2008 Summer Journey

[GypsyRR]

And yes, there was fish caught. This is the day I mentioned earlier where I caught a fish and for the sake of a photo, I was negligent and the fish ended up dying because I did not know it had swallowed the hook. I felt really badly about that. I'm not like some sort of animal/fish/bird/amphibian/reptile rights activist, but I do have a tender heart when it comes to nature and seeing the fish I played with just for the sake of a photo, floating dead in the water - - - well, it made me feel pretty bad. If it had just happened naturally from trying to bring him in, that would be different. But I was negligent just for a photo, and in my opinion, that was wrong. So, I decided to be a lot more cautious about when I chose to photograph a fish on the line. I'll show you fish on the plate though, in a few more posts.


Caught here:




Pretty colors. Lake trout taste the best, I think

[GypsyRR]

Later in the day, the wind picked up and I was getting cold. I took off the waders and put on some jeans and a jacket and walked over towards this area to take some more photos.





While I was standing there looking at the different wildflowers and the sun casting orange rays on the mountains across the lake, I heard a rumble and felt the earth vibrating under my feet. Looking to my left I saw this





zooming in............. Cowboys!!!!




But that didn't explain the sound. I could tell they were watching behind me. I turned and saw this!!!! WHAT A SIGHT!!! Whoa! I think I'm in the way.










It took me a minute to get the camera to my eye, and I was shaking with excitement and trepidation all at once. I wanted the shot, but I wasn't sure if I was about to be stampeded. After I took those shots, I looked back toward the cowboys and saw them riding up quickly.




He turned the horses and they headed across a small creek to my left. I didn't have time to change settings or lenses or anything. I just shot photos. I wish I had been prepared for this. Later I found out that these are not wild horses. They are kept up in a corral during the day and then run out about the same time each evening to go graze in the pasture.


So here is a hodgepodge of photos I got of the horses crossing the little creek in various fashion. These are beautiful horses. I don't know anything about horses, but they seem to be very fine ones. Maybe a horseman out there could tell me if they are or not. A few of them have realy beautiful markings.


The various crossing methods of the horses amused me. It doesn't take much.











Here - I got a little closer:









look at this stretch





plop plop












And then one of the cowboys followed up after them and ran them into higher grazing areas to the west

[GypsyRR]

Earlier in the day, I had seen a cowboy taking some pack horses and mules up into the mountains. That was pretty cool too. Not as cool as the horses running down the hill, but definitely something I don't see everyday in my residential suburban neighborhood back home.







This kid looks pretty young and embarrassed that I'm taking a photo. Sweet.





I know these photos are not framed right, but there is something about them I like.








And then they were gone











That was my day at Brooks Lake. I went into Dubois to spend the night. I needed a shower after being at Gros Ventre for the past few days. More to come

[1MPH]

definitely something I don't see everyday in my residential suburban neighborhood back home.

How are you ever going to go home?

[GypsyRR]

[quote="1MPH"

How are you ever going to go home?[/quote]


I'm back in Texas at my house now Jack, but the acclimation is difficult and I would rather be traveling again. I just have a lot of catching up to do on the ride report, work, house stuff, emails, and future plans. Fortunately, I'm heading out this weekend on my R1150R if the weather is good to speak at a conference a couple of evenings. When I'm not on delivering my presentations, I'll be free to explore and ride again and find solitude away from the crowd during the day. maybe even fish a little again. And then the next month I'll be traveling/working internationally again. That will keep me on my journey and ease me back into everyday life a little better. Unfortunately November, December, and January look bleak and depressing!!!

[1MPH]

Unfortunately November, December, and January look bleak and depressing!!!

I'm sure you will find a way to overcome that and make it Bright and Cheery.

[MikeCam]

This one has your initial(s)...

[MikeCam]

And this one has your eyes!

[GypsyRR]

And this one has your eyes!

It's a mule!!! I have mule eyes???


If this Wiki description of mules is correct, then maybe, just maybe I won't mind having mule eyes.

The mule possesses the sobriety, patience, endurance and sure-footedness of the donkey, and the vigour, strength and courage of the horse. Operators of working animals generally find mules preferable to horses: mules show less impatience under the pressure of heavy weights, and their skin, harder and less sensitive than that of horses, renders them more capable of resisting sun and rain. Their hooves are harder than horses', and they show a natural resistance to disease and insects.

Mules are generally less tolerant towards dogs than horses. They are also capable of striking out with any of their hooves in any direction.

Mules exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than their parent species - horses and donkeys

[MikeCam]

Yes, they are wise!

[GypsyRR]

Nice save. (psssst. Thanks Doug)

[Doug]

I had nothing to do with it. Mike was nice all on his ownsome.

BTW, your pictures are awesome.

[GypsyRR]

Thanks Doug. It's been a lot of fun and I feel like I've learned a lifetime's worth of lessons in the few short weeks of travel.


Fish Cheeks. While I was in Wyoming, I spent two days fishing with a couple from Houston, Texas whom I have known for many years. They go to Dubois, Wyoming every summer for a month of fishing. It was Bill who taught me how to tie flies and who gave me a supply of feathers, thread, hooks, tinsel, fur etc to get started tying flies right away. . His wife, Darlene, loves to fish as much as he does, but prefers regular tackle. They know every river, lake, creek, stream up in that area. And they have stories that will keep you entertained for hours. I loved fishing with them and enjoyed eating the catch with them afterwards.



While in Wyoming, they always rent an efficiency type room. Bill knows a lot of recipes when it comes to fixing fish. My favorite is poached trout. He heats a pot of water with lemon, onion and dill, and then drops the cleaned fish into the boiling water until the meat starts to separate from the bone.



When I arrived at their room in town, I could smell the onion and dill wafting through the air outside their door. The aroma carried along wonderful memories of previous years with Bill and Darlene. No one could ever be an outsider or feel unloved in their presence! I could hear them both working in the kitchen, but Darlene was almost instantly at the door on my first rap. Welcoming me in, I joined them both in the tiny efficiency kitchen just off the main room.

The nice thing about fishing with Bill when you meet up with him in Wyoming, is that he always brings his fly tying table, vice, and a lot of material. He makes his flies daily, based on where he plans to fish the next day. That saves hundreds of dollars, and Bill is never stingy when it comes to handing out his 'tailor-made' flies suited for specific water, and specific conditions. So since the table was buried in special tools, feathers, fur, thread, hooks, and beads, we would eat outside on the patio at their backdoor. The back of the motel faces the Wind River. The rooms rent for $75.00/night which is a great deal with the addition of the kitchen and patio. You can walk right out your back door and fish.

I'm not sure who stays in those teepees



While I was helping to take things outside for dinner, I noticed two birds circling about me. This always gets my attention. I'm always on the lookout for a Redtail Hawk or a Peregrine. I didn't have a tripod with me, so the picture is kind of fuzzy, but I think it is a Red Tail Hawk. Pretty cool, isn't it? Darlene said that the two are 'a couple' and she had been watching them over the last couple of weeks trying to push their babies out of the nest and get them flying and on their own. None of these photos are very good, but it will give you an idea of the size of the bird. The first one is a little more clear than the others.









Pretty soon, everything was ready for dinner. ****WARNING**** The following food pictures are gross and may offend. This is the part you will want to skip, if you don't like food pictures. I'm warning you. It's not pretty. Turn away.

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There is a plate of fish set down in the center of the table. Fillets, and heads. (don't look)




Bill turned the dish so it was facing me, and yeah, I was a bit unnerved by the fish with the blank stare. White eyes are creepy. I was hesitant about taking a fish head, but Bill said fish cheeks were a delicacy and that I needed to experience the mild taste and texture of it. The cheek is the flesh/meat right in front of the gill plate; sort of where you would think the cheek would obviously be.



A blessing was said, and we filled our plates. This was quite different than the Mountain House MRE meals I had been eating for the past weeks. Fresh, and plenty!! I think I ate most of the cantelope by myself. I just could not stop. It was so good to have fresh fruit again. I ate everything on my plate and had seconds on the fish!!!

To eat the cheek, you just pull back the scales and the cheek just slides out. It is very delicious. Lake trout is very mild and has a wonderful flavor. The cheek was even better, being very mild, with a texture smooth as butter. These were not large trout, so it would have taken quite a few to make a meal on just cheeks. The cheek was about the diameter of a nickle or a quarter and 1.5-2 times as thick. Very delicate and tasty. In the picture you can see a little bit of where I've pulled back the scale to expose part of the cheek.








End of food pictures. You can open your eyes now and keep reading. hahahah


After dinner, we sat and had coffee and ice cream and talked for a couple of hours. I loved listening to the stories of their childhood and how Bill taught himself how to fly fish. He held the state record for brown trout in Texas for over 20 years. I can't remember the specs on the fish, but he caught it in the Guadalupe near New Braunfels, TX. What a story that is. It was a nice evening and the stories I heard coupled with the hospitality shared is one of those sweet, sweet memories that money could never buy. This was no resort. Dinner was not fancy. There was no room service nor waiters. No dinner music. None of us dressed up. There was no pretentiousness, nor selfishness. These were merely two people who saved all year and lived on a budget so that they could take one month from the year to come to Dubois, Wyoming to fish and enjoy each other in the company of nature and all it offers, and then freely share from that abundance, a simple meal with wandering souls who's lives are enriched from the stories they tell and kindness they offer. That a well lived life!

[1MPH]

Thanks Double R, the fish look good enough to eat and healthy too.

[GypsyRR]

Thanks, Jack. That's the only food picture from here on out, I think.


so catching up again.............


I have never been all the way through Yellowstone National Park. The times I've been in the area, I've always entered from the west side and am usually on my way to Dubois, so I have never seen the north part, or the east part. So I decided to take a day and go into the park, bring some fishing gear, and stop when I saw a good place, working my way clear around the park.

Bad decision. I think the frustrating day I spent in Yellowstone may rival the frustration I felt with the flies in Gros Ventre a few days before. The crowds!!! Horrible. But the road repair - even worse! In fact, every road in Wyoming that I traveled on, was under repair. And not just construction zones where you slow down a bit, but don't have to stop. These were construction zones that required you to stop, and wait for a pilot car to come through to get you and lead you across. I'm not kidding - every road in Wyoming that I traveled was like that at least one place along the route. Many in Colorado were the same, and in Utah and Montana too. I don't think I encountered it in Idaho though. I guess if you travel that many miles, you are bound to hit construction daily.

Here is a link to the routes I took in Wyoming:

Wandering Western Wyoming

I was surprised that there was so much construction in the park during peak tourist season. Nevertheless, I kept going, thinking I was going to see things that were equal in wonderment to the west's side rivers, meadows, waterfalls, geysers, and mud pots. Not so. I was really disappointed in that south eastern section of Yellowstone. Perhaps the traffic had something to do with my viewing of it.

Ugh.



Man, I sound like such an ungrateful soul, right now. I'm not, really. I was just disappointed after the things I had seen which were not even in the park. Places like the Flaming Gorge, Mesa Verde, Granite Creek, and the drive from Boudrant to Jackson along the Hoback, and the Gros Ventre Wilderness, and Brooks Lake, and the badlands around Dubois. All of those places out shined the southeast part of Yellowstone in my view. Plus, those areas were not congested with tourists. Tourists - alway looking, never seeing.

So that was my impression of the SE section of W. Yellowstone. About 20 miles of it was 25mph of gravel, bumper to bumper campers and cars. I wanted to turn around, but I kept thinking the 'big deal' is right around the bend. Nope. I finally turned back at the east exit. I wanted to ride along the Beartooth, but it too was under heavy construction, and I had my fill of that by that time.

The photos are not too bad though, but you can definitely tell the little beat up Nikon cool pix is about toast!.

Here I go - from Dubois, through SE Yellowstone:


I head out of Dubois






Leaving Dubois




Passing Brooks Lake area



Over the Togwotee Pass








UGH!!!




Sit, wait, talk to Stop Sign holder - a young girl who quit her job as a waitress because holding a stop sign pays better than holding plates. Apparently that's a real problem for restaurants in the area, she said. So much construction is going on, that it is hard for restaurants to keep waiters/waitresses. Ah - here comes the pilot truck. I'll follow him.




Definitely construction going on. Depending on which stop sign holder you talk to........ they are either widening 287 or they are simply making turnouts and turn lanes for a new development going in near the pass.




I left the Pilot Truck in the dust ..: and was on my way north toward the Tetons.

[GypsyRR]

Once I was in the Park, the traffic just got worse. I'm not really sure what day I was there - if it was a Sunday, Monday, Thursday or what. But it was crowded.

Here's a look at the SE section of Yellowstone when there was room to get a view








A lot of regrowth going on in Yellowstone after wildfires from years past.










And that's pretty much all I got to see. I turned around at the road that heads east out of the park, and started back to Dubois.








and I followed this guy and those in front of him the rest of the way at 25-45 mph. till I was out of the park. By then, it was starting to get closer to sunset.








Soooooo, you can see why I was frustrated with the way the day went. I was struggling to find things to keep my attitude positive. But I did come up with "good weather, no injuries, I'm still on my journey, life is good!!"

continuing

[GypsyRR]

I finally was out of the park, out from behind cars and breathing free again. ......... for a while.

I had to stop in Moran Junction to make a phone call to Bill and Darlene. They would worry about me if I didn't stop by and tell them about my day before dark. Turning on the phone is always hazardous to time. Text messages, and voicemails started buzzing in the short time I was stopped. More time spent. Finally, I left Moran Junction, traveling just a short distance and I found - oh yeah, road construction.... again. Don't those people ever sleep???



still at it



continuing




By the time I got over the pass, it was dusk, and my day was over.

I still view this day as my least favorite from my journey. I think it was just difficult for me to adapt to crowds again after being often in solitude for long periods of time and in virtually uninhabited areas for weeks prior to arriving in the midst of the vacationing mobs. I did not 'see' like I had been seeing in previous days. The journey had become vacuous, empty and void . I lost my bearings and doubt, as dark as night, had settled on me.

My impatience and irascible judgments throughout the day were evidence of a journey not yet complete. It's a lot easier to be at peace when no one is invading my space or stealing and wasting my time. So I decided the next couple of weeks needed to be dedicated to learning to not be so possessive of my space and time. After all, no one can invade or steal from me that which I freely give.

[GypsyRR]

A new day, a fresh outlook!

I met up with Bill and Darlene again in town around noon, after washing clothes and checking air pressure in the 14 tires I'm depending on during this journey. That takes some time - especially if they need air! We all decided to try fishing at Pelham Lake, thinking the mountains and heavy forest around it, might give us a break from the wind. Gusts up to 40 mph can cause havoc with fly line! I needed to finish a couple of things, so I would just meet them up there later.

Pelham Lake lies in the Wind River Mountain Range between Dubois (pronounced, Doo-Boys, and they will correct you if you try to sound French!!), and Brooks Lake. There are no markers for the lake, so here you go: Latitude: 434106N Longitude: 1095928W The lake is managed as a trophy cutthroat lake, and the fishing is usually pretty good. The area around the lake is strewn with lava rock and it sits at the top of Lava Mountain. Getting to it is not as easy as the other lakes I fished.





Once you get to the top of that hill, you are on foot, unless you can ride over lava rock on a steep descent to the lake - and then through thick forest around the lake. The banks of the lake are very narrow and steep. I've never been all the way around the lake, so I don't know if there is a place suitable for camping next to the water on the other side or not.





It is a beautiful area. The mountains you see in the background are the mountains that surround Brooks Lake which you can see in a previous post.









I found Bill and Darlene at the spot where we had planned. They were fishing!


Bill



And Darlene hides from the camera




The water was cold!! I had to wear waders with thermals and even still I was getting cold. The wind didn't help as it blew cold off the water. I didn't last too long. Bill caught some fish on the other side of the lake, but I decided the wind and cold were too much for me to enjoy fishing like that. So I took out my camera and had fun just looking at things much closer this day to see what I could see. I had my 90mm macro lens with me, which his my favorite lens to use.












They continued fishing, and I continued exploring.

Use your imagination. I see trees that look like people :lol3









Pretty soon Darlene was cold too. They hiked on out and left. I stayed a while longer and then headed out as well. Some parting shots.









The sun slipping on the horizon makes this mountain pine beetle infested forest almost look like a autumn color scene from the east. But this was July - and those beautiful rusty colored lodgepole pines are d-e-a-d!




more later

[bmwdave52]

Once again...very nice.

[GypsyRR]

Double Cabin is one of my favorite places in the Dubois, Wyoming area. I've been up there a couple of times and have always wanted to go back. Being able to take a bike up there this time added to it's appeal. It's amazing how different things appear from the seat of a bike, instead of a truck/car.

You get to Double Cabin by taking Horse Creek Rd till it ends. It starts right in town, and ends at the convergence of Frontier Creek and the Wiggins. Here is a map:




The first 2-3 miles are paved. After that, it's dirt for maybe 15-20 miles. The area is very popular for horseback riding, and you will always see horse trailers up there.

Here's a couple of shots of the dirt road heading up. The altitude reaches 8500' after starting out at about 7000' in Dubois.












The first good spot to stop for fishing would be Horse Creek. There are grizzly bears around here, so I always take spray with me when fishing along Horse Creek as well as Double Cabin. Here is the crossing at Horse Creek, as well as Horse Creek itself. There is a camping area here too.








And a really nice ranch along here as well, before the road starts getting a little more rough and steeper






And then the ride starts to get more fun. There are 3-4 steep switch backs, which are a lot more exciting on dirt than pavement!!











You keep climbing, and eventually start to see where you are heading:



















Next - photos up river.