Final Good Bye's! and New Journeys

As my date for leaving the ranch got pushed back and back and back and then back just a couple more days. I said my ends to many, Byes to others, and till again for a few lucky people. I had planned on a week ago this past Monday. I decided to wait for one last day to see one person and make sure I could give the last bit of encouragement, words of wisdom, and just a great thanks and proud goodbye. Well I got to do that and after emails back and forth earlier that day from the gorgeous girl in Belize about tattoo talk. That second planned final night in Arizona i run into good friends Ive seen all over, in and out of the bar. Pinky and Long John. And they just so happen to own the only tattoo shop i know of in Payson. So after Sondra and I's talk about getting sleeves and this just fell into my lap. Well I will go with the sign and go with it. We had one planned out almost two years ago. well one and half ago. to go get together. She was able to find it over a day and email it to me. Sense she herself is a gypsy and I myself. It was perfect. and at perfect timing. So this added two days to the next planned day to leave. As Thursday came to get some ink. I came to the shop little to late. As Long John was in middle of putting in some hours into someones half sleeve. So new plan, Friday 3pm to get me out on the road to catch up with Rosie for his birthday. Well Friday comes and while Pinky starts tatting me John see my unfinished back and said that would have been perfect for his apprentice to work and color on for free. "if he was still there" he quit Thursday an hour before i came in. That close to getting this 5 year outline finished. o well i had only real thing to get down and have it finished and put in its place for the rest of my life. Now this is just the first piece to mine and Sondra sleeve. As I am one up on her, to getting finished. LOL. sorry Sondra we will get you started when get here.

Vegvísir
Icelandic meaning
"if this sign is carried, one will never lose one's way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known".^[

Well Friday's plan didn't work cause I never heard back from Rosie with his address. So I left Saturday. Just funny how this is my point of not making plans. As i have not had one this whole trip and when I try, I can tell you they wont work. As like the one that I'm to be in NJ the first week of August. and never planned on being in Arizona for so long, not sure just how long but thinking back it had to be sense beginning of April. So I got to see Rosie Saturday, give him his Harmonica that we had talked about getting and learning to play the crap out of. We did some drinking at the Skunk creek Flats, apartment pool, Buffalo wild wings, saw TED, lol well i saw Ted. Rosie had a rough night as he was in a roll over and got road rash all down his right side and nice scalp patch on top of the his head. words of Rosie "I went bald in one day, on my birthday" he has me beat on that one. It took me a few years. Well Ollie and I headed out late from Phoenix and get out to Yuma before finally calling it a night. Rest stop how I Love You. Well we came straight into San Diego. And WOW how I don't miss any city life at all. specially when it is 5 lanes of traffic, ramps every where. and signs you cant read due to graffiti all over. After we cruised the beach from San Diego all the way up past long beach. It was time to call it again. and well with the fried out brain i was having i totally forgot about popping my Walmart cherry. Thanks again Sondra, for always looking out. where would i be. well with that it only took three walmart stops and 66 miles driving around all the city to find one that was able to work. and work. that's what this one was under. The first walmart had no parking lot. just a parking garage. which might work if i wasn't 90' tall. and the fact that you had to pay to park and go shop. the other one had really bad reviews on google maps. and they werent kidding about what they said was around. as we sat there for twenty mins in the parking lot. i cant explain what went on and all security guards driving around was the ending to my staying at this one. we headed for the hills of Los Angeles. seeing that they did have one up there. it has to be nice. maybe like self warming toilet seats. a guy to hand me towels in the bathroom with a nice mouth mint. So we pull in and awesome its under construction. I can manage. We fall into the back. and crash out. as tired as i was on the road. i finally get to just sit and deal and go thru all my thoughts. Well great they keep me up till 4am. and thank about comes first thing with a building under construction. the work starts at 6am. Holy Crap cant catch a break. four days and about 2hrs of sleep each night. We take off to the national park of Mount Baldy were my buddy Dave i meet in Key West that's out traveling,doing the same thing. Told me to go. They have great views. come to find out they have a ski lift that takes you up the mountain even higher to a restaurant. well everyone that told me were it was and how to get there forgot to mention that they are only open on the weekends. On our way up to the ski lift two girls in front of me car just blows smoke. like cheech and chong just took a bong hit. sorry cant find a proper reference for how it looked. I pull over with them and to lend a hand. I knew already when we were pulling over it was the coolant. just that sticky smell was in the air. So i pull out a gallon of water,pop the hood, and start filling it up. as about half a gallon goes in while the car is running it just starts coming from everywhere. top, bottom, sides of the radiator. It seen its last day of keeping pressure. no seal or eggs could clog up the places it was coming from. Well I'm sure they made it the 3 blocks down hill home. we left the ski lifts and went to a pull off trail for lunch. and once again was sad. we sat on the big river rocks eating chicken salad sandwiches with chips just ashamed by all the things people do to there back yard.  Every tree all the way up 16 feet was carved to death. every rock covered in  graffiti even after the rangers attempt to repaint the rocks to look natural.How they got up that high to carve there name into the trees is beyond me. I wasn't the only, as a gentleman came down to take pics and hiked down the river and only found the same thing for a 15min hike.

We decided that we would take the nice crazy S turn pass road over to Crystal lake. Ollie and my brakes wasn't all to thrilled by it but i was having fun carving the corners. we went from 4400 elv. to 790 and then crazy turns back up to 6400. Crystal Lake is not so much Crystal like they said. due to the fires and its a self feeding lake "POND" that is feed yearly by the snow melt run and rains. this is the time when it is to be nice. Well we decided to stay at the top and camp for the week. I did one thing wrong for two people and that was just give a heads up that we were going to the mountains and might not have cell service. and this usually isn't a problem but it came as a spur of the moment. and going from talking to one person 6 times a day thru email and the other every other day. and then MIA and them two talking to each other just made things a funny mess. Sorry you two. I almost wish that I was in jail for them to come up.lol jk.. Ollie wasn't a fan to go back on his cable. and i think this could have been due to the Key west problem. once clipped up he goes crazy at all the people just walking by. even at a distance. like he goes into crazy protection mode. a can then take him off and on his leash to go walk or hike and does fine. that is till we came back down to the beach. we left the mountains today to get in touch with some people and pay some bills online. i surely knew  would have alot of people calling, messages,emails/text, and o wait facebook stuff. what really drove us off was the fact of the ugly deep mountains in such a shameful wreck. and every day at 6am or so a new Mexican family would show up and found it necessary to play there Cinco SI music load for the whole park to hear. Now the music or people don't bother me. but how they think we all care to hear it and specially way up here in the middle of know where. one family I did go off on one morning. this being the first real night of sleep i got and was just way to much enjoying my sleep and wanting it to last. but hey really its 545am and there are other people here besides them. It did how ever save me from playing mine and having to restart my truck ever so often. plus it added a nice back ground noise for me to do much needed catch up reading. I have come to hate the fact that I have started 4 books and haven't finished one. So i was trying to plan on finishing one before I left. Oops there i go again making the plans. should have guessed what was really going to happen to that. I have been told this month is to be my money month and great things are to happen in the finical world for me. And this special day is to be on the 26th. and i know how all the things are going to turn out and the future on alot. so hopefully i will pay attention to all this and play it right. So I did how ever get a nice dent into my book. Jimmy Buffet "Tales From Margaritaville". almost finished up and onto finish up my god and man book. and torn between finishing one that really isn't a book or starting a book my great Costa Rica friends gave me. Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max. who also wrote hope they serve beer in hell.

Buddy that stuck around my last night at the bar

First view and beach of the West Coast

View atop Los Angeles at Crystal Lake

Ollie's first West Coast Sunset

Getting dinner out for me

trying to chase the sunset

Manhattan Pier sunset
1ST real sunset on the West Coast

Ranch days

Yes, once again falling behind on the posting.

I have come to the conclusion its due to the fact that I've hit a stal and been sitting still just working. I have had some great times spent out here on the Ranch. I have made many friends and oddley now enemies. Which has helped with kicking my self back into the drive to move on and continue the search. As one of the greatest handfull of people that are in my life told me this week. "Take the good memories and move on before S*&T hits the fan." and "dont forget the reason you are out there".

With those great words from her and much the same from my wonderfull mother. I am finishing up my list of projects out here. and do a day to say my goodbyes to everyone.  Ive gotten the quads tuned up and running pretty nicely as well as all the hydralic leaks fixed on the tractor. which now can pick up bigger loads and quite. I have some finishing touchs to do on the deck porch I started yesterday for one of the saddle sheds. All that i really know that is left on the list is to help this weekend slaughter up Chuck Jr. a big angus cow. Chuck is not much of one for the blood and killing. nor poop of anykind.lol. Chuck has been great to me and Ollie staying here on the ranch in his house. We have had some great times. Great nights. and better became Great friends. And I thank God for putting this in my path.

With him he put a special person that I have had pleasure to enjoy their company so much of. Just has the most sweetest voice,kindest eyes,cutest smile, and has great things ahead of her. I hope that i made her realize just how well of a special person she really is that she doesnt thank is there. 211 days!!!keep it up!! you are doing great and will always.
"Keep your head up, you are so much better than you believe. I promise."

I wish you the best with all that awaits you. please dont let the drama of the small town, the childish games, disrespecters, and others opions stop you,get you down, or control you. You will always be with Ollie and I, as we will always be here for you.

To other things, I finally recieved back my Costa Del Mars. I had shattered one of the lenses month or so back at the bike rally down at jakes corner. had them shipped out and sent to florida to Madra's house. which was joined up with my TomTom that had taken a crap back in May in Texas. Mommadukes sent me a nice care package of these and the note of the other swift kick to get back on to the sights. As she stated she has been missing my pictures and her sunset pics. Thank you for that once again madra. Sondra thank you for the Avys pic. It makes the visor in the truck complete.
Well i have been so stoked to have my glasses back. It was like better then being 5 and xmas morning when i got the box. all thought that mongoose bike on the pool deck from santa was pretty kick ass that year. Well glad to have the shades back. Now to TomTom. as gas prices have been dropping and watching the news seeing how cheap it was back home in Florida. I was happy to now be back being able to check gas prices anywhere. So I thought. after three months, the stupid thing. still is not right. sure it turns on now. but all the live services that I paid to have doesnt. Therefor after being on hold for 50mins i get to talk to a lady to reset my whole account cause it was haywired. and says all LIVE services are shown working. Still no response back from them on the trouble shooting of the problem or addressing it. Now Garmin is saying i should have bought "ME"instead. year garmin Ive felt the same way after getting of the phone. So now i just have a paper weight or less space in the truck. I dont really need the GPS, I mainly used it for the gas prices and closest station for when I take all the back country roads. and make my own routes. Im so glad that I found a steel Jerry Gas can weeks back.

Well to moms note and words of sun sets. I am happy to report that we finally had some cloud cover a couple nights this week that was to be rain that never showed up. But had given me bright colorerful skys for some pics. These are for you Mom.

  

Happy Trails

I've fallen behind once again on my writing. As I have tons of great stories to tell, and way more great memories that will last and stay with me for my life time. Its just all to funny how quick you can get behind on this. It's much like how behind my bank account has gotten,


          With that last statement, I'll start from most recent and try and remember all the times sense last post. I have recently to on a job working on a Dude Ranch, here in Arizona. In Star Valley which is next to Payson. Olie and I have been working and living out here for the past week. I was hired on by a friend Chuck, I had meet at a party a few weeks back up in mountains of Pine, AZ. We got hired on as a mechanic to work on the quads, tractors, farm truck and pretty much any other things they needed help with. 
       
           We came out for our first day and was rewarded with helping shovel manure for a few hours sense some of the workers called out due to them saying " its to hot". LOL. Yes sure its 98 degrees or hotter out here. But for me its heaven. I'm Florida blood. But this heat is even more lovable. There is no humidity. So I feel pretty good that I can out run the locals with the heat. We did some feeding regular maintenance around the farm. I did some chain sawing on the trees. due to buddy Chuck not being much of a fan of doing this. and had been putting it off.  Put up and fixed some awnings. Then got to spend one long day digging post holes, making some footers, and welding up some fencing. Tomorrow I will finally get my hands greasier doing whats even more fun for me. Some tune ups on the quads and see what reasons the farm truck wont run. I have a good enough idea of why and its marked on the truck with a blue oval, starts with a F and ends with D. Enough said. Right?


         It has and will be a great experience. One that will give me great respect for the great things God has placed on this earth. makes all humble of what he puts in front of me and how its presented.


        Well coming out here and staying on the ranch I had gotten the weekend off. As I usually head to the lake and camp like the past weeks. and once again my plan for this past weekend. But funny how and this being the reason I don't and have stopped making plans. Cause this trip was planned and left open for all that comes up and no set times. Which that has changed. But we will get to that later. So back to the weekend. My buddy Rosie was coming up Friday after his MMI class. He came and met Chuck and I. As we went out on the town. the whole one mile road of it. Rosie finally met up after we finished up at Chilies. We decided to check out a local bar. not so much my taste as it was a gents club. Pete's Place. As we meet the Owner Joel and his wife. we end up spending the whole night till 3am drinking and hanging with the owners and security. once asking for the tab.  I was not allowed to pay,  Joel had taken care of it for us. 24 beers and 4 shots later. SCORE #1 for this guy
          We got up Saturday to head out our favorite bar we partied at month or so ago. Good ol' Jake's Corner. We did a bike Rally there that I had posted about. Well the same bikers had a Bikini Bike Wash for the day. As we arrived with so many people shouting out both our names. We were welcomed like coming home for the holidays. as we pay our dues for the helping out the MMA. we spent the day with buddies then left to come back into town to eat and have some more drinks with the bikers. Apparently this does not happen. outsiders nor non-members to be taken in and be accepted to tag along as we did. We finished our day and dinner with all and made plans to meet up with them later a bar that across from Petes' which is across from the street that leads to the farm. Sense neither one of us had checked it out and we were on a role of being taking care of everywhere we go. we went with it. So at this time we came to realized that the lake was out of question. sense we ended up back were we started and 60 miles away. But hey its about going with the flow and having fun experience. We checked out "The Spur" only running into one gent that we met at Jake's.  Deadeye  an awesome semi driver that smokes a pipe. we spent the a few hours there talking and meting his friends Ellen. older lady had the awesomeness joke Ive ever heard from a lady. which i wont repeat on here. Again here comes score #4. I skipped score #2-Jake's score #3-El Ranco with the bikers. and now my girl Stacey taking care of use. Also had the privilege of meeting the owner of The Spur and the her son. As we traded pics of Fishing and hunting stories. We made plans to go over and meet Deadeye back across the street.


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Rosie lookin on Deadeyes bike

Ready for it Score #5 no cover charge. score #6 drinks covered again. and then doing Yeager with security at the end of the night.


     Well its always closing time, so we head home. As doing the double back onto the dirt road we come facing about 40 or so elk. as I'm telling Rosie to turn on his brights and look. He turns the truck instead and then Wamm. Off the road and into a ditch creek. We were straddling the creek. once we put the truck into 4x4 we back up and drop the front end off a big boulder into the creek. and high side the back. Its time to get out and take a look.Rosie falls off into the drop off of the creek and has a heck of a time climbing around to my side. As I had my own trouble getting out. Sense later we see the back right tire has a 3' foot clearence under it. The truck door of the FJ has weight that wants to stay closed. As I'm sliding out of the door it comes back and pinches me at the stomach and side step. We take off for the rest of the mile to the house to grab my Yoda.




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High Side FJ

I had to do a couple good snatches to free him up. And the good old ddg tore my tires all up. Taking big chunks out of my tread. This was clue that the end needs to come to an end but why. We tried to keep it up at the house. But no dice.  Sunday was nothing but a full sleeping day.  What another great Ledgin  "wait for it" dary weekend.




         Well to the the weeks before this, I stayed with a friends Diane that I met back at the bike rally at Jake's up at her big house in Pine. What a nice house. She had taken a break from doing her traveling jewelry selling. This goes back to the last post. Of going to the Coffee Pot and all the other quad trips. We spent more time with good friends Sparky and Linda. Scooter Greg, Lindas Sister Rosie, Yes another Rosie, her bf Jim. We ran around none stop. going to friends new bar in strawberry The Great Grizzley. going to other friends house Conney and Dee's for Dee's daughters birthday were I got to meet the rest of the family and came to meet Chuck. We spent a weekend down at Apache lake the weekend after labor day. With half of the Gisela crew. where they had tons of friends they had met years back from Tuscan. Great new Mexican friends. I was also offered a job at this time on a farm and working farmers markets for them. But kind of fell threw. But all happens for a reason. Which put me in this great spot.

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The Beard Getting bigger
"Its so Flufffyy"

Pumpkin Center

CoffeePot

Pine & Gisela Time

Olie and I have been hanging out with great friends that we have met back at Wild in the Weeds Biker Rally at Jakes Corner Bar a few weeks back. Diana has been great taking us in and letting us stay with her and sharing her friends and great times with.




We spent the first couple days going quarding thru the moutains of North end of Lake Roosevelt and Gisela. As Sparky guided us and some friends of his down from Iowa,out thru the trails to really neat spots to checkout. We climb in and thru caves,had awesome look out spots. As we made it half way thru the day ride. We came to some rough spots that new friend Jeffs son couldnt make on with riding the first half like a pro, for it being his first time out on his new dirtbike on a trailhead. I came to volenteer for riding the little 90cc dirtbike back out the rest of the way. Sense its been over a year sense my Dirtbike wreck, I still had a second thought of if this was the best idea to do. After a couple of miles and one or two stalls later i had it back, But the fear of crashing this boys bike and tearing my ownself up never left.


I joined up with the guys to do all day Guys ride up to CopperPot. A old Camp house thats used by some for Hunting camp or the Cowboys crash for the night traveling across rounding up there caddel to move from section to section. This day trip and most everytime this week I have thought of a great friend, father, veteran, John Llanio. that has been called apone by God. As him and his neighbors took 4wheeling trips yearly to Virginia and West Virginia. It just was one of those trips that I knew he was alongside riding. and we shared some Budwisers as we always did.


Spent much more of the week running around with new friends,throwing shoes, enjoying beers with great new friends. Memoral Day spent Jets sking back on my home front on the lake and finishing the night off at Jakes Corner where I finally got Wills moms Famouse Fried Shrimp tacos. After killing Three plates of them with Jim, Rosie, Di, Linda, which was awesome to talk with Jim as being a deep fishing guy from Florida. To the end this wild past week. and look to the rest of this week, with hopes that I can work on Chucks farm for a couple weeks. Would make for a nice experiance and save up for my new route South.

Its been a few weeks I know to post and fill in on where and whats been going on. We have had alot of scares, fun, adventures and of course great new friends. Three weeks ago or alittle more, Olie became sick and down. After 4 days of not eating and drinking. just getting more depressed and life threating. we took off to Pheonix to find a Pet Vet thats open on a sunday. We finally found one and made it in, just in time before they closed. Olie took fluids into his back which made him look much like a Camel. Greatest was seeing get in the truck and start drinking instally. As we were now a couple hours down mountains from our Sedona home. A new home front was needed. Well the first and obvious choice was the big round Blue area on the map.WATER!!!  We took off to West Pheonix to Apacha Trail to the lakes. Well lets not say lakes like the State and Federal's call it. cause lets get this correctly said. Man Made Rivers. We took some awesome one lane roads up and down Moutain sides. We found a nice beach down on a Wash. we have found heavinly water in the desert. As I hung out for the evening, some couples showed up to camp. Olie and I went to interduce ourselves. As to show how much of a small world it really is, Hammer and his girlfriend were in town visting from this small place called Charlotte, NC. we were neighborhood neighbors. Had a great time talking about places from here and there. As another day went and so did some great new people. Olie and I spent the day on the river. To a closing of the day. A gentlman comes walking up out of the woods. Pistol on hip, big beard we werent to sure what to think about this. But God brings great people and new life friends into your life in mysterious ways. one of many reasons he is a great man. As we talked and Rosie he had gotten hung up some boulders in his FJ cruiser. We burned my first bomfire on this trip, drinking some ice cold beers. Not to tell his story to all. we hung out for a few days. I had to run into town to pick up a friend from the airport. and drop off my laptop to BestBuy sense it had broken the night before coming into town when olie was sick. Main reason(#1) I couldnt get posting on here. As a trip up to the GrandCanyon and into the Zion trail in Utah was the plan. we made it to up to the GrandCanyon and Rosie had called to inform us that a motorcycle rally was going on not far from were we had hiked in search of this 60 foot waterfall but came short changed for a 10' sliding rock. Sense this was going to be Cinco deMio weekend and was sure there would be no place to drink in the Zion. we turned back. We posted up for the weekend. We had meet alot of great people, great stories, and memories. meet many self searchers like myself. It only came that i was known as Gypse thruout the camp and bar. (with the green guitar) I returned back to the River down the road with my Desert Rat Buddy as Rosie Calls us. Without my Costa's sunglasses sense I dropped them and cracked a lense. We camped out for the week and the Weekenders showed up. Olie was in heaven and behaved well with free roam of Davis Wash. As always meeing and making friends is the main goal and easily made for us. With in a day we were welcomed into everyones boat. and shared a whole more great laughs and stories. Jimmy (Chris) thank you again for taking us out. showing us the partycoves, Dams, partybeach, and the Cliffs. For telling us to jump out, climb up, to jump, to swim, to get on the tub and us clearing up the skinflute. We came into the valley to pick my laptop, vist Toby Keiths bar. which added to one more hickup. a lost debt card in a side of the country where my bank is not. which mad for a fun day of new bank accounts, transfering money. and now waiting game for new cards to come to a new bank. Well till some things come up, ill catch you all in a few days.

I Work OUT!!
Olie after her became sick in Sedona and had to rush to the Vet on a Sunday down in Phoenix.

My Lake Front for a Few Weeks

UFO's are coming for us Desert Rats

Rosie, Arielle, and I

75' Cliff Jump. Torn shoulder but well worth it.

Cathedral Rock

Jerome Ghost Town

I said in a previous post how the trails w

ere for 4X4. here are a couple pics to show just what we put the good ol' Yoda up against. i dont have any pics of the trail that we fought with and almost lost it sliding down the cliff. but with a little air out of the tires and picking a good line. this guy can do it, again pics dont show how real and nasty or good things really are.

and to end the day the perfect way. Hammock swinging