My Journey

Riversdad

Active member
Really hope you don't leave the site. The first thing I check when I get on here is to see if you have made any new posts. You should realize that for most of us it's only a dream to be doing what you're doing and it's nice to be able to live vicariously through you.
Glad Tanner is alright. It's terrible to see your best friend in pain.
 

the deputy

Member
Basically the only post I check on a regular basis. Enjoyed your travels, sometimes I don't comment...because I'm lost for words. Your journey has taken you, and your pals, far and wide...and I've enjoyed every step.

Brian.
 
I tend to agree with what the others have already said. I enjoy your posts and I’m glad Tanner is doing well after his ordeal. I don’t post much here, but I check this site daily. If you decide to stop posting, I will understand. I just hope to be follow your other blog.
 
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Hey guys.....thanks for the positive feedback and let me emphasize that it's not something that I'm doing in the immediate future. I only mentioned it because I thought it was pertinent to furbuckets post. But I have started a second journal which is currently pretty much private so it's a lot of extra "work"......

I feel strongly that the creators of this website were looking to attract people that enjoy travel by vehicle and thats really not me so much although I guess I do my fair share of it. When Yukon and I were traveling on the bicycle, I would journal a bit on crazyguyonabike.com, when I climbed lots I utilized summitpost.org, and so on and on......

I have a plan in my head these days to embark on an epic hike of 5 to 6 months. But there's lot of work and planning to get to that point. I have to prove to myself that I'm even capable at this stage of my life. It may be even a year away, maybe more, if I can swing it. It doesn't seem fair to the owners of this site to post that sort of trip here.....
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
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Hey guys.....thanks for the positive feedback and let me emphasize that it's not something that I'm doing in the immediate future. I only mentioned it because I thought it was pertinent to furbuckets post. But I have started a second journal which is currently pretty much private so it's a lot of extra "work"......

I feel strongly that the creators of this website were looking to attract people that enjoy travel by vehicle and thats really not me so much although I guess I do my fair share of it. When Yukon and I were traveling on the bicycle, I would journal a bit on crazyguyonabike.com, when I climbed lots I utilized summitpost.org, and so on and on......

I have a plan in my head these days to embark on an epic hike of 5 to 6 months. But there's lot of work and planning to get to that point. I have to prove to myself that I'm even capable at this stage of my life. It may be even a year away, maybe more, if I can swing it. It doesn't seem fair to the owners of this site to post that sort of trip here.....
As long as you share your blog with us we will allow the change.



But seriously, just know your travels, pictures, and stories will be missed.

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ITTOG.....thank you.....



And finally the time had come to leave Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.....not something I was looking forward to but we were now out of water and low on food. My left leg was throbbing from knee to ankle.....and it was a really bad throbbing. I hadn't showered in over two weeks.....and the dogs coats were almost hardened like a gladiators armor from the build up of dirt and dust.....we needed a city.....and we needed water.....

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I'll miss this place.....and it's kind of funny, I guess, but I'm also really going to miss the dirt wash that was next to our campsite. I just couldn't figure out why, out here in the desert where everything everywhere seems to be sand and rock, that this one wash was all dirt. The dogs loved it so much.....it always had a damp, cool feel to it.....

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And that massive Sagaura cactus next to our campsite.....I loved that cactus.....

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Our last morning sunrise was spectacular as the sun rose over the mountains.....

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The howling coyotes that woke us during the night passed by early on our last morning.....

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Despite the relentless pain in my leg we walked one last time in the desert.....

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Long shadows from the early morning sun.....

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We hooked up the Jeep and drove south, stopped in Yuma, Arizona.....less than a two hour drive from our campsite. The first item on the to do list was swimming in the canal (dogs only)......

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The second item on the to do list was a long overdue almost hot shower at the local YMCA (me only).....

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Water.....amazing the way it transforms the body and the mind.....always so thankful for the water....

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Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
I’d be seconding, and thirding, and forthing..... all that’s been said before but I too would miss your posts if you move on. I do wonder what will you do with your dogs during this 5-6 month hike.

As you know I stopped at Kofa again. I had done a pretty expansive exploration there last January but stopped again this year returning from Baja in hopes of meeting you and your adventure dogs. You were out of there by then but I enjoyed an overnight stay in a side road #42. It’s an interesting spot with some natural water tanks and a cave with grain grinding holes inside.
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Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
I dont know how you can go 2 weeks without showering. I cant go more than 24 hours and I have to shower LOL.

When your just living with dogs it’s not much of an issue. I use baby wipes to stay reasonable clean. If you have to shower every 24 hrs your going to run out of water damn quick.


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ITTOG

Well-known member
I dont know how you can go 2 weeks without showering. I cant go more than 24 hours and I have to shower LOL.

When I am home I am exactly the same way. But when I am out camping I don't have to shower everyday. When I go to deer camp every year it is 9 days. There is no water other than a creek. I have bathed in the cold creek but I have also gone the entire time without jumping in. It is easy to bathe daily when it is readily available.
 
Ace.....I have few ideas on the dogs but not sure at this point and it's so far in the future.....at the moment my plans are nothing more than ideas.....

Clay / ITTOG.....yea, life without showers can just become a way of life I guess. Time seems to just pass by and before you know it it's been a few weeks. From my early years in the Peace Corps.....my road life as a young man.....my mountaineering trips.....RV life.....all have hardened me I think.....follow along and you'll see that others do the same.....



Now then, Yuma, Arizona certainly isn't a bad town but I will have to say that this place causes me quite a bit of anxiety. It was here in Yuma that I sold that Renegade motorhome after just a few short months of ownership, so it was here in Yuma that I lost a great deal of money. It was also in Yuma where I've had my worst interactions with city police not welcoming me.....as far as sleeping in the camper goes.....two straight years of being evicted. So after one night in Yuma we left early in the morning and continued driving south until we reached friendly San Luis, Arizona.....

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San Luis is a sleepy little border town where few RVers travel and its exactly the kind of town that I needed, to just lay low, and hopefully let my bum leg heal. I pulled into the San Luis Walmart parking lot, a place I knew well from my previous travels, and set up my little camp in the back lot where I knew nobody would care. People are decent here.....

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We had finally made it to the border with Mexico after months and months of traveling south. I love this little community where 98 % of the population is Latino, a statistic that came from the local border patrol. Most days here you will only see Latinos and rarely do you hear a word spoken in English. If you were blindfolded and dropped off here you would swear you were in Mexico.....

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This sign made me smile.....the reason I think is obvious.....

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People living in shacks like this sure do make me sad.....

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Old neighborhoods near the border wall.....

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The border wall has changed quite a bit from last year.....concertina wire is everywhere close to the center of the city and it certainly gives the feel of being in a prison.....more sadness at the border.....

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We walk into town lots and we walk along the border wall lots.....

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I have a goal during my stay here and it is a simple one.....heal the leg.....and maybe provide a little help to others.....

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Now this picture speak volumes.....the massive pile of concertina wire on the concrete barriers with the Mexican flag in the background.....

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People know I walk a lot.....and I walk in a lot of different places.....walking gives me time to think.....walking along this wall sure does make a man think.....
 

Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
If your planning to cross there here’s my recollection of crossing there fifteen years ago. The US side was easy. But once you cross there is almost no place to park while you get your FFM card. Then you have to transit a very busy and cramped town to get to the highway. Algondes was about the same. Still think Mexicali East is the best though again you have to get through Mexicali but at least your on modern streets even though the signs are confusing.

My trip to Baja I just completed was my last one. I have been south of the border ten times over 49 years and that’s enough. Actually eleven times, I had forgotten about a Copper Canyon Trip four years ago. The charm of Baja has faded over these many years. But I’m saddened to say that.

If you go I hope it’s a good trip and I’m looking forward to reading about your thoughts on Baja.


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Grenadiers

Adventurer
We used Mexicali West last January after hearing that it’s more suitable to big rigs. Not sure if you’re in that range, nor if the story was true. However, we were the only ones there that morning and was easy. Plenty of parking.
 

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