Kobae, Heather, and I: Movie Stars All

Kobae and I are hiking down the street, Kobae exploring, I, reading my book. I hear a car pull over and two doors open and close. I keep reading and don't look up because it's been happening all day people getting out of the cars to come check Kobae out. I hear a pair of heels and regular shoes walking across the street so I know it's a guy and a girl but I still don't look up. The lady says "My name is Ann, I'm a reporter, and we were in Tierrasanta checking out another story and when it ended somebody told us to go talk to the guy walking the tortoise." I look up and see the lady walking towards us and the guy getting a camera out. She says "Mind if we walk with you and ask you a couple questions?" I say "Yes." She keeps coming and says "Can we mike you?" I say "Probably not." She says "We need to put the microphone clipped inside your shirt so it's not visible." She hands me the microphone and I clip it to my shirt. For the next 15 minutes they follow Kobae and I videoing and asking questions. I think they're about to leave when I make a mistake. She says "Are you taking him trick or treating tonight?" I say "I am. I got a bunny costume and we're going as the Tortoise and the Hare." Then it went like this.

Kobae: Day Three, San Diego

Getting Ready

While daughter Heather and the kids are working on their pumpkins I'm preparing to go trick or treating with Kobae so had to try on my costume. Little warm in there but it should be fun.

Camouflage

Kobae also saw me reading the book Men In Green Faces so just in case war breaks out someday on the mean streets of Tierrasanta he'll be camouflaged.

Kobae: Day Two, San Diego

Kobae: Day One, San Diego (Still a little teary eyed)

Didn't get in until around 2am. At 9am Kobae was pacing the back yard trying to figure out how to get out and go exploring. He made runs at a couple of dogs but his reputation has preceded him and everybody speeds way up when they get close to him. Kobae got to a couple pumpkins before I could save them. Including a bite out of a styrofoam one. I'm not sure quite how to explain this part of the day. When Kobae and I go hiking I always take a book. Hiking with Kobae it's pretty easy to read a lot of books. At the moment I'm reading about Navy Seals in Viet Nam called "Men In Green Faces". It's a pretty good book so far. As Kobae is resting in some shade and I'm reading a Vietnamese guy in his maybe 40's pulls up on a bicycle. He says "My name is Robert. I noticed the book you were reading. You look to be about 60 to 70 years old. Were you in the military during Viet Nam?" I said "I was." Robert said "Did you or some of your friends go to Viet Nam?" I said "Yes." Robert said "Did they all come home?" I said "Some." Robert said "I have lived in this country since I was six years old. I am all American. I even lived in Texas. My parents sometimes remind me of the sacrifice many in this country made trying to help our country chase out evil when we lived in Viet Nam." I said "Robert, tell your parents thank you." Robert said "Thank you, and your friends, and this country." I said "Robert, that means a lot." Robert said "What is your name?" I said "Tom". Robert said "Thank you Tom, thank you." Then he reached over and shook my hand and then rode off on his bicycle. I just stood there for a moment and then began tearing up and by the time I thought to turn the GoPro on Robert was well down the street.This is always a fun one when I'm standing in somebody's yard or driveway trying to keep Kobae from destroying their stuff and they pull up. On the way back to the house there were a few dogs that didn't know better.

Kobae: Goodbye to Moab

I only turned the GoPro on for a couple short minutes but overall for two hours it was bedlam. Sometimes Kobae had up t 50 people following him around. It was crazy. By the time we went to cross the main street Kobae had picked up multiple protectors to make sure traffic was controlled. Each time we crossed a street after Kobae was safely out of the traffic pattern I'd wave the vehicles through but they never saw me. All the stopped drivers had their cameras or phones out videoing Kobae walking across the street. In this video I'm waving everybody through and then see them all videoing so I keep trying but nobody goes. I look up and the light is red.

Evening of Thursday

Last Day

Kobae and I with Linda joining us later got our last Base Camp hike in for the year. Kobae took me by the old sheep pen where Pinto, Thelma, and Louise hung out for a couple years and I met my first sharp-shinned hawk and white-tailed antelope squirrels. For the third time in the last couple weeks Kobae picks a canyon on the Jackson Hole trail to explore where a Cooper's hawk took an interest in him as the shadow kept flying over. Three times Kobae tried to find a way out at the end of the canyon but no luck.

From Town

Winding Down

Kobae is down to his last few days of hiking before returning to San Diego to spend the winter and we are making the most of it. On Tuesday he took canyons, creeks, and plateaus to get to the Anti Cline but he made it. Always dread that moment when it's time to come back. Might as well put the book away and put the gloves on as he's going to fight me all the way.

Nightly Ritual: It's Been Hard

It's been hard keeping the baby spotted skunk alive. It has a tendency that when somebody come down the porch while it's eating it runs under the porch where the raccoons are hanging out. Finally I've gotten it to wait in the hole around the front porch. I see it sleeping there sometimes. I drop Kit&Kaboodle down the hole where the raccoons don't fit though they are going over there and reaching down with their arm trying to gather up some of the food once they've drained both bowels for the second time. I throw a couple hot dogs down there and the baby skunk is good. It's still completely crazy running around on the porch at the far end looking for an extra hot dog. When winter came last year I began putting hot dogs up in the rafters instead of waiting outside for the ringtails to show but the raccoons have learned to climb up the poles and snatch the hot dogs. So I've relocated the hot dogs to a more difficult spot for the raccoons to get to but still there are mornings when I come out and see pole bark lying on the porch so I know they've made another effort.

Weird Again

I went outside at 5am to refill both Kit&Kaboodle bowls which since the raccoons had seven babies go empty twice each night and one of them was gone. The only time that has ever happened before was when Hurrah the cattle dog was left out here a few winters ago and would take the bowl every night so it didn't have to share with anybody. So out hiking with Kobae I veered over to where Hurrah use to hang out to see if I could find my critter food bowl.

Hiking with Kobae

There have been a few dogs staying here off and on so Kobae while he still likes to hike hasn't strayed too far as he needs to protect his territory just in case a dog should show up.

Friday Hike with Kobae: Problem Child

Kobae has been picked up speed the last 15 minutes of our hike so I know he wants out of the sun and is trying to find shade so I steer him that direction. Kobae's breaks are always right at one hour and fifteen minutes. That give me some time to explore. When I return 15 minutes later, he's gone. I've become pretty good over the years at tracking him and in this particular soil it's not difficult at all.With guests checking in soon I try to turn him around but he's fighting me and it's exhausting. I spot some side by sides in the distance and head for them hoping he'll take some shade and we'll both get to take a break. Kobae doesn't stay in the shade and takes off for any direction but back to the lodge and it's fight time again.With Kobae getting lots of attention and resting in the shade I have a brief window of opportunity to shorten the return hike by about three hours of fighting. Now it's loading time.

Tracks: Lesson Learned

A couple years ago when Kobae escaped and was gone for four or five days I realized later I actually found his tracks the first day but they looked like old tracks as the wind had put debris in them and the plants had recovered already from being crushed by him I figured the tracks to be a couple days or more old. Kobae has a habit of going the same direction, checking out the same area, three or four days in a row. Now, I step in Kobae's tracks a good portion of the hike so that in the future if he escapes and I come across multiple sets of tracks I'll know for sure which are old and which are fresh. It's a big deal. Had I done that previously it would have saved me four days of searching.

Wednesday Hike with Kobae

Five hours with Kobae, on the road, onto a ridge he goes back and forth on trying to find a way down, then closer to the river where he finds some shade.

Wash Johnson's Cabin

When Prommel Well #1, a few miles east and north of Base Camp ceased functioning in 1930, a fellow name Wash Johnson cut a deal to remove one of the cabins from the site. With horses him and two friends dragged it a couple miles to just below where Base Camp is now. They trapped fox for a few years and when Wash passed in February 1941 it was never used again, well at least until Kobae stumbled across what's left of it while hiking.

Hiking with Kobae

Evening of Sunday

Evening of Friday

Out of Control

The fox feeding is out of control. I try to feed my friend and everyone gathers around him/her and either steals it or chases after him/her when it gets the hog dog so I'm buying hot dogs by the case now.

Evening of Thursday

Perfect

Kobae believes he has found the perfect spot to warm up and apparently the fence lizard on his back agrees.

Evening of Wednesday

Evening of Monday

Amasaback

Malies, Webb, Liza, Tim, and I all visit the Amasaback.

Good Day for Kobae

Thursday: Hiking with Kobae

Mama, They're Crazy

Tuesday: Hiking With Kobae

Morning of Monday

Evening of Sunday

Where Have All The Rock Squirrels Gone?

Up to plus 20 rock squirrels at one time I've been seeing but four rock squirrels per day for the last week or so. Two under the porch and two under the side walk. Returning from the hike with Kobae the hole under the sidewalk was filled in. Only two rock squirrels came to eat last evening.

Evening of Saturday

Friday Kobae Hike: Always Entertaining