What?

 I've kind of lost track of how many trucks I bought. Mine went in the shop, not for maintenance as you might expect but a big rock rolled out in front of Linny on Hurrah and it got hit pretty hard. I twice bottomed out with loads of water on the cattle guard on top and shifted the frame some and the doors don't open right. The second tailgate has finished it's life and won't open without ramming it with a railroad tie, and once closed you have to put tie downs on it to stay closed. I know that sounds contradictory but somehow it isn't. Chris at Nations said he'd work on it but it was going to be out for awhile. I'm sold on Ford trucks and Chris said he had an extra one he'd sell me to use as a beater. I gave him money for it. Then he remembered he had a better beater but he had to order parts. I went by Canyonlands Auto and found a nice F250 that had a big back seat to put Kobae in and a very long and deep bed in the truck to haul more trash, water, and wood so I bought it.

Linny's Jeep has a short in it so it's in the shop also and I'm driving in to Canyonlands Auto again because they have a nice F150 I might buy. I did. On the way in I run across a large tour bus coming down the switchbacks except he's not going to make it. He's being pulled by Chris at Nations trying to get him back up the switchbacks but he has to drive backwards. I pull up to see if I can help and he says "Here, you drive it. I'm a city boy and my nerves are shot. What am I doing here?" Chris drives the tow truck to the top of the switchbacks and then walks back down the hill, get's in the tour bus, starts it up and drives it backwards up the switchbacks. I have video somewhere.

Thief

Hurrah Pass All Good

The hundred foot drives of three or four cars a week taking them over the top are about over. The county cleaned up the bad spot on the other side and took a rock chipper to the tough spot on the very top. I haven't had anybody ask me to drive them out in about a week. Pretty cool San Juan County. Thank you.

Babies are showing up. Skunk babies at night wandering around on the porch out exploring and trying to get their butts to work occasionally. It's sooo cute. The youngest ringtail showed up and she is so skinny I'm assuming she had babies. She hasn't brought them to the porch yet but each time she gets a hot dogs she disappears for a few minutes. Unfortunately there are two to three raccoons hanging around on the roof so it makes it a little dicey for her.

Driving over to pump water about 2am on the side by side, come over a hill, and the youngest baby deer I've ever seen is standing in the road in the glare of the head lights. I turn them off and the moon is still almost full. She slowly walks in front of Jax and I not scared in the least.

One Eighteen Year Old to Another

I got a review that came in last night, a three out of five, from back in May. Initially I had an eighteen year old email me and say she was graduating high school and she was planning this trip with her mom all by herself. When they got here and checked in, as usual I ask them what they'd like to do while they were here. The mom said they'd been hiking the parks for the last week or two but she was injured and didn't think they were going to do anything while they were here. 

I responded to the mom who was probably 20 to 30 years younger than I, which I have to younger people before "You're getting old. Unlike me. Glad I'm not getting old." Sarcasm yes but also a smile. I hardly saw them after that. They were either reading outside or in the room. Last night the review comes in from the 18 year old, a three out of five. It says "Tom was very sarcastic and can come off as very rude."

Linny turned 18 last month. After we hadn't seen each other for a year and some change after the horror movie she sent me a pretty neat email saying she wanted to come back to the lodge.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me.
Thank you for never giving up on me and encouraging me to keep fighting and keep going. I'm so lucky to call you my best friend.
Thank you for teaching me everything I know today.
I've always tried my hardest to make you proud.
You will always be a part of me and I hope I will always be a part of you.
I love you with all of me!

Love,
The One And Only Linster :)"

Today she came in the office and gave me a card for Father's Day. 

"Love you best friend. I picked this card just for you. That pretty much says it all."

Says it all for me too best friend.

The Boat Ramp/Beach/Sandbars

 Water hasn't gone down enough yet for sandbars to show up at the boat ramp though they're just six inches or so underwater so most guests have gone across river to the sand bar beach.

Trespassers

 Month ago I was pumping water and went over to the Condo and saw a side by side I didn't know down at the boat house. I drive down and there's a guy that looks slightly familiar, disc golfer or former camper maybe. Him and a girlfriend are in the water splashing around and he says "Hi Tom." I said "Who are you?" He gives me a name and I don't know it. I tell him to get off the property and he says they were just taking a swim. I told him it didn't matter. He knows me, knows I own the property, live at the lodge, and he never even came by to ask. He said he was going to come by tomorrow and play disc. I told him that's not going to happen and get off the property. He starts complaining that I'm being unfair and I tell him to never come back again. They drive off.

Next day I'm out working on the property somewhere and when I get back there's an extra truck and a side by side in the parking lot that looks like the one I kicked out the day before. Linda says some couple came by and paid for disc golfing and their friends but never saw their friends. I look out on Hole #2 and there's the couple I kicked out the day before. I head out toward the basket and I'm telling him get out. I banned you and here you are the next day. He argues that he paid and that deserves some credit and it turns out his "friends" who said they just met him on the trail had paid for him and his girlfriend.We get into it and he can't come back. 

Next day Linda comes back from the big garage and says she saw two couples, hiking it appears to Jackson Hole, sitting in the shade by Hull's Place having a picnic. She tells them to leave.

Couple days later Linda tells me she saw a side by side running around over at Last Hurrah. I head over and down to the boat ramp and there's a side by side parked. I walk down to the river and there's young couple in the water groping each other and I yell at them to get the hell out. The guys says "We're lost. We can't find the guide that's taking us on a tour." Who they obviously ditched. I yell at them again and they are hesitating. I said "Don't screw this up or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. They get in the side by side all the time explaining it's not their fault they got lost. Yea, it's not their fault they went right through the no trespassing sign.

Today I'm working outside and see three or four Jeeps and trucks go by on the way to Jackson Hole with a couple dirt bikes behind them except they don't go to Jackson Hole, they turn left and head for the boat ramp. I'm on the side by side and to the ramp. Vehicles are backed up six or eight deep. I get out and ask who the hell are you? One guy says "Who are you?" I say "The guy that owns the place that's kicking you out. You went thru the No Trespassing sign. He says "No we didn't. We went around it." I'm done now. I'm all over everybody to get out now. I get down to the boat ramp and there's eight more people in the water. I don't know any of them. One guy says "Party is over. Let's go." It's about 15 to 1 but I'm not feeling outnumbered at all. I'm done with this shit. Guy says "We were just trying to cool off. What are you mad about? You didn't say anything yesterday." From me "So you went through the No Trespassing gate twice and still didn't think to ask when you went by the lodge." We're done and you're running out of time." Linny calls on the walkie so they know I've got back up and they all turn around and leave.

Thousand Eyes

 Jax and I got a little time to take guests out to Skinny People and Thousand Eyes. Mother Nature gave us a little show on the way back.

Hurrah Pass

 We were looking for some guests that were suppose to show up so Jax and I drove up to Hurrah. There was nobody there and it was quiet. I started remembering the early days. I'd forgotten there were Needles/Pinnacles on the back north side.

 A couple of the scariest night rescues I've had to do were on the old mining road that people use to take by accident when they'd miss the Hurrah Pass sign and keep going in the dark. The county blocked it off a month or so ago.

In the first year I had neither internet or phone service so I had to go up Hurrah in the mornings and call people and leave messages and go back in the evening and get my messages. Things ran slow. This is the indentation in the rocks where I got the best cell phone coverage.

Oh yeah, and Jax is nuts.

River

 The highest the river got was to submerge the beach across the river for two days and touch the bottom of the boat dock and now it's on it's way down. First mosquito showed up but so far there aren't many of them and the bats are making quick work of them.

GS 13 Rescue on Lockhart Basin

Guy pulls up on a street bike and says they came up Lockhart Basin, had a crash that destroyed a crankcase. Been creeping along. Ran out of water four or five hours ago, and there is a 68 year old dehydrated man limping back with his street bike. Could I help? 

It's 15 years now doing rescues. Hundreds. I'm tired. The days are long. The money is nice but I retired. I didn't buy the place to make money. I bought the place(s) to be retired. I know this seems cold but I had to think about it for a few minutes if I wanted to kiss away another whole evening on another rescue. It never goes like it's suppose to and it always takes longer than it should. Jax and I and a rider pile in the truck and head for Lockhart with lots of water. 

We load up the bike and take the bike and rider to town. They pay us well. On the way back from town I find a bike rider with two flats and give him a ride to town. A rescue that started at 3pm or so ends at 10:30pm. 

Plateau Passage

 A relatively new, last three or four years, bicycle trail comes through called the Plateau Passage. It's pretty cool. Should check it out.  https://bikepacking.com/routes/plateau-passage/

Overland Adventure Came Through

 They just kept coming. Last night of a three day journey around the southwest. I think there were 38 vehicles of all kinds.

Primary sponsors MotorTrend, Four-Wheeler, and Jeep.

Once again the big garage became a dining facility.

Here's the whole story. 

http://www.fourwheeler.com/overland-adventure/