I’ve been on the road for two weeks now, and so far, so good. It hasn’t been without minor bumps, of course, no adventure would be complete without them. My main problems stem from a cantankerous, old motorhome, and two stubborn dogs who can’t grasp the fact that they don’t own every forest we park in. Currently I’m sitting off the beaten path in the San Isabel National Forest, and I’ve seen exactly one car drive by, so for now the dogs have free roam of the place. The downside to that is if anyone were to regretfully stroll by, the dogs would surely not be happy about it. The more isolated we get, the more territorial these dogs get, and it’s going to take this entire trip, the limits of my patience, and all the jerky treats I have to try and break them of it, if it’s even possible. In this short two weeks of adventuring, they’ve chased and barked at everything from cars to bikes to friendly hikers to a moose, and a couple of goats.

I’ll start where I left off last, in Telluride. After a glorious $5 shower (it was $3 for the first 5 minutes which I knew I’d surpass) and filling up on essentials in town, we headed to a mid-way stop to where I need to get by June 1^st for a backpacking trip, in Gunnison National Forest by Red Creek. This was the worst spot I’ve been to so far, and for some reason I still spent two nights there, I guess because it still had some perks. It was quiet and isolated, with comfortable weather, where I was camped right on the creek. Sounds great, right? That’s what I said at first. The downsides were the tolls exacted on ole Beans and Skippy. It was a dirty camping experience. The trees that I was parked under (maybe Cottonwood) dropped these sticky, smelly seed casing thingies that got stuck all over unfortunate Beans, and in turn, all over my unfortunate Skippy. Beans also collected a few ticks at this spot, so I’m sure we were all relieved when we packed up. Before we left I made sure to do a little exploring up to some cliffs and a cave, which I was skeptical of hiking to because of mountain lion sign in the area…

Next stop was Foose’s Creek in the San Isabel National Forest. I actually ended up staying 5 nights at Fooses, my longest stretch so far. It was almost perfect, we had a lake, a campsite creek, friendly neighbors, an indoor pooper, a trail, fishing, and your “friendly” neighborhood moose. I got there on the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend, and I had to make the decision whether to squat on my awesome camp spot, or brave the holiday crowds and try to relocate. I made the wise decision to hunker down where I was satisfied with my situation at Fooses.

I had to make a run into town (Salida, CO) to get water and propane, and I left watch of my campsite to my trusted neighbors, an awesome older couple from Canon City, CO, Martin and Shirlene. The first night I met Martin, he had realized he had lost his $2,000 hearing aid, and obviously not happy about it. They had just spent the day sitting with their worms in the water with no fish to show for it, their persistence paid off eventually though. Shirlene found the hearing aid when she was cleaning out the camper two days later, and surprised Martin with it, I was happy to see the instant relief on his face when she told him. Martin was bummed out that his knee had worn out on him, but was happy to relive his adventures with his adventure partner Shirlene, they were incredible people, an experience I’ll never forget. Him, his wife, and their dog at the time were doing some cross-country skiing one winter, and going on a through-trail from town to town, ending up in Sargents, CO, thinking they would get a hotel there for the night and head back in the morning. The problem with that, was the lack of hotels in Sargents. They both laughed looking back at the phone booth all three of them were crammed inside, trying to figure out what to do since it was too dark and cold to ski back. I’m sure they weren’t laughing about it at the time, they said that phone booth was miserably cold. They were able to hitchhike back to their car that night, but what a story to tell. Martin had his fair share of adventure in his life, but said, “it wasn’t enough”. I guess it never is, that look on his face broke my heart when he told me he couldn’t do it anymore, and his wife was on oxygen from a lung disease. But they were still out there strong as ever in his old, finicky, diesel Ford with a nice truck camper mounted up. He was sure not to accept any help I offered him carrying stuff around. Man, did he want to go backpacking with me again. It was with a heavy heart that we had to say goodbye, it’s incredible how fast you can make a lasting connection with such cool people. I should have gotten a picture with them, just never thought about it. Oh well, next time I’ll remember, as I’m sure that won’t be the last.

Fond memories made at Fooses. The dogs charged at a moose, which scared the hell out of me. The moose was unfazed, stamped once, Sierra came sprinting back to me with her tail securely tucked. Beans came back about 20 seconds later, unfazed, it blew my mind. I really hope that the dogs are more wary of bear if and when we come across one…

So, the journey has begun. The ole Yoterhome is running fairly strong, with the exception of a few minor details… like keeping warm at night. The furnace doesn’t want to fire up when it’s cold outside, which is inconvenient. While I can’t keep the inside warm, the engine is plenty warm. I’ve conceded to the fact that sometimes I’ll just have to go 30, or even 20 MPH over these mountain passes in Colorado and sweat the whole time… oh well. Tiny engine pulling a home packed to the walls don’t necessarily make for smooth sailing, but I think I’ll manage just nursing Skippy along. Oh, I decided to name the Yoterhome Skippy, after a character in a book series that I’m currently listening to while on the road, Expeditionary Force. Skippy is an ancient alien artificial intelligence device, in the shape of a shiny beer can. He’s the most advanced and powerful computer in the universe, and a world-class asshole, but he has the best intentions for saving the human race from alien invaders that want to mine the planet for resources. That’s why I find it an appropriate name, because although my yoterhome will get me to my next destination, it won’t make it easy on me.

My first stop leaving out of Farmington, NM, was Priest Lake, CO. What an amazing free campsite that was. It was empty all weekend save for a few fisherman coming and going, and a few college kids from Cortez who stayed the night next door, and I was happy for the company, big shoutout to you guys if you end up reading this, thanks for the hospitality. As much as I enjoy talking to the dogs, it’s mostly a one-sided conversation.

After 3 nights at Priest Lake, one fish, and countless squirrel chases, I made massive headway on my journey, and drove about 10 miles into Telluride. After an amazing jalapeno popper cheeseburger and a cold beer, I decided that I didn’t really feel like leaving T-ride, because it’s such a beautiful little Colorado town that I haven’t seen in a few years. So, I sucked up a $28 campground fee (with internet and a shower) for a night. That day w

e hiked up Bear Creek Falls, which was fantastic. It’s a nice campground (Town Park Campground) within walking distance to town, next to a river, but the dogs don’t appreciate the restrictions on free travel due to the proximity of the neighbors.

Next stop after filling up on water, propane still looks good, and I haven’t had to poop in my car yet so no dumpage, is near the Gunnison River on the Red Creek. This place is quiet, and a little warmer, all in all a great place, except for some scary-looking poop on the road. It looks like it was from a huge dog, except with fur in it…. The part that worried me was that there were multiple piles of dooky, and the piles contained poos of different ages. This makes me think that there’s a big kitty out here patrolling the road every once in a while, slightly disconcerting. I don’t think Sierra will much care for seeing those kind of cat videos.