Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Memorable Places and Faces

Take a look outside today and all you will see is snow.  The snow and cold really limit what we can do this time of year, so I doze on my dog bed while Dangerous reads.  I dream about our past adventures while Ole Dangerous begins planning new ones.  I have already heard him talking about a backpacking trip in early May on the Escalante River.  I'm sure this trip will be only one of many we take when the weather warms up a bit. While we patiently wait for spring, Dangerous sits at his desk looking at pictures from our past adventures and eagerly anticipating a break in the weather.  I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the places and faces from our previous trips.

Utah and Iowa -- Dubois, Wyoming
Trip to Pickup "Gennie"
 Definite Signs of Spring
Baby Quail in the Pasture

Cow Elk with Their Babies
Boulder Mountain
May Riding
Zion National Park
Summer Thunder Storm
Boulder Mountain
Lunch Break
Yellowstone National Park
"Grover Boyz'" Picnic
Wildcat Guard Station
Nesting Osprey
Grand Tetons National Park
Anasazai Indian Ruin
Southeastern Utah
Big Buck
Capitol Reef National Park
Bill's Cabin
 Kolob Mountain
Flat Top Mountain
Wind Rivers
A complete review of the past year isn't practical in the space available.  However, I thought you might enjoy seeing in one place some of the many places we visited.  As you can see, all these places are remote and beautiful, and usually can only be reached on foot or by horse.  Here's looking forward to another great year, and many more outdoor adventures.  Happy New Year!!!!!

 

 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Dog Who Saved Christmas

Pick up any newspaper and you will read about a brave dog performing a heroic act.  In almost every issue, there is a story about some family's faithful dog waking them before everyone is consumed in a raging house fire.  Most of you are familiar with movie stars like Lassie who saves Timmy after he falls down a well, or who can watch the movie Old Yeller without shedding a few tears.  There isn't a dry eye in the theater when Old Yeller is shot after his savage fight with a rabid wolf that threatened his family.  Well, I'm here to tell you that you should celebrate me along with those other famous dogs because I'm the pooch who saved Christmas!

The Grinch
You might think that the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" is a fairy tale, but I'm here to tell you that around the Parasite Ranch it's a historical fact and not a children's story.  Everyone knows how difficult Ole Dangerous can be on a good day, well, you ought to try dealing with him during the Christmas season.  His ill temper shines through like no other time of year.  Wish him a Merry Christmas, and you will get "I hate Christmas!"  Ask him to help decorate the Christmas tree, and he will tell you "I'm not interested!"  Request help putting up outside lights, and you will probably hear "Do it yourself!"  That attitude wouldn't be so bad if he lived alone, but his wife of 43 years loves Christmas.

Rudolph, Trea, and Unidentified Reindeer
A quick look around our humble home will give you an idea about what sparks the annual conflict between Trea and Dangerous.  Wrapped and unwrapped gifts cover every inch of available space.  Christmas decorations are scattered everywhere, and Christmas music is constantly playing in the background.  Max and I have to suffer the indignity of wearing Christmas costumes.  If you can't tell for sure, Max is dressed as Rudolph, and I am suppose to be one of Santa's other reindeer which one I'm not sure.  As you can see, Trea really loves Christmas.

Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!!
Without my help, open conflict might completely ruin the holiday season for us.  To restore peace and good will, I used an interesting strategy this year.  First, I reminded Dangerous that it's me and not him that have to wear the silly set of reindeer antlers which usually gets him to crack a slight smile.  Next, I tell him that December is actually his favorite holiday season.  December 21 is the Winter Solstice which means the days are getting longer and spring isn't that far off.  Finally, if all else fails, I tell him that the Mayan's might have been right and the world will end four days before Christmas.  That one really puts a smile on his face, and you think dogs are stupid!



This year I decided to give a few lucky readers a gift from me.  With the help of Dangerous' son Ben, a graphic artist, I designed a High Plateau tee shirt which is free to anyone interested while the supply lasts.  Drop me a comment or contact Dangerous, and I will see that you get one, but you have to act fast before they are all gone.  Merry Christmas!!!!








Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Big Sky, Big Water, and Big Mountains

For years, I have listened to Dangerous tell stories about the interesting cast of characters who appear regularly in my blog.  You're familiar with most of them Utah Jack, Fremont Bob, Walking Horse Bill, Mississippi Max, Nature Dan, Iowa Holm, and many others.  While they all live in the present maybe with the exception of Fremont Bob, there is another fictional group of characters who constantly haunts Dangerous' thoughts and who always accompany us on our wilderness adventures.

I spend my time during the cold winter months listening to Dangerous recite the travels and adventures of Dick Summers, Jim Deakins, and Boone Caudill.  They arrived in the west during the early 19th Century, traveling up the Missouri River on a keel boat.  Their lives are chronicled in three volumes The Big Sky, The Way West, and Fair Land Fair Land that Guthrie wrote in the 40's, 50's, and 70's.  While waiting for the grass to green up, Dangerous and I spend our time rehashing our past adventures and A.B. Guthrie's excellent fictional accounts of the early west.  If Dangerous could pick a time and place to live eternally, it would be as a character in one of Guthrie's novels.  Short of living in a fictional work, he travels back in time each riding season when he horse packs in the Teton Valley to experience big sky, big water, and big mountains.

Tetons
The Tetons are probably one of the most photographed places on earth.  Show this picture to just about anyone and they will instantly recognize it as one of the Tetons towering above Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  While a beautiful view from the highway, few get to experience directly what it was like to travel this remote back country 175 years ago.  You get some sense of what Dick, Jim, and Boone experienced if you load up a pack horse and ride 30 miles up Pacific Creek away from any oiled road.

Big Sky and Big Mountains
I suspect this might have been one of the views that Dangerous' three heroes saw as they hunted beaver in what is now the Bridger-Teton Wilderness area.  I doubt that the view has changed much since 1840, and the place names create a strong connection with the past.  You can almost sense the presence of Dick, Jim, and Boone when you ride up Pacific Creek to Two Ocean Pass.  Watch closely as you cross the Continental Divide and you can almost see the three of them riding their small Indian ponies out in front of you as you start down Atlantic Creek.  The one thing that definitely has not changed is the absence of people.  According to Dangerous, you can ride for days without seeing another human being other than ghosts from the past if you are a romantic like him.

Crossing the Yellowstone River
The same big water that A.B. Guthrie's protagonists faced is still there.  Even today, crossing the Yellowstone River on a horse is an adventure.  Dangerous tells me that his heart was pounding when he and Dottie waded into what was supposed to be a shallow ford.  Bill and Rich were off just a bit and the water washed over the backs of their horses in places.  The pack horse, Blue, decided he wasn't interested and broke loose and returned to the near bank causing all the riders to cross twice.  I suspect that Dick, Jim, and Boone had their problems with Yellowstone Country's big water as well.
Mariposa Lake
The horses and equipment have changed some over the years, but not the views.  I doubt that our 19th Century travelers had ever seen a Walking Horse, but they probably used something similar to the sawbuck packsaddle seen on Blue to haul all their goods.  Dangerous likes to believe that his three heroes probably stopped right here to admire Mariposa Lake and all the green grass for their horses.  Hopefully, all the beautiful wildflowers helped to brighten their mood like they did for our weary, contemporary wilderness travelers.
More Water
Even though Dangerous likes to dream about Big Sky Country, our real home is on the High Plateau.  What passes for a river in Canyon Country probably wouldn't be found on the map in the Teton Valley.  I have enough trouble crossing the Escalante River during the dry season, so I am not really interested in trying to follow Dangerous across the Yellowstone River without a boat or life jacket.  I prefer to stay home when he visits the big water country surrounding Yellowstone National Park.  Love to hear from you!
  

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Grover Gets Indoor Plumbing

You've heard the old saying that "love can move mountains."  Well, I am here to tell you that love can also build an indoor bathroom.  For years, Grover has had an outhouse, but no more.  After almost 27 years, the well beaten path to the privy will only be trod in winter or during an emergency.
Rosie Surveys the New Sewer Line
 
As the "Grover Boyz" age, they have discussed putting in a septic system to avoid the treacherous walk to the outhouse.  Negotiating the rocky path in the dark or winter has never been easy, and some visitors are really fearful of making the trip in the dark.  Mountain lions, bears, or other wild critters are imagined behind every pinion or juniper lining the path waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting visitor with a full bladder or bowel.  Dangerous wanted to do something about the hazardous trek a year ago, but Utah Jack who you know is quite frugal (CHEAP!!) wasn't interested.  Well, all that changed when someone more important than Dangerous in Utah's life decided she wanted an indoor facility.
Septic Tank and Future Parking Area
 
To satisfy his pressing demand, Utah immediately came up with an inexpensive (CHEAP!!) solution.  He proposed hand digging a septic system with a 55 gallon, perforated drum for the tank.  Understanding the pressure Utah was under, Dangerous was willing to go along with an indoor bathroom, but not one that violated county health codes and rules.  The Grover architectural committee met and finally agreed to have the sewer line, septic tank, and drain fields professionally installed according to code.  However, the water supply system and actual bathroom were left to Utah's creative (CHEAP!!) design.
 
Water Supply System and Attached Bathroom
 
Because I'm a sheep dog, I don't know much about toilets and indoor plumbing, but I do know that water is needed to make them work.  I just use the great outdoors when nature calls, and Dangerous goes around and picks up after me from time to time before someone steps in it.  Even as ignorant as I am about plumbing, I have to admit that Utah Jack's solution to supply water to the new indoor bathroom is quite ingenious.  Choosing the least expensive alternative he could devise (CHEAP!!), Utah Jack built a scaffold of sorts from stuff he had on hand and placed two 55 gallon, plastic barrels on top.  Gravity flow from the barrels fills the toilet and supplies running water for the first time in 27 years to the kitchen.  You have to remember that the system only works in warm weather and a shower anytime of year will be a little bit nippy.  Also, the barrels only hold 110 gallons and have to be refilled from the well when empty.  While 110 gallons sounds like a lot of water, it isn't if you shower and flush the toilet too frequently.  I am watching with interest what happens when someone finds them self short of water after using the new facilities.  Not being able to flush might be worse than running out of toilet paper, and knowing Utah Jack, everyone will be limited to four squares of paper per visit.

Utah Works on the New Addition
 
I always watch with interest when Utah and Dangerous work on these construction projects together.  Utah can build just about anything and Dangerous doesn't really care as long as the finished project keeps the rain and snow out.  Utah always consults Dangerous about the design, but not seriously.  Asking is his diplomatic attempt to make Dangerous think he actually has some input.  I think Dangerous knows that Utah is only humoring him, but I really don't think he cares.

New Entrance
 
It might look like a doggy door, but actually, this is the entrance to the new bathroom  As you can see, Utah Jack barely fits, and I really think his tummy would rub if he tried to slide through sideways.  While the project won't be finished until spring, you ought to stop by when it's done.  If the facilities are working, I am sure Dangerous will make sure the barrels are full, and Utah will issue you four squares of toilet paper and limit you to one flush.  Hope to see you!