My Journey
- Thread starter YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
- Start date
Sierra Valley
Wander
Time to hit the road?
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
JD.....I absolutely love the skies this time of year. The summer skies seem to rarely change.....almost always a clear blue. But now with the weather unsettled it's often amazing.....
Sierra Valley.....yep it's time but I'm struggling like never before.....I love what I've built here yet I love life on the road as well. The past 2 months have been a real challenge getting the truck & Jeep ready for travel. I've spent roughly $7,000 so far. Tomorrow may be the day.....
Trapper got her last bath.....
I replaced the kayaks with a new to me canoe.....maybe it'll be easier for the 3 of us to get out onto the water.....
Bad dogs being bad dogs.....the last dinner at the cabin I think maybe.....
The sunrises here.....I'm going to miss them.....
Tonight we took our last walks around the property.....
Silence here.....
Tomorrow night I'm thinking we'll be camped along the Yellowstone River.....
Sierra Valley.....yep it's time but I'm struggling like never before.....I love what I've built here yet I love life on the road as well. The past 2 months have been a real challenge getting the truck & Jeep ready for travel. I've spent roughly $7,000 so far. Tomorrow may be the day.....
Trapper got her last bath.....
I replaced the kayaks with a new to me canoe.....maybe it'll be easier for the 3 of us to get out onto the water.....
Bad dogs being bad dogs.....the last dinner at the cabin I think maybe.....
The sunrises here.....I'm going to miss them.....
Tonight we took our last walks around the property.....
Silence here.....
Tomorrow night I'm thinking we'll be camped along the Yellowstone River.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Arjan.....what a labor of love it has been ! Quick story.....April (or was it March ?) 2021 my friend offers the property to me. But for personal reasons she says I can't sell it to you right then. We shake hands and make a verbal agreement that one day it will be mine. $80,000 of my hard earned money later and probably 80,000 hours of my hard labor invested as well.....I finally wired her the money just this past Friday and one day this week i will actually become the legal owner.....thank you.....
And so it was on that on October 29, 2022 we were back on the road again.....with $7,000 spent on the vehicles, you'd think we'd be in great shape but that's just not the case as the truck continues to display the Service Engine Soon light. My diesel mechanic says at this point it has to be serviced by a dealer.....the local dealer said he'd get me in late December or early January.....
Our first njght was spent in a friend's motel parking lot in West Yellowstone, Montana.....it was already a cold one.....a low of 13 degrees that night.....
Early the following morning (picture below is actually leaving the park that afternoon).....
An early morning of driving through fog.....
We nearly had the park to ourselves.....
We saw a few herds of Elk along the way.....and of course the Bison were out grazing with that early morning frost covering their tranquil faces.....
Honestly it was too damn cold to get out of the truck that morning for even a short walk.....the times are a changing my friends.....
What an amazing.....just an absolutely amazing, incredible place.....Yellowstone National Park.....
And so it was on that on October 29, 2022 we were back on the road again.....with $7,000 spent on the vehicles, you'd think we'd be in great shape but that's just not the case as the truck continues to display the Service Engine Soon light. My diesel mechanic says at this point it has to be serviced by a dealer.....the local dealer said he'd get me in late December or early January.....
Our first njght was spent in a friend's motel parking lot in West Yellowstone, Montana.....it was already a cold one.....a low of 13 degrees that night.....
Early the following morning (picture below is actually leaving the park that afternoon).....
An early morning of driving through fog.....
We nearly had the park to ourselves.....
We saw a few herds of Elk along the way.....and of course the Bison were out grazing with that early morning frost covering their tranquil faces.....
Honestly it was too damn cold to get out of the truck that morning for even a short walk.....the times are a changing my friends.....
What an amazing.....just an absolutely amazing, incredible place.....Yellowstone National Park.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
So we just drove and we drove and that's about all we did.....
Eventually we left the rivers behind and began the climb into the mountains as we continued to proceed south.....
We crossed the Continental Divide several times (I think it was 3).....
Everything is frozen now.....lots of ice & snow along the road at the higher elevations.....
It was late morning when we left the park behind.....continuing to drive south.....headed to warmer temperatures.....and to a garage that can actually get the truck in within a reasonable time frame.....
Eventually we left the rivers behind and began the climb into the mountains as we continued to proceed south.....
We crossed the Continental Divide several times (I think it was 3).....
Everything is frozen now.....lots of ice & snow along the road at the higher elevations.....
It was late morning when we left the park behind.....continuing to drive south.....headed to warmer temperatures.....and to a garage that can actually get the truck in within a reasonable time frame.....
Sierra Valley
Wander
Great to see you back out on the road! The house really does look great as well! Safe travels! Supposed to get a foot of snow here in the Lake Tahoe region tomorrow night and today looks to be the last of the 60 degree weather. Might have to get one last harley ride in this afternoon
AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Please consider always wearing your PFD when out in that new to you canoe. Those older Colemans are notoriously known to be very, very tippy boats, and are dangerous because of that instability.
Any sudden position shifting of the pups in that boat (for instance when they see something interesting) could easily send you all into the water.
This caution is borne out by my personal experience too. For example, once while out on a lake in Oregon in our old Coleman, the middle seat passenger suddenly swept her arm around just to point out a nearby animal on shore and that simple but quick moment dumped us all in the drink. That wasn’t the only time we had that problem in the Colemans, FWIW,
Any sudden position shifting of the pups in that boat (for instance when they see something interesting) could easily send you all into the water.
This caution is borne out by my personal experience too. For example, once while out on a lake in Oregon in our old Coleman, the middle seat passenger suddenly swept her arm around just to point out a nearby animal on shore and that simple but quick moment dumped us all in the drink. That wasn’t the only time we had that problem in the Colemans, FWIW,
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YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Sierra Valley.....thanks.....I'm missing that place of mine (I think I own it now ?).....& I'm currently chasing those 60 degree temperatures with little luck so far.....woke up in Wyoming this morning.....
AbleGuy.....I appreciate you posting that as I had no idea. And it may explain something that I thought odd when I made the purchase. I grew up in an aluminum Grumman canoe and in my 20's I owned an aluminum Ouachita canoe and never did I have any issues with capsizing. The guy I bought this from included 2 blow up pontoons to mount to each side & at that time I thought why in the world would I want these. I think your post explains that riddle. I left the pontoons at the cabin (along with my reading glasses & portable Honda generator). I think I'll probably not use this canoe.....thank you.....
That afternoon we passed thru Grand Teton National Park .....
AbleGuy.....I appreciate you posting that as I had no idea. And it may explain something that I thought odd when I made the purchase. I grew up in an aluminum Grumman canoe and in my 20's I owned an aluminum Ouachita canoe and never did I have any issues with capsizing. The guy I bought this from included 2 blow up pontoons to mount to each side & at that time I thought why in the world would I want these. I think your post explains that riddle. I left the pontoons at the cabin (along with my reading glasses & portable Honda generator). I think I'll probably not use this canoe.....thank you.....
That afternoon we passed thru Grand Teton National Park .....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
What a way to spend the day.....Yellowstone National Park in the morning & Grand Teton National Park in the afternoon.....
We actually got out of the truck multiple times during our brief visit here but being in a National Park with 2 dogs really restricts our ability to explore beyond the pavement.....fortunately I've been here many times before so.....
We pretty much just enjoyed the views.....
We actually got out of the truck multiple times during our brief visit here but being in a National Park with 2 dogs really restricts our ability to explore beyond the pavement.....fortunately I've been here many times before so.....
We pretty much just enjoyed the views.....
tgil
Well-known member
Those snowy mountain pics are great!
The rock along your fence is a nice touch! I often wonder when I see rock "fences" how long it must've taken to relocate the rock (I always imagine by horse drawn wagons) and build the fence. Does make my back ache a little thinking about all of that rock you have hauled.
I think we are pretty close in age, and I never expected to have so many aches and pains for at least another 20 years!
Oh, and the "deal" made with a handshake...priceless!
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
The rock along your fence is a nice touch! I often wonder when I see rock "fences" how long it must've taken to relocate the rock (I always imagine by horse drawn wagons) and build the fence. Does make my back ache a little thinking about all of that rock you have hauled.
I think we are pretty close in age, and I never expected to have so many aches and pains for at least another 20 years!
Oh, and the "deal" made with a handshake...priceless!
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
tgil.....I found that it took me roughly one truck bed load for every ten linear feet. It's a huge task and once you start there's no going back (at least in my world.....partially completed stone walls suck in my world). And the handshake deal.....well, most people thought me ignorant but I had a good feeling about my friend. Plus she's wealthy so why bother rip off a poor man such as me ? And thanks.....
fisher205.....I stopped in Jackson Hole, Wyoming briefly.....just long enough for a visit with friends.....it would have been good to have met again.....
We continued south and spent our second night on the road camped in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.....the weather was still good.....
In the morning we hiked along a forest service road as a bald eagle flew overhead.....life was so good now.....
Yet there was still the issue with the truck (the Service Engine Soon light), and now things began to get even worse. Now I was getting warnings that my diesel exhaust filter was full.....and things continued to get worse from there.....
At maybe forty miles north of Rock Springs, Wyoming I decided to leave the paved highway and travel down Old Highway 191.....I wanted to see the somewhat nearby petroglyphs.....
Roughly twenty miles of what was really forest service roads.....deep sand, washboards, and a bit of hardpack and we finally arrived.....
I'm a sucker for the petroglyphs.....for some odd reason I have developed a means of escaping reality when I'm in areas such as this.....it's become my dream world.....and I never can get enough of the dream world.....
fisher205.....I stopped in Jackson Hole, Wyoming briefly.....just long enough for a visit with friends.....it would have been good to have met again.....
We continued south and spent our second night on the road camped in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.....the weather was still good.....
In the morning we hiked along a forest service road as a bald eagle flew overhead.....life was so good now.....
Yet there was still the issue with the truck (the Service Engine Soon light), and now things began to get even worse. Now I was getting warnings that my diesel exhaust filter was full.....and things continued to get worse from there.....
At maybe forty miles north of Rock Springs, Wyoming I decided to leave the paved highway and travel down Old Highway 191.....I wanted to see the somewhat nearby petroglyphs.....
Roughly twenty miles of what was really forest service roads.....deep sand, washboards, and a bit of hardpack and we finally arrived.....
I'm a sucker for the petroglyphs.....for some odd reason I have developed a means of escaping reality when I'm in areas such as this.....it's become my dream world.....and I never can get enough of the dream world.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
There were several small caves which of course I had to work my way through with two dogs in tow.....
And petroglyphs were literally everywhere that we looked.....we even found them within the caves that we explored.....
I was constantly distracted by the steep cliffs.....I couldn't help but wonder what was up in the canyons.....what was above those steep cliffs.....
But there were still plenty more petroglyphs to study and absorb.....this place was all mine that day.....
And petroglyphs were literally everywhere that we looked.....we even found them within the caves that we explored.....
I was constantly distracted by the steep cliffs.....I couldn't help but wonder what was up in the canyons.....what was above those steep cliffs.....
But there were still plenty more petroglyphs to study and absorb.....this place was all mine that day.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
We spent the entire day here.....exploring the petroglyphs and more.....
Eventually we hiked up some ATV trails which led us up and into the canyons.....
At some point we just wandered aimlessly along the plateaus above the steep cliff walls.....
We found the remains of several suspected elk as the bones were just too massive to be mule deer I think.....and we found alcoves in the stone canyons where I'll just bet that Native Americans once lived or hunted.....
We returned to the petroglyphs.....and eventually we drove further south along Old Highway 191.....it really wasn't a highway.....
Eventually we hiked up some ATV trails which led us up and into the canyons.....
At some point we just wandered aimlessly along the plateaus above the steep cliff walls.....
We found the remains of several suspected elk as the bones were just too massive to be mule deer I think.....and we found alcoves in the stone canyons where I'll just bet that Native Americans once lived or hunted.....
We returned to the petroglyphs.....and eventually we drove further south along Old Highway 191.....it really wasn't a highway.....