I lived in Darby way back when it was full of current and former loggers, a lot of drunk Indians and a handful of broke prospectors. The biggest day of the year BY FAR was Loggers Day when the town skank sat on top of a HUGE log on a big truck as is rolled through town waving at the crowds of tens of people. You could buy lunch for $3 and it could feed a family of 9 for a week. I kind of doubt it's anywhere near the same as it was in the 70s. You could back then buy 20 acres of Forest service land for $400...That same land today? probably in the millions.. Oh well..
I was in Job Corps at Trapper Creek at 17 and decided to run away one night. So I'm walking down old route 93 in the dark and hear the growl of a bear in the distance. Soon enough I hear loud crunching in the trees not far from where I was and just knew it was a bear. Before i knew it I was petrified and trying to take the tiniest, most quiet steps possible because i knew there was no way I was going to outrun that bear. I could have sworn that everyone in the entire state of Montana could hear my heart beating, but I kept walking and soon enough I see the light from a ranch in the distance and the crunching was getting louder and louder with every step. I knew I was about to die. There was just no way I could make it to that ranch in time. Finally, after what felt like 9 days of walking on pins I could see the clearing leading to the light and the ranch.. CRUNCH CRUNCH and I look everywhere just waiting to die, but it was a cow..MOOOO! A few minutes later a cop came by and gave me an ultimatum.. Go back to the Job Corps center or go to jail because I was under age.. Back to the Job Corps and my nice, soft bed never to try that again.. The end.. You might not believe it, but I have seen BIG grizzly's go by our window at night, some bigger than a pickup and they can make even the toughest city boy crap his pants in fear..
In the immortal words of my old man, "Wait'll you get to be my age!"
Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse, but the one comfort we have is Cincinnati sounds worse. ~Oliver Wendal Holmes Sr.
(12-27-2020, 11:52 AM)MTBengalsFan Wrote: Maybe not a big deal for you folks living in Cincinnati, but when you live in rural Montana and find out an NFL player just purchased the 61 acre parcel that abuts your property, my mind went to "it's gotta be a Packer or Viking" to survive the Montana winter. I was right...sort of. Trae Waynes is my new neighbor!
Seriously always wanted to ask people who live in states like that. Do you ever get bored? What do you do out there?
I'm a city guy couldn't imagine living in states like Montana, Iowa, the Dakota, wyoming, Oklahoma etc.
I lived in Arkansas for a few years but I was bored out my mind and never going back.
I'm guessing you like to hunt and fish and stuff.
I need sports so I have to stay near a big city with all the major sports teams.
(12-28-2020, 12:26 AM)Amalone002 Wrote: Seriously always wanted to ask people who live in states like that. Do you ever get bored? What do you do out there?
I'm a city guy couldn't imagine living in states like Montana, Iowa, the Dakota, wyoming, Oklahoma etc.
I lived in Arkansas for a few years but I was bored out my mind and never going back.
I'm guessing you like to hunt and fish and stuff.
I need sports so I have to stay near a big city with all the major sports teams.
I loved it in Darby, but I had wonder lust and wanted to go travel the world. I didn't get to see the rest of the world, but did hitch hike all over almost every state except Hawaii and Alaska west and south of Ohio..
In the immortal words of my old man, "Wait'll you get to be my age!"
Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse, but the one comfort we have is Cincinnati sounds worse. ~Oliver Wendal Holmes Sr.
(12-28-2020, 12:26 AM)Amalone002 Wrote: Seriously always wanted to ask people who live in states like that. Do you ever get bored? What do you do out there?
I'm a city guy couldn't imagine living in states like Montana, Iowa, the Dakota, wyoming, Oklahoma etc.
I lived in Arkansas for a few years but I was bored out my mind and never going back.
I'm guessing you like to hunt and fish and stuff.
I need sports so I have to stay near a big city with all the major sports teams.
(12-28-2020, 12:26 AM)Amalone002 Wrote: Seriously always wanted to ask people who live in states like that. Do you ever get bored? What do you do out there?
I'm a city guy couldn't imagine living in states like Montana, Iowa, the Dakota, wyoming, Oklahoma etc.
I lived in Arkansas for a few years but I was bored out my mind and never going back.
I'm guessing you like to hunt and fish and stuff.
I need sports so I have to stay near a big city with all the major sports teams.
Oklahoma isn't so bad and has more densely populated areas than Wyoming, Dakotas and Montana. Out of the states you mentioned, Oklahoma is the only one that has a city over 1 million population, and they have another city that is really close (Tulsa has a metro population of 991,000 as of 2010, I would expect them to be over 1 million now. OKC has a metro population of 1.4 million). The rest of the state is pretty sparsely populated. Lots of fishing and hunting land but the cities have some fun amenities. I moved away from Oklahoma recently, now living in Nashville but I still enjoy Oklahoma. OKC would be your best bet if you ever visited Oklahoma. They are absolutely FANATICAL about the Thunder and the OU Sooners. Incredible sports environments.
There's plenty to do on 25 acres to keep us busy. I used to fish often, but too crowded now. I've taken a cow elk on my own property the last 3 years...during these crazy times, it's nice to have a full freezer with healthy and tasty game meat.
When I was in school in Missoula in the early 80's, I was frustrated how behind the times Montana was, but the internet flopped that on its head. We connect at 50 mps in the country. And satellite TV lets me watch any sporting event I want. Bozeman was the fastest growing small city in the country until last year, when we no longer were classified as small.
I lead Nature tours around the world, at least when there isn't a pandemic raging. Bozeman International airport is only 20 minutes from our house. We can fly direct nonstop to 24 cities, with Orlando being the longest trip. From Salt Lake, Atlanta, New York , Denver or LA (all direct flights) I can fly anywhere in the world.
I can watch the Bengals anytime I want to mess up my Sunday. I've gone to more games in person since living out here than I did when I lived in Oxford, where I grew up. My favorite was the beat down they put on the Bears in '09 (45-10). Had seats in the nosebleed section, but I was there. Bengals make it to the Super Bowl again, i'll go rather than screaming at the TV, as I've done the previous two times.
To me, getting on the interstate and complaining about traffic while not speeding and going 80 mph beats the nightmares I've encountered on 75 and 71 and 275 (which always seemed to be under construction.)
Any place you live has downsides, but I'll be 60 next year and the slower pace offered by Montana suits me well.
(12-28-2020, 02:26 PM)MTBengalsFan Wrote: There's plenty to do on 25 acres to keep us busy. I used to fish often, but too crowded now. I've taken a cow elk on my own property the last 3 years...during these crazy times, it's nice to have a full freezer with healthy and tasty game meat.
When I was in school in Missoula in the early 80's, I was frustrated how behind the times Montana was, but the internet flopped that on its head. We connect at 50 mps in the country. And satellite TV lets me watch any sporting event I want. Bozeman was the fastest growing small city in the country until last year, when we no longer were classified as small.
I lead Nature tours around the world, at least when there isn't a pandemic raging. Bozeman International airport is only 20 minutes from our house. We can fly direct nonstop to 24 cities, with Orlando being the longest trip. From Salt Lake, Atlanta, New York , Denver or LA (all direct flights) I can fly anywhere in the world.
I can watch the Bengals anytime I want to mess up my Sunday. I've gone to more games in person since living out here than I did when I lived in Oxford, where I grew up. My favorite was the beat down they put on the Bears in '09 (45-10). Had seats in the nosebleed section, but I was there. Bengals make it to the Super Bowl again, i'll go rather than screaming at the TV, as I've done the previous two times.
To me, getting on the interstate and complaining about traffic while not speeding and going 80 mph beats the nightmares I've encountered on 75 and 71 and 275 (which always seemed to be under construction.)
Any place you live has downsides, but I'll be 60 next year and the slower pace offered by Montana suits me well.
I own about 20 acres between Bozeman and the Madison River. The land isnt that great but the area is beautiful we love to drive out and park the RV to do some hunting and fishing.
I have the Heart of a Lion! I also have a massive fine and a lifetime ban from the Pittsburgh Zoo...
I went to visit my sister who owns a huge cattle ranch in Montana. We went down a dirt road and saw a sign for a town called Montana. My sister said it was Joe Montana's town. So Joe Montana owns a town named Montana in the state of Montana. Don't figure.
(12-28-2020, 08:50 PM)Synric Wrote: I own about 20 acres between Bozeman and the Madison River. The land isnt that great but the area is beautiful we love to drive out and park the RV to do some hunting and fishing.
I know that area well and have hunted Huns and pheasant there. Nice to know there's more than just my brother out here as part of Who-Dey Nation!
Today, when I walked our Chessie on the 15-acre parcel I co-own with Trae and 2 others I stopped dead in stride. Before me as clear as can be was a fresh set of mountain lion tracks. I was glad to have my dog with me. I scanned every tree, but didn't see the cougar. A couple of months ago it was a grizzly back there. Kinda keeps you on your toes!
(12-28-2020, 09:01 PM)MTBengalsFan Wrote: I know that area well and have hunted Huns and pheasant there. Nice to know there's more than just my brother out here as part of Who-Dey Nation!
Today, when I walked our Chessie on the 15-acre parcel I co-own with Trae and 2 others I stopped dead in stride. Before me as clear as can be was a fresh set of mountain lion tracks. I was glad to have my dog with me. I scanned every tree, but didn't see the cougar. A couple of months ago it was a grizzly back there. Kinda keeps you on your toes!
It's this kind of stuff that keeps me from going to Yellowstone for camping. How do you handle yourself, or what do you do to make sure there isn't a grizzly or mountain lion trying to sneak up on you?
I imagine you carry a rifle, but what do you do to make sure your surroundings are always clear so that an animal can't sneak up on you? Also, what kind of places do you avoid, that may not be immediately obvious (like a cave or den or something)?
(12-28-2020, 08:50 PM)Synric Wrote: I own about 20 acres between Bozeman and the Madison River. The land isnt that great but the area is beautiful we love to drive out and park the RV to do some hunting and fishing.
That is awesome! That is a beautiful area. I used to do a lot of fly fishing on the Madison and other rivers around there in my younger years. Always pondered retiring there.
(12-28-2020, 09:10 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: It's this kind of stuff that keeps me from going to Yellowstone for camping. How do you handle yourself, or what do you do to make sure there isn't a grizzly or mountain lion trying to sneak up on you?
I imagine you carry a rifle, but what do you do to make sure your surroundings are always clear so that an animal can't sneak up on you? Also, what kind of places do you avoid, that may not be immediately obvious (like a cave or den or something)?
(12-28-2020, 09:01 PM)MTBengalsFan Wrote: I know that area well and have hunted Huns and pheasant there. Nice to know there's more than just my brother out here as part of Who-Dey Nation!
Today, when I walked our Chessie on the 15-acre parcel I co-own with Trae and 2 others I stopped dead in stride. Before me as clear as can be was a fresh set of mountain lion tracks. I was glad to have my dog with me. I scanned every tree, but didn't see the cougar. A couple of months ago it was a grizzly back there. Kinda keeps you on your toes!
I actually live in WV. I'm much more used to Coyotes and the occasional Black Bear.
I have the Heart of a Lion! I also have a massive fine and a lifetime ban from the Pittsburgh Zoo...
(12-28-2020, 09:10 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: It's this kind of stuff that keeps me from going to Yellowstone for camping. How do you handle yourself, or what do you do to make sure there isn't a grizzly or mountain lion trying to sneak up on you?
I imagine you carry a rifle, but what do you do to make sure your surroundings are always clear so that an animal can't sneak up on you? Also, what kind of places do you avoid, that may not be immediately obvious (like a cave or den or something)?
Yellowstone is perfectly safe. I suggest if you want to do a small camping trip that has nothing to do with hunting or fishing and more hiking the bottom of Phantom Canyon Colorado near Pikes Peak would be perfect.
Edit: At the top of Phantom Canyon is a little town called Cripple Creek it's an old school gambling town. They even have a wild herd of donkeys that just travel the area including in town.
I have the Heart of a Lion! I also have a massive fine and a lifetime ban from the Pittsburgh Zoo...
(12-28-2020, 09:01 PM)MTBengalsFan Wrote: I know that area well and have hunted Huns and pheasant there. Nice to know there's more than just my brother out here as part of Who-Dey Nation!
Today, when I walked our Chessie on the 15-acre parcel I co-own with Trae and 2 others I stopped dead in stride. Before me as clear as can be was a fresh set of mountain lion tracks. I was glad to have my dog with me. I scanned every tree, but didn't see the cougar. A couple of months ago it was a grizzly back there. Kinda keeps you on your toes!
Back in the late 90's I worked as a biological technician on the Flying "D" for Turner. I had a lab named Isaac that I used to hunt the Madison river islands down stream of Blacks Ford. There were a lot of wild pheasants on those islands back then. We used to do a "cast and blast" down that way too at times. Man! Those were good times! I do miss the way of life out there. Unless you've lived it, it is hard to explain.
BTW there used to be a sports bar right off campus in Bozeman called Spectators, does it still exist? I had the dubious honor of being the only Bengals fan from '98-02 that watched every game there. The bartender that was a Colts fan would always remind of that. He told me one time a guy asked if they had every game on and not only did he say every game but he told him that they even had a Bengal fan that comes every Sunday.
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