My Journey
- Thread starter YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
- Start date
sigma_oasis
New member
I agree. We should all strive to take joy in what we've got and not place attention on what isn't.
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.
Whatever you do please keep us posted.. always good to see what you and the dogs are up to.
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YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
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.....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
Explorer
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.
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)🙃
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
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.....
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.....
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YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
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.....
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
Retired Ol’ Fart
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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Ace.....back in my Peace Corps days in the Amazon, we washed our clothes in the river. We'd smash our clothes against the rocks and once cleansed, we'd dry them by hanging them in the tree branches. They never fully dried due to the intense humidity. I've also done the bucket thing while traveling in the truck camper.....I found that neither works very well.....
We've all the heard the phrase "be careful what you wish for" and that recently happened to me. Maybe three weeks ago I spotted a large, black animal in the field behind my cabin. Well, I thought it must have been a rather large Black Lab (it was in the distant walking along the brush line). Then two weeks ago I saw it again, and it turned out to be a Black Bear (something that I had wished for). Once again it was in the field behind my cabin and it had taken down one of my beloved deer. I haven't seen a single deer since that day.....nor have I seen the Black Bear again.....
And my beloved Pheasants and Doves.....well, that's yet another sad story here at my cabin. My rancher neighbor.....he has a bunch of farm animals such as horses, goats and chickens. Well, recently I found out that he also has 30 to 40 feral cats living in his barns.....and these cats have decimated the entire Pheasant population as well as the Dove population. We're finding dead birds throughout the neighborhood.....so I now only have one male Pheasant that visits me.....and not a single Dove remains.....
We've all the heard the phrase "be careful what you wish for" and that recently happened to me. Maybe three weeks ago I spotted a large, black animal in the field behind my cabin. Well, I thought it must have been a rather large Black Lab (it was in the distant walking along the brush line). Then two weeks ago I saw it again, and it turned out to be a Black Bear (something that I had wished for). Once again it was in the field behind my cabin and it had taken down one of my beloved deer. I haven't seen a single deer since that day.....nor have I seen the Black Bear again.....
And my beloved Pheasants and Doves.....well, that's yet another sad story here at my cabin. My rancher neighbor.....he has a bunch of farm animals such as horses, goats and chickens. Well, recently I found out that he also has 30 to 40 feral cats living in his barns.....and these cats have decimated the entire Pheasant population as well as the Dove population. We're finding dead birds throughout the neighborhood.....so I now only have one male Pheasant that visits me.....and not a single Dove remains.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
On November 18, 2023, I told Ace that we were leaving soon. Well, obviously that didn't happen.....the weather has been too good. And I find that I'm just as happy working on projects at the cabin, as I am living on the road.....
Two days ago I loaded the camper onto the truck, hitched up the Jeep, and loaded the rig with supplies. So, much like my post on November 18, 2023, I'll end this post saying that we are leaving soon.....
All photos in this and the last post, are my backyard.....
Merry Christmas.....
Two days ago I loaded the camper onto the truck, hitched up the Jeep, and loaded the rig with supplies. So, much like my post on November 18, 2023, I'll end this post saying that we are leaving soon.....
All photos in this and the last post, are my backyard.....
Merry Christmas.....