My Journey
- Thread starter YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
- Start date
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Hey guys..........again, thanks for the kind comments. Yea it is a lot of work and sometimes it doesn't seem to be worth the effort but it's great to get positive feedback and I also enjoy looking back at my travels when I'm hanging out in my chair at home. The dogs were enjoying themselves hanging out at the house but that didn't last long. We were gone after a week here and just returned home. I had my truck in the shop prior to that trip and the mechanic says it looks great. I swear that thing is a beast and it's amazing the amount of punishment that it'll take. With over 200,000 miles and (11) plus years, I can't help wonder if it's day is coming........
I've never had a desire to visit Africa until I purchased a used copy of "Out of Africa" while traveling this summer. I've watched the movie too many times (I love that movie) but it didn't have the same effect on me as the book did. Now it's become a dream.......
Hey Vic...........I got your email and responded. I've got plans with one of my sons and grand daughter on Sunday but other than that I'm here and you're welcome here. I sent you my home address and phone number.
For readers of this thread.........I met Vic maybe (10) years ago when he lived in a mountainous jungle area in eastern Peru. We did some climbing and traveling together in Vic's 4 wheel drive van through Peru and Chile, and then we parted ways and I went on to Bolivia. Vic has amazing endurance and was an excellent host. He now lives full time in his camper (he has a build thread on here). We've tried several times to meet on the road but were always unsuccessful..........
I've never had a desire to visit Africa until I purchased a used copy of "Out of Africa" while traveling this summer. I've watched the movie too many times (I love that movie) but it didn't have the same effect on me as the book did. Now it's become a dream.......
Hey Vic...........I got your email and responded. I've got plans with one of my sons and grand daughter on Sunday but other than that I'm here and you're welcome here. I sent you my home address and phone number.
For readers of this thread.........I met Vic maybe (10) years ago when he lived in a mountainous jungle area in eastern Peru. We did some climbing and traveling together in Vic's 4 wheel drive van through Peru and Chile, and then we parted ways and I went on to Bolivia. Vic has amazing endurance and was an excellent host. He now lives full time in his camper (he has a build thread on here). We've tried several times to meet on the road but were always unsuccessful..........
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
So yesterday XP member Vic Hanson stopped by the house for a visit. It's pretty cool seeing an old friend after all these years. We hung out at my place, went out for a sandwich, and then I showed him around my town. I mentioned in the last post about Vic's endurance and it occurred to me that he's "endured" for 5 1/2 consecutive years of living in his truck camper and traveling around America. It's something that I'm not capable of doing. He's really a good guy and impresses the hell out of me. Here's a link to his build thread.......
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/38961-Isuzu-NPR-HD-Truck-Camper-Build
On another subject, from time to time I'll get a PM regarding how much money I spend on my travels. I compiled this list from this past trip for another thread (therefore I used his categories) but I thought I'd post it here as well......just in case someone was curious......
$0- campgrounds.
$0- hotels.
$3846 - diesel fuel.
$1716 - food.
$539 - dining out.
$69 - tours/ fees.
$1,080 - truck maintenance (includes camper & Jeep).
$91 - laundry / misc.
$1174 - souvenirs (for me this is mostly gifts).
$103 - propane.
$119 - Jeep gasoline (I think this is not real accurate - probably actually higher).
$8,737 total expenses
And that's all I got until I get the bug to hit the road again.......
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/38961-Isuzu-NPR-HD-Truck-Camper-Build
On another subject, from time to time I'll get a PM regarding how much money I spend on my travels. I compiled this list from this past trip for another thread (therefore I used his categories) but I thought I'd post it here as well......just in case someone was curious......
$0- campgrounds.
$0- hotels.
$3846 - diesel fuel.
$1716 - food.
$539 - dining out.
$69 - tours/ fees.
$1,080 - truck maintenance (includes camper & Jeep).
$91 - laundry / misc.
$1174 - souvenirs (for me this is mostly gifts).
$103 - propane.
$119 - Jeep gasoline (I think this is not real accurate - probably actually higher).
$8,737 total expenses
And that's all I got until I get the bug to hit the road again.......
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Thanks for sharing, as always, Jerry. My wife and I love reading about your adventures. If you ever doubt that anyone cares, just know that for every one of us that posts up after reading, there are probably 50 that just read the posts and enjoy adventuring vicariously through the travels of you and others like you. My wife is fully onboard with this kind of travel, and threads like yours are a big part of what has convinced her to want to give it a go. Cheers to you, sir!
On another note, how long of a trip were you on for the expenses you posted up? That is very helpful to folks like me, just trying to wrap our heads around what this kind of stuff entails.
On another note, how long of a trip were you on for the expenses you posted up? That is very helpful to folks like me, just trying to wrap our heads around what this kind of stuff entails.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Thanks Jason..........It was a few days beyond (3) months. Typically my expenses are not this high when I do this type of travel. I spent so much time behind the wheel on this trip and normally I'd spent much more time just hanging out and enjoying my surroundings. As best I can recall the least I've spent while traveling is about $1,500 per month. Vic and I were just talking about this the other day and he typically spends less than that. There's so many variables. I hope that helps you guys out........
I just updated the expense report in the previous post as I had the windshield guy at my house this week replacing the windshields for the truck and the Jeep. Therefore my maintenance expenses actually increased by $382.......
Hey Park.........if you read this check out the link I've attached below........he's a highly regarded nature photographer based out of Jackson, Wyoming and his work reminds me of yours........
www.mangelsen.com
I just updated the expense report in the previous post as I had the windshield guy at my house this week replacing the windshields for the truck and the Jeep. Therefore my maintenance expenses actually increased by $382.......
Hey Park.........if you read this check out the link I've attached below........he's a highly regarded nature photographer based out of Jackson, Wyoming and his work reminds me of yours........
www.mangelsen.com
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parkkitchings
Adventurer
[QUOTE
Hey Park.........if you read this check out the link I've attached below........he's a highly regarded nature photographer based out of Jackson, Wyoming and his work reminds me of yours........
www.mangelsen.com[/QUOTE]
Jerry....thanks for the link. After going to the link I realized I've been in his gallery in Jackson Hole. He has some really great stuff albeit a little expensive. He shoots a lot of his stuff with large format cameras which is a whole different ball game. I could roam around in there all day as I just love wildlife photography. I'm in the process of maybe having some of my stuff I shot while in Alaska put on metal prints. Never have printed any of my stuff but thought it'd be nice to have something hanging on the wall to remind me of my travels. May be headed down south in a couple of months to visit my mom and do some more roaming about in the process. Maybe even all the way down to Key West. We'll see.
Hey Park.........if you read this check out the link I've attached below........he's a highly regarded nature photographer based out of Jackson, Wyoming and his work reminds me of yours........
www.mangelsen.com[/QUOTE]
Jerry....thanks for the link. After going to the link I realized I've been in his gallery in Jackson Hole. He has some really great stuff albeit a little expensive. He shoots a lot of his stuff with large format cameras which is a whole different ball game. I could roam around in there all day as I just love wildlife photography. I'm in the process of maybe having some of my stuff I shot while in Alaska put on metal prints. Never have printed any of my stuff but thought it'd be nice to have something hanging on the wall to remind me of my travels. May be headed down south in a couple of months to visit my mom and do some more roaming about in the process. Maybe even all the way down to Key West. We'll see.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Descending from the heights we met the first blade of grass and the first flower, and finally the slopes were hairy with sagebrush. Perhaps our passage from the cold upper reaches to the familiar earth had been too rapid; as I looked back at the lonely peaks, then at the huts and fields below where people groped their whole lives away, the raw contrast between the two filled me with sadness and anxiety. Torn between contentment and longing, caught between two worlds, one that had possessed me, yet could never be more than a passing phase, and that other which is a part of human existence, I yearned to retain my dual identity. I stopped walking, and the yaks passed me by, and the men. Pervez asked if anything was the matter. I replied that all was well, I was admiring the scenery.
Stones of Silence......Journeys in the Himalayas......George B. Schaller
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Wow Jerry, i have read your post from start to finish over the past week, awesome job. I have been looking to get out at do this for the past year or so and a few months ago i disided life is too short and i need to just do it. I should be ready(financial) by next may. Fingers crossed. I look forwared to reading your next installment. Keep up the great work. Love the poochs too! Here is mine. 
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
2wheelbob......sent you Pm......
galvyork.....thanks and retrievers are the best.....
In my first post of 2016 I quoted a passage from Stones of Silence Journeys in the Himalayas by George B. Schaller. I'll never forget the first time that I read this passage. I thought how amazing it was that someone could capture in words the way I feel nearly everyday of my life. I've read this passage a thousand times......I have no idea why. Sometimes I feel as though it's a curse that I can never be content with just living in a neighborhood like millions of other people. As far back in my life as I can remember, I've always had the yearning to travel endlessly. Yet, at the same time, I also have a yearning to do what so many other people seem to be capable of......just settling down in a nice home, being part of a community. I recall my first 'fix" when I was (18) and hitchhiked from Virginia to Florida, then flew to Venezuela and hitchhiked around northern South America & southern Central America. Then there was a stint in the Peace Corps in South America, followed by a (2) year road trip in a 72' Ford Bronco that took me to working in oil fields in Wyoming, then the suburbs of Seattle, and that eventually ended with me working in the mountains and the bush of Alaska.........
Fast forward...........
So, it was in 2012 that I made one of my first posts here on Expedition Portal. I had just sold my cabin, sold quite a few of my belongings, and rented a storage unit for the things that I'd decided to keep. I was so happy to be free of most responsibilities. I remember a few months after I had made that decision, I thought that it was a horrible decision and after (5) months of travel I returned home and purchased a new home. I think it was then that I really came to realize this "dual identity" that I live with. Well almost (4) years have passed since I made the first decision to go homeless and here I am again going homeless. I've sold my house again and in (12) days the dogs and I will be leaving the comforts of this wonderful home and hitting the road. Just like 2012, I can honestly say that I don't know where we are going. I find myself studying the weather and that's what will eventually determine our direction. I'm looking forward to getting back out there, and posting up here for those that may be interested........
galvyork.....thanks and retrievers are the best.....
In my first post of 2016 I quoted a passage from Stones of Silence Journeys in the Himalayas by George B. Schaller. I'll never forget the first time that I read this passage. I thought how amazing it was that someone could capture in words the way I feel nearly everyday of my life. I've read this passage a thousand times......I have no idea why. Sometimes I feel as though it's a curse that I can never be content with just living in a neighborhood like millions of other people. As far back in my life as I can remember, I've always had the yearning to travel endlessly. Yet, at the same time, I also have a yearning to do what so many other people seem to be capable of......just settling down in a nice home, being part of a community. I recall my first 'fix" when I was (18) and hitchhiked from Virginia to Florida, then flew to Venezuela and hitchhiked around northern South America & southern Central America. Then there was a stint in the Peace Corps in South America, followed by a (2) year road trip in a 72' Ford Bronco that took me to working in oil fields in Wyoming, then the suburbs of Seattle, and that eventually ended with me working in the mountains and the bush of Alaska.........
Fast forward...........
So, it was in 2012 that I made one of my first posts here on Expedition Portal. I had just sold my cabin, sold quite a few of my belongings, and rented a storage unit for the things that I'd decided to keep. I was so happy to be free of most responsibilities. I remember a few months after I had made that decision, I thought that it was a horrible decision and after (5) months of travel I returned home and purchased a new home. I think it was then that I really came to realize this "dual identity" that I live with. Well almost (4) years have passed since I made the first decision to go homeless and here I am again going homeless. I've sold my house again and in (12) days the dogs and I will be leaving the comforts of this wonderful home and hitting the road. Just like 2012, I can honestly say that I don't know where we are going. I find myself studying the weather and that's what will eventually determine our direction. I'm looking forward to getting back out there, and posting up here for those that may be interested........
Sierra Valley
Wander
Hit the road!!!! Looking forward to following along some more
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
ABCanuck....yea......there's a lot to be said for living a nice life in a nice home......but it's time to roll.......
ClayH.......not so sure about the great narrative thing but I'll do my best. I hope to pick up a new camera Thursday so yea maybe I'll have some good pictures......
Sierra Valley......yep.....time to hit the road again......
So it's been awhile since my last post but it looks like tomorrow night will be my first night in the camper and the beginning of my newest adventure. I've been busy getting a ton of work done to the truck. I guess that trip to the Arctic Ocean last summer did a lot of damage to the front end of the truck. Anyhow, $4,400 of work has been completed and hopefully we will have a safe trip ahead of us. I plan to do some camping locally for a few days and then head to a remote part of North America where it's still sooooo cold and snowy that I'm not certain that I can actually go there right now. I guess time will tell........
ClayH.......not so sure about the great narrative thing but I'll do my best. I hope to pick up a new camera Thursday so yea maybe I'll have some good pictures......
Sierra Valley......yep.....time to hit the road again......
So it's been awhile since my last post but it looks like tomorrow night will be my first night in the camper and the beginning of my newest adventure. I've been busy getting a ton of work done to the truck. I guess that trip to the Arctic Ocean last summer did a lot of damage to the front end of the truck. Anyhow, $4,400 of work has been completed and hopefully we will have a safe trip ahead of us. I plan to do some camping locally for a few days and then head to a remote part of North America where it's still sooooo cold and snowy that I'm not certain that I can actually go there right now. I guess time will tell........
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