Kobae's Last Day

Kobae, Jax, and I are headed to San Diego tomorrow to drop off Kobae before the cold spell hits. On Wednesday temps will drop ten degrees and we're looking at highs of 50s or so for awhile. That's too cold for Kobae. Where he and his grew up it never gets very cold so he never learned to hibernate. He will be awake the next 3.5 months and most days will be too cold to go outside so he's a snowbird and headed off to warmer weather. 

This was our best year together. Sometimes we'd get two or three miles away and then I'd have to turn him around because I had guests checking in and a couple times a week it would take and hour or more to get him turned around. He'd fight me so hard to go where he wanted to go. Once Nate and then Collin showed up and I knew there were good people at the lodge I no longer cared if he turned around. We hike where he wanted to go and then an hour or so before dark I'd steer him towards a road and then call Nate or Collin to bring the truck and then we'd pick him up and put him in the bed of the truck and bring him back. So much less stressful.

There were a couple of times I tried to turn him around and after an hour or so called the lodge and somebody would bring the truck. One day I was exhausted trying to turn him around. I thought he might win. I was good for another five or ten minutes but he didn't look like he was tired at all. I got him turned around and he ran right into my feet and I fell on top of him though not with all my weight and I just sat on him but he started hiking even with me on. I lifted my feet in the air and he walked about ten feet with 200 plus pounds on him no problem. I called the lodge to bring the truck.We got back to the lodge and Kobae was pissed. He was in the bed of the truck ramming the walls so I just decided to leave him there until he got tired and then we'd pick him up and let him down so until then we all went about our business.

I could hear him slamming into the truck every minute or so. There was a huge crash and when I looked over he had knocked the tailgate open and we all had to go running over there or he'd dive right off the tailgate to the ground. We got him just as he was taking the leap and put him on the ground.

We Had a Little Bit of an Issue

Couple nights ago a truck went off the side of the hill behind the Main House. I was surprised it didn't roll all the way down but somehow it didn't. I called Chris at Nations Towing and he said he was on his way. 

Then I realized that after the last storm the road by the gate in front of Hull's place while ok for most vehicles wasn't going to be wide enough for twin tires on the back of the wrecker. Nate, Collin, and I headed over there. The hole on the left side was three or four deep and extremely wide. We're not going to be able to fill that in before Chris gets here. We looked at the fence and gate on the other side and Collin said he could take a torch and cut the fence and we'd take the gate off.

That still left another eight foot long piece of gate going out to the road. Collin and Nate dug a deep hole trying to get the concrete footing loose but they couldn't find the bottom of it. I decided to take the F-250, beater, Constant Impact and give it a job it was made for. I'll just ram the gate over and over until I win. Eventually when it falls over I'll drive over it, hook up tow straps on the other side and pull it out of the way. It took six pretty good charges from the F-250 with the deer guard on the front but it came down and I drove over it.

Turns out was a pretty good thing I just ran over it because the chunk of concrete was very formidable.

That made the road pretty wide and Chris was able to get through quite easily as would have a semi truck probably.

Chris pulled the truck back up the hill and all is well at Base Camp.

Polaris

 Last year the repair bills on the two six seater Polaris that the guests use was terrible. Over $20,000. I had several guests complain when they were both in the shop at the same time and they didn't have anything to rent to ride to Wind Caves and Chicken Corner. I decided no matter what I was going to do maintenance on them every morning before they went out and though I haven't added it up yet and despite each machine being a year older it was probably under $10,000 this year despite having to replace tires and stuff that never makes it more than a year out here. Just so I wouldn't have to deal with that problem again I ordered a new Polaris, a 2021. Then I heard production lines were forever behind and kind of forgot about it. Plus Collin showed up who is a mechanic so most anything that goes down and we can get a part is back the same day. Some things take two days cause we have wing it. 

On Thursday I was looking at the numbers and even though I've passed last year in revenue it's looking like it might be a little lean the next three or four months so figured I wouldn't make anymore large purchases this year. Right after I decided that I got an email saying the 2022 Polaris Ranger was in and they'd deliver Saturday to Moab and they need a check for almost $20,000. 

I took the truck in to get worked on so it would have heat to take Kobae back to San Diego as he's down to his last week here and picked up the new Polaris. What a dream. I'm going to keep it in the garage next door and never ride it, or maybe just me and Jax. 

Guests came back on one of the other Polaris right after I returned and as I was unloading they said "There's some people out there on the way to Chicken Corner with a flat in their Cadillac Eldorado." 

 I didn't go. There has to be limits. 

Stone Art

 Got this in the mail a day or two ago and it's pretty cool. "Thanks for the great time and driving us out. Here is some Stone Art of you, Kobae, and Jax."

 Thanks Steve and Peggy Jantz. I lost Jax's foot but it's here somewhere. I'll find it. 

Lexus

 Jax and I drove a Lexus up and down Hurrah Pass for some guests checking out and got to hike back.

Kobae's Mostly Good Day

Kobae finally figured out how to hump the front stairs and he was there for a long time. 

Then, either because Collin widened the gate and the door, or because he felt like a man again, Kobae walked across the driveway and down into his hole where he slept on nearly the coldest night of the year so far. When morning came and he came out his shell was warm. He was down there quite a ways in the tunnel and he covered himself in dirt.

After he got warmed up and headed over to the porch a couple dogs came by and in his hurry to chase them he stepped on the ground edge of the bird bath and drained all the water onto himself, was completely soaked. I refilled it.

After drying off he went in the kitchen and tried to pull the knobs off the drawers, or eat them, not sure, as he usually does. When he pulled on the bottom drawer it came out easily and wacked him in the face.

Wednesday Hike

 This is spooky. Kobae is stepping in his own tracks from a few days ago. Taking the same path around the same bushes.

Sunflowers growing all around the lodge area and some corn here and there. Years ago I use to feed the domestic sheep, Pinto, Thelma, and Louise corn. This a flood came though the pen and wiped away bags of it which still pop up here and there. Each day around 3pm I put food out for the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to include nine glasses of bird seed at three different locations, so three each, and six glasses of sunflower seeds so that probably explains it.

As we're headed down to the beach through the creek bed Kobae comes to this little six inch crop off he doesn't want to deal with so he heads up the embankment and crashes through the trees and shrubbery for 50 feet and then drops back in the creek bed.

Kobae visits The Bottle Place.

Jax's life story. Always looking back and waiting on Kobae.