My Journey

Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
When was the last time those kayaks got their bottoms wet? Seems like it should have been pretty good paddling there. Shouldn’t Trapper earn her sea legs?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Arjan

Fossil Overlander
Thanks again for the brilliant pictures..

Love the write up - you really should consider making this into a book.

If only an e-Book..

You're making me so much wanting another Golden again....

Stay safe !
 

longhorn1

Observer
Several months ago I made the decision to go with a new 2021 Ford F550 gasoline engine 4 x 4 crew cab with lots of planned aftermarket upgrades & I definitely wanted to keep my Northern Lite truck camper to mount on that truck......so I gave the Ford dealer in Bozeman, Montana a call and started the process of yet another "build".....

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Now it turned out that Ford had already quit taking contracts on 2021 models yet this salesman in Bozeman, Montana was still pushing me to put down a deposit. Fortunately I connected with Daniel Little at DBL Design somewhere down south in Texas. Now this guy is first rate.....he responds to all calls and emails in a timely fashion and he knows his stuff really well.....when I apologize for taking up too much of his time.....he replies "it's my job, don't worry".....

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Daniel connected me with a Ford truck salesman (Dan Munro @ Grand Prairie Ford) down there in Texas and this guy has 35 years experience selling trucks.....I was impressed.....and as a side note he loves Golden Retrievers.....

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So now the plan was to order a 2022 Ford F550 in Texas, and in 3 or 4 months when the truck arrives, then have it delivered to DBL Design for suspension upgrades, Fox shocks & upgraded coil springs, heavy duty bumper with 16,500 pound winch, fender flares and 41" wheels / tires, and some other stuff.....

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Unfortunately we've run into a huge problem and that huge problem is finding an appropriate location to install a full size spare. We've gone round and round for the past 2 weeks.....I've come up with 4 options.....none are really viable. Ford will begin accepting contracts on 2022 models on March 18th.....not sure that I can move forward with such a huge question unanswered.....a full size spare is, of course, mandatory.....

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Can't someone fabricate a swing out spare tire holder, maybe with a custom rear bumper? Something that wouldn't interfere with towing the jeep. Finally back from a month in Texas and getting caught up.
 

longhorn1

Observer
PNWY.....thanks.....unfortunately I had a mix up with the pharmacist (long story) and she canceled my second dose appointment. There's always a battle to be fought.....

tgil.....lots of unsettled weather these past few weeks have made for some beautiful skies.....thanks.....

Riversdad.....it's been a difficult 2 months for sure watching the behavior of the vast majority of the people that come here. Here I speak fact.....first hand observations. The biggest offender here is the fisherman.....as a whole, they seem to have no real respect for the environment. Second to them are the people that come here and stay in their cars, tents, and overlanding vehicles. They have no toilet facilities and under the secrecy of the dark skies (and sometimes even in broad daylight) they lay their human waste and toilet paper damn near anywhere and everywhere.....it's difficult to see.....

ITTOG.....Lake Mead is massive and Government Camp / Point is just a tiny portion of what there is to see. I would recommend a visit to Lake Mead.....just avoid this place (although the coyotes here are amazing !). I've stayed here for way too long and it's had an effect on me.....but it has served a purpose.....and here is why I stayed:

1.) Unlimited free camping.

2.) Free dump & free water 10 minutes away.

3.) Henderson, Nevada is a 15 minute drive away and all the conveniences of a big city are there (groceries, fuel, propane, $2 hot showers, etc.).

4.) The dogs loved swimming at the lake.

5.) Walking on fairly flat hard surfaced gravel roads to assist in healing the pulled groin muscle.

6.) Getting Trapper spayed.

7.) Getting my Covid-19 vaccines.

8.) Getting my truck tags delivered (that took 3 months due to Covid-19 !).

9.) Amazing Verizon service here.

10.) I got lazy.



Sunday evening I decided to return to the lake still undecided if I would stay the night or just grab my things and hit the road. The decision was easy as I arrived at my campsite that evening and less than 100 feet away was a construction generator attached to an old RV.....that sound enough to drive me to instant insanity.....

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I yelled to the owner of that generator "hey.....you can have my campsite if you'd like. I'm moving on". As I pulled out, he was preparing to move in.....I left him firewood and we wished each other well.....

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I had hooked up the Jeep, got my water & tools and was ready to move on down the road.....it'd been 2 months.....full of good and bad days. Before leaving I looked at my campsite and recalled the mess that was here when I had initially arrived.....eight firepits now gone.....trash removed.....the entire area restored and covered with maybe thousands of stones that I thrown into that previously disturbed area.....

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Plants had begun to rise up from the land which was once filled with tire tracks, glass, metal, and what not.....

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I had restored such a small area here on the western shores of Lake Mead. Sadly thousands of people will come here in the coming days and the vast majority of them will continue to abuse these lands.....I wonder if these new plants have a chance.....

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While I was away the United States Park Service had come in and graded new ditches & built berms along that nearly 2.5 mile asphalt access road where I had spent 4 days picking up trash.....

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My guess is that this is an annual event.....soon enough the ATV's will breach the berms & ditches.....they will be followed by the four wheel drive vehicles.....and eventually new roads will have been built across those very ditches & berms.....and then the RV's will come too and illegal campsites will be rebuilt.....

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On our last walk at the lake a coyote spied us from a ridgeline above.....

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March is the month when the coyotes give birth to their new litters.....

"A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven".....

Pete Seeker

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Love that song
 

longhorn1

Observer
How long has it been since you strolled through a town? Seems like forever! The mention of the rodeo put a smile on my face, as I remember your previous posts about them.
Maybe you could've asked one of those cowboys or cowgirls if they thought that heel-o-matic could help with that pulled muscle? ?
I had a smile also. Thought back to the last rodeos?
 
ITTOG.....thanks.....

Alan.....the guy at the Watercraft Check Station just asked me the same thing last week and I said I don't actually remember when & where the kayaks were in the water the last time.....and yea she should but it'll probably be up north later this year.....or maybe not.....

Arjan.....thank you.....I've always appreciated your positive input.....

JD.....I have given up on the idea of the Ford F550 and traveling to South America and I'll explain to you and everyone that follows this thread why.....


I've spent the last 2 months trying to figure out how to build out a nice F550 with my Northern Lite truckcamper and the whole idea became super stressful, overwhelming and it is just more than I am willing to take on while living on the road. And there was quite a bit more that went into the decision in not buying the Ford F550 than that.....

I have become very delusioned with this lifestyle and find that much of the pleasure that I experienced years ago when I first started out are no longer here today. The sheer volume of people that are out here now has pretty much spoiled the experience for me anymore. Peoples behaviors and their actions are often contrary to the way I believe.....

Then there's the whole Covid-19 thing.....while we in the United States are finding vaccines relatively easy to get, that's just not the case in places like South America. Would I really want to return to South America with my vaccines and a smile on my face while these people are struggling to get on with their lives ? The answer for me is simple.....no. The world is not fair.....I love the people, the culture, the food, the music, the land.....I love South America way too much to treat it with such disrespect. So I'll have to be satisfied with my fond memories of my wonderful years of my past.....



Next stop Las Vegas, Nevada to get suspension repairs done.....

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Tom & Kelly told me that they had an excellent experience here at Skips so I decided to give them a try. At some point in 2020 I had bent the steel plate and the carriage bolts that are associated with my Firestone airbags. So Skips did the repair.....

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While he had the truck on the rack I decided to get a set of helper springs added to beef up the rig a little bit.....

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Now this entire operation took nearly an entire day and since Skips is less than a mile from the Las Vegas strip, we decided to take a walk.....

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As far as cities go, the Las Vegas strip has always been one of my favorite spots to walk so it was a stroke of good luck for sure.....

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We walked all morning.....we got in 8 miles before we stopped for lunch and also had a cool drink at the waterfalls.....

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We began our walk early in the morning and there were few people out there.....I sure was surprised that afternoon when the strip was filled.....so we returned to the safety of Skips garage.....

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We hung out in the shade and passed the afternoon away.....

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A guy pulled up in this rig looking to get his suspension upgraded as well....

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I felt real bad for the 71 year old owner as he told me his story.....not good.....

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We spent that night in a Walgreens parking lot as I had a 9:00 a.m. appointment for my second vaccine.....this was the last thing on my To Do List. We awoke early to find a pool of gasoline underneath the Jeep.....and a steady drip, drip, drip of gasoline coming from the tank.....this would be a game changer for me.....

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I checked the Jeeps gas gauge and realized that I had a half a tank of gasoline that needed to be burned up quick.....

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So we spent the morning riding around Vegas.....the To Do List continues. We did spot this unusual rig while out wandering around. I often say my Northern Lite is built like a boat.....maybe not.....

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This mural kind of explains where my mind is these days.....

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GregSplett

Adventurer
Covid has turned things beyond upside down. The amount of people out these days is largely because of covid and there being less to do in town and people not wanting to be in denser populations where the Rona is Lurking. Here on the olympic penninsula the mountains have become a mad house. I went out with an old fishing buddy two weeks ago to scout out some lakes and ended up with two rigs full with twenty three bags of garbage. Two years ago these lakes would see minimal visitors. One requires a special permit and people have carved a back way in with their quads and destroyed it. Last summer the Forest service actually shut down areas because of over use and abuse. I heard that they are actually going to blow up party rock on lake Cushman to hopefully reduce the attraction to the area. I understand the hurt in your heart my friend. Luckily I enjoy what I do for living and can burry my head there and I have a new pup myself that brings us much needed joy.
 
Greg.....well said.....

ITTOG.....yes, I did manage to get the second vaccine. Nevada really opened up and just about anybody could get vaccines by then.....



We drove north out of Henderson, Nevada with spring quickly being replaced by summer. We made a last stop at Lake Mead.....the main purpose of that stop was to fill the twenty some water jugs and also to empty the grey & black tanks. It was hot that day so we stopped for a swim in the cool, clear water. Kids in the lake were loving on the pups that unfortunately had to stay on the leash (those abandoned fishing hooks you know).....

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We ended up camping there near Lake Mead one last night and the following day we continued north. We hiked a little and climbed a small mountain not too far from the lake.....

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I had mixed feelings that day.....for months the plan had been to head back to Bears Ears & Escalante but with the Jeep out of commission that idea was quickly nixed.....

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Trapper got her second mountain summit.....

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Tanner.....who knows.....I never bothered to count.....

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Once I got my proof of summit shots (why ? I have no idea) the dogs retreated to the shade provided by the summit rocks.....

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Me.....I just kind of stood up there on that mountain summit and marveled at all the beauty before my eyes.....

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I wondered where the highways would take us next.....I knew we would go north yet I did not know where.....

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We worked our way back down the mountain.....

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I believe these were the first summer flowers that I had seen blooming in the desert.....

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We drove north on the interstate and finally left Nevada behind.....

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It was certainly hot that day as the trucks thermometer displayed 99 degrees.....

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Unlike the truck camper, the truck has air conditioning.....and we are thankful for that.....

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If we're traveling on hot days I always drive in the heat of the day.....and I drive slow (maybe too slow) as we languish in the cool air.....

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Arizona is simply a piece of real estate along the highway.....thirty minutes later we cross back into Utah.....three months spent in Nevada.....

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And we are quite pleased to be back on the road again.....

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longhorn1

Observer
We will be in Montana from approximately 8/7 to 9/10. Decided to move things up from our usual September to October. Looking for a little warmer night temperatures. Guessing we will have the mosquitos. Guess we will see. Mostly state parks, Yellowstone NP, and USFS campgrounds, along with my cousins cabin on the Boulder, into Park County out of Big Timber. Would be great to say hi if we are in the same area.
 
Arjan.....yes, of course......thank you.....

JD.....you just never know.....Alan would probably say "Good luck with that idea. That guy never settles down". But who knows really ? Thanks.....



We have now been on the road for nearly 4 years and honestly it's beginning to take its toll. Some people do this for much longer periods of time.....and others, of course, do it for much shorter periods. I guess we all have our comfort levels.....each of us that walk the earth are unique and for me I may have reached that point.....

Much of my changing attitudes are certainly due to the changing environment out here living life on the road. The things I'm seeing, many of the people I meet now.....let's just say it might be time to move on.....


We arrived in St. George, Utah and with no real destination in mind at this point.....we pulled into town and did our best to be unnoticeable and we "stealth" camped right in town. A few days later we continued north.....but not far north and we stopped in Hurricane, Utah and spent the night at Tractor Supply by special invitation from the staff. The following morning we climbed a small peak.....

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Initially we started up the wrong trail and headed into Frog Hollow.....

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Real pretty in there but our goal was to climb.....

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We backtracked, figured out the way up, and began our trek up the most God awful trail built by man.....

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Eventually we made our little summit.....Mollies Nipple (4,590') and the views I thought were spectacular from the top of that mountain.....

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I'll never know what my draw is to the top of every mountain that I happen to see.....but it seems as though any mountain that I encounter brings me the same happiness.....even one with a God awful trail such as Mollies Nipple.....

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I took pictures of my best friends on the summit as they were only interested in resting in the shade.....

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The weather was saying "go north my friends and don't waste another day" and so it was that we listened to the weather and we drove north.....

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