My Journey

[tgil]

Speaking of boots, I meant to ask the other day when you had posted the pic of 3pr (I think it was?), they obviously perform well. What are they?
Still envy your way of life!
We made a run down the highway yesterday afternoon, hoping to get a pic of Scout in the wheat I'd seen weeks before. I had it all laid out in my head, with the setting sun in the background. It was a bust! Wheat had either been cut or just wasn't tall enough yet? We've seen some great sunsets lately, and had really high hopes.


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[ghostdancer]

As the country burns, I envy your lifestyle more every post you write. We are in the process of planning our summer route in our motor home, towing our Jeep. Rioting on top of the virus does not make things easy. We do like to hit the occasional big city to enjoy a concert and take in the local entertainment scene. Last year it was, Denver for a Nathaniel Rateliff and a Dave Matthews concert. Santa Fe, Austin for the funky music scene, New Orleans for the Jazz and Blues scene, saw a Tab Benoit concert there. This time around, the theme will be, avoid the city.

 

[longhorn1]

Great photos. The snow looks great. Normally I wouldn't want to see it, but it brings you cooler temps. Montana at last?

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Tgil.....the boots are made by La Sportiva and the model name is Nucleo High GTX. I like the boots quite a bit and they have done me well. I will say that in my opinion it's the fit of the boot that matters most so just because I like it doesn't mean that you will. I was wearing a lighter boot made by Asolo previously and when they quit manufacturing that particular boot I switched to these. I loved the Asolo boot just as much as I do these. In between I tried several other boots but the fit just was not right for my feet. I purchase my boots from REI and they allow you to return boots within one year no matter your reason. I take full advantage of that offer until I find the proper fitting boot.....

ghostdancer.....yep, it's a sad state of affairs in this country right now (and has been for quite awhile). I feel so fortunate at the moment to be able to live the lifestyle that I do and I feel insulated from much of what is going on out there. It's as if there's this alternative world out there that I thankfully am not living in. I'm currently looking at land to build on and even that is very remote. I'm not certain that I'm ready to return to that other world or if I ever will.....

JD.....it's good to be home.....



After our climb of Elkhorn Peak I would have to say that I was really stoked to get back out there and climb another peak. I got onto the internet and began to research mountains that would be somewhat close to our planned route as we headed north. I was on Google Maps when I saw "40 Horse Cave" and then I thought no to another mountain.....let's explore a cave. Our drive north, and then east, took us through the town of Blackfoot, Idaho.....



It was a sleepy little town to the east of the interstate......not exactly on our planned route north.....we really did not care.....



And I'll have to admit that it was this giant potato along Main Street that forced me to make a stop and walk the quaint small town streets.....




We continued driving east and left the flat lands behind and drove just north of the Blackfoot River, followed its meanders, and here the mountains began to rise again. In a canyon we crossed paths with these cowboys moving their cattle along Wolverine Road.....





Rather than push my way through the herd of cattle I decided to lay back and watch the cattle drive as it evolved.....





The herding dogs were absolutely incredible to watch as they worked the herd of cattle and kept them moving along.....





I must have followed them for 15 minutes and never once saw the cowboys do a thing. As a matter of fact at one point they were actually following my rig down the road. I even got a "hey, love your stickers" comment from one of the cowboys.....we finally moved on.....we had a cave to explore.....

 

[Arjan]

Love these last pictures !

Yes - most of the times it seems the handlers are not doing anything and that usu. works best as the dogs know what they're doing. Also, bein on the horse all day and behaving ike a maniac doesn't work well most times.

FYI :

It seems we're getting a quarter horse next month here - once the travel bans are relaxed - from Holland into France. We have them and the local farmers always want us to work their cattle with them..... I was told it is mine and need to ride it. A lot.

Oh dear.

Please keep them coming.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I sure miss being on a horse right now, this was a few days prior to leaving for my current contract.


And what seems like a lifetime ago, moving em out of the bull pen

 

[ITTOG]

I would have loved to see those dogs work the cattle. I bet that was an awesome experience. It is amazing how smart some breeds are. I have never been around retrievers, are they a smart breed.

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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Arjan.....have fun with your new horse.....

PNWY.....cool pictures.....it must be difficult to trade that life for South Carolina life.....

ITTOG.....yes, they are an intelligent breed.....and they sure do make a great best friend.....



We drove deep into the canyon and soon began to notice multiple cave entrances high up in the rock cliffs.....







I didn't know too much about 40 Horse Cave prior to our arrival but the name alone had me excited to see what we would see.....






When I see the word "cave" I'm immediately thinking that this place has a deep cavern. But unfortunately this was not the case here.....





This cave got its name simply because 40 horses would fit within its walls.....





I love nature without the works of modern man.....the first thing you'll notice long before you enter the cave is that people have come here and have ruined this natural wonder.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The sheer volume of graffiti was nearly impossible to believe.....







Wolverine Creek, which runs right along Wolverine Road, was a convenient spot to discard empty paint cans.....I found several cans floating in the creek.....no doubt many more had flowed down Wolverine Creek into the Blackfoot River which was a few miles downstream.....





There was a smaller cave on the opposite side of the canyon and there I found the same thing.....





I just don't get what it is that motivates these people.....





I decided not to camp in the canyon that night so we backtracked on Wolverine Road and spent that night on what I believed to be the ranchers land.....it was beautiful here as well with the Blackfoot River running just to the south of our campsite and the cliffs above the river provided us a nice place to walk and to view the untouched lands.....

 

[halseyt]

How many years will pass for trash to become artifact and graffiti to become pictograph? All left behind by a primitive culture...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Its kinda terrifying to think, cave graffiti is how we could be remembered...


I am working in a small Alaska " town" now. Egegik ( E ge gek) in Bristol Bay, missing home in Eastern Oregon. I will be here working daily until end of August. I was in South Carolina for a Covid-19 contract for a few weeks.

 

[Sierra Valley]

Humans bring the suck. Stay out in the back roads Jerry!

 

[JaredEggo]

That was in fact Queen Ann's Lace in the photo. I'm really enjoying your posts. I've only been on this site for about a month. I'm really looking forward to being able to start my own journey soon, hopefully within the next year.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

halseyt.....sadly it will probably be much sooner than any of us thinks is possible. Sometimes I picture my 7 year old granddaughter and what the future will bring to her.....honestly.....it can bring a tear to my eye.....

PNWY.....and that is good news as I'm certain it's a good place to be right now.....

Sierra Valley.....that is sound advice for sure. You know it's funny cause in my travels I meet so many amazing, friendly, wonderful people and then I wonder how it is that there is also this segment of our society that is so disrespectful and downright disgusting. Make sure to have a look at my very last comment and picture in this 2 part post.....

JaredEggo.....welcome & thank you.....I hope to read about your travels one day.....there's so much to see and so much to do.....thanks for posting up as I enjoy and appreciate all the feedback that comes my way.....



It was early in the morning when we left our camp above the Blackfoot River behind and drove west, then drove north, and again west, and again north.....





I'm not sure how many turns we made nor how many rural Idaho backroads we took that early morning.....







But eventually those backroads took us to Idaho Falls, Idaho and as this was not my first visit here, I had a plan in my mind for that afternoon and for the evening as well. The Snake River runs right through the middle of town so it was here that I had planned to hang out for a day.....maybe even two.....





There's a beautiful paved walkway along the river.....maybe a few miles long.....and it was peaceful & calm here.....Tanner & I, we walked it multiple times.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We walked from the south of town and headed north to where the paved trail passes the waterfalls that give the city its name.....



It's the width of the falls here that make it magnificent.....only 20 feet in height but 1,200 feet in width. I couldn't help but marvel at the placement of this sign.....and I wondered would someone actually go into the river at this point.....



The LDS church combined with the falls was quite magnificent too and I found it difficult not to photograph over and over.....







That church seemed to be in damn nearly every photograph that I took that day.....







Although I did get one of Tanner riding a horse.....



Before leaving town we headed over to the dump station at the city park on the southside of town. I had just finished dumping my tanks when this guy pulls up and dumps his tanks without using a sewer hose.....it had to be one of the most disgusting things that I'd ever seen......just one more example of how low a man can go.....