe.....
BD in Alaska

View attachment 577864

Lizards abound here and since the temperatures are warming they now seem to be everywhere. This particular lizard, also dead, is lightning quick and I've tried repeatedly to photograph a live one but I've had zero luck on that front.....

View attachment 577866

View attachment 577867

And then there was this guy.....the rattlesnake.....

View attachment 577868

We were walking along the road when I looked maybe 30 feet ahead and that's when I spotted this rattlesnake that had already taken up a defensive position.....he saw us before we saw him.....

View attachment 577869

I pitched small stones in his direction hoping that he would move along but no matter what I did the snake was unwilling to give up that pose. Eventually Tanner and I stepped off the roadway and into the desert plants.....yep.....I did not like not seeing my feet as we made our way along.....and I was quite content with completing our walk walking in the dead center of the roadway.....

View attachment 577870

Day 18 of my life living off the grid.....this morning I had planned to go to town to get some much needed groceries but I overslept so it's been moved to Thursday.....honestly I do not look forward to it one bit.....flatten the curve.....

 

[ocdiver]

What was Tanner's reaction to the rattler? Was he interested or wary of it? I know it has been a concern of yours so I was curious as to how hw would react when you finally encountered one. Good thing he was on the leash.

 

[tgil]

Perhaps that 2nd snake pic was actually the result of the last hiker that happened upon the snake without seeing it from a distance? (My attempt at humor)
I wonder if defecating on dead snakes is some sort of dominance play? I wonder if the higher predator killed the snake then "marked" it? Interesting....

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Chet6.7.....I've for the most part now decided to stick to the roadways.....no doubt a bit safer.....

BigDawwg.....I wondered if that was what it was all about. I returned the following morning and the snake was gone.....

ocdiver.....I don't believe that Tanner saw the rattlesnake as it never moved. Had we walked by it there's no doubt in my mind Tanner would have been bit. Additionally I think if the snake had moved Tanner would have attacked it and got bit cause he seems to attack everything that moves. So yea, he's nearly full time on the leash anymore.....we need to move north.....

tgil.....I think BigDawwg knows what's up.....




Hope everyone is staying safe.....just a few desert flowers to share today.....I find it amazing the number of flowers that grow here in the high deserts of southeast Arizona.....I believe that I've photographed 35 varieties so far.....





















Day 19 of my life living off the grid.....I've read that things are looking better.....the amount of suffering is just staggering.....flatten the curve.....

 

[tgil]

Have you had a chance to get any pics of the super moon?
I know you don't care to fish, but it is a passion of mine. A buddy of mine and I fished a little longer than usual the other night (the fish were biting too good to leave) and he snapped this pic of me in the moon light. If it hadn't been overcast, it would've been really bright!

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[longhorn1]

Beautiful sunsets

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

tgil.....it's not that I don't care for fishing, it's that I absolutely hate fishing ! And yea I try to photograph the full moon but the Galaxy S9+ just doesn't do a good job. The pictures always look grainy or blurry. I'll post a few for you soon and you'll see what I mean.....

JD.....just for clarification, all of the pictures were taken the same evening. And yep it was a magnificent evening.....




After 14 days and just a tad bit of over 200 miles of hiking, we returned back to the Black Hills National Back Country Byway and set up camp right next to the parking area at the entrance to the byway. It didn't take long for law enforcement to check us out and true to their word they left us alone.....



And even though camping was not allowed at this spot, they turned a blind eye to it so it just goes to show that it pays to be respectful.....



We pretty much have stuck to the main road for our hiking while camped here for the past 6 days......





We haven't seen a measurable rain for quite awhile now.....the good news is that the road is rarely traveled.....



We did take a short hike up a rock wall to watch a small herd of deer pass by.....





It was close to dusk so we stayed to watch the sunset.....





It's so amazing to be out here right now as we are simply all alone.....all day and all night.....

 

[Arjan]

Awesome pics as usual - thank you very much !

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Arjan.....it's a pleasure.....thanks.....



Now that I've pretty much limited our hiking to the main road (the byway) due to the presence of the rattlesnakes we needed to extend our horizons, hike further and that would take us into the mountains where we would and could experience new places.....





.....and where we would find some of the most beautiful views of the valley below.....



It doesn't matter whether you're on foot or riding around in your beautiful expedition vehicle.....I think on this subject we are all the same and we all wonder what is around the next bend in the road or the next rise in the road that we will cross. As we hiked higher we came across this sign.....



Of course we had to have a look.....the signs are a bit aged and tattered but enough remains to understand that we were in the mists of a volcanic eruption area.....





The wall of cinder was absolutely massive.....walking here leaves a red tint to my boots and to Tanners feet as well.....



Temperatures have been steadily rising into the low 80's and Tanner seems to have little acceptance of anything over 75 degrees. He constantly searches for the shade.....



One can tell a significant difference in the temperatures between the valley floor and up high, as the climb up was nearly 1,000 vertical feet. We headed back to our camp thinking that maybe it was time to move up and camp in the mountains.....



There appeared to be more options for hiking up high.....as we now begin our fourth week in self quarantine the options will be a welcomed sight.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

And so it was that we would pack up and head up higher into the mountains.....during a last minute walk around our campsite to pick up all of Tanners toys I noticed that the entrance sign had once again been destroyed. It's difficult to believe that someone actually came back out just to destroy that poor old recently repaired sign.....again.....



And just as hard to believe.....they actually did a bit more.....as I was driving up the road I noticed that they not only destroyed the entrance sign but they added a bit of graffiti to this traffic sign as well. Interesting to see that they clearly are against littering, yet destruction of public property seems to be acceptable.....



In my last post you saw Tanner lying in the shade of the informative roadside sign. Here you can read exactly what that sign had to say.....



And here's a shot of the ranch from above.....



I'd like to check out this mine but honestly since seeing that rattlesnake I'm definitely leary about leaving the roadway and scrambling through the loose rocks.....perfect rattlesnake territory.....



So we camped at mile marker 4 which is about 800 feet higher than the valley floor below.....the temperature dropped 4 degrees up here.....



We are surrounded by ranch property I do believe.....we've walked several of the Jeep roads where we've crossed paths with just a few cattle grazing along the slopes.....



And from here we've walked another 3.5 miles along the Black Hills National Back Country Byway and climbed nearly another 1,000 feet of elevation gain.....



Law enforcement dropped by our new site once again to check on my length of stay.....he cautioned me on the rattlesnakes.....a caution that I take quite seriously.....



A cold front almost immediately moved in after our move up high and temperatures seem to have dropped nearly 20 degrees combined with a constant breeze.....dang, it's actually cold here.....

 

[BigDawwg]

Hey Jerry, I came across this, and thought you might want to check it out...... or not.

 

[tgil]

tgil.....it's not that I don't care for fishing, it's that I absolutely hate fishing !

I knew that, and your reply made me laugh!
Crappy cell phone pics, but I saw a bald eagle while fishing on Saturday. They are not real common in my area of Texas.
Only my third, ever, to see. Twice was while fishing.