After 30 years of working in a facility the house, fed, and cared for mice, I now have one that has decided he wants the same deal.
A mouse lives in my trailer. He comes out every night and rummages around my home. I now keep all mouse-penetrable food items in tubs. I keep the dishes cleaned and put away. I wipe down the stove. There is nothing to eat here. Except the daily dose of peanut butter I provide on the worthless traps.
He has beat me in all attempts to this point. He is winning the battle. But mark my words, I will win this war. Id there’s one thing my 30 years of Animal Facility experience has taught me: my lifespan is longer than his.
Sunny days are here for a few days. The snow is retreating quickly and the water is pouring off the mountain. It won’t be long and the deep snow of last week will be but a story.
So goes most troubling episodes in life. They really, really suck at the time. But with time they just move along into the past.
I actually escaped today! There is no invisible barrier to my escape from this valley. I took the now functioning-fine truck over the mountain and into Vernal Utah.
I got a good look around at what is available in Vernal, which is about 45 miles away. It has pretty much anything and everything I could ever need. I got my groceries restocked a d a few other needs taken care of. It’s a good resource to have relatively close.
Coming back towards Flaming Gorge I saw many, many deer neighbors. And closer to camp, the elk were back. I stopped and tried to have a chat with them, but they were uninterested. I enjoyed them none the less.
Upon reaching camp, I have new camper neighbors. Dale is from Maine and now, Denver and has fished this river for years. Tim and David are also from Colorado. Tim is a past ultra marathon runner who has hiked the entire length of the three sections of this part of the Green River. And David owns an exotic car dealership. They also said that they saw a moose passed by earlier. I would have loved to seen that.
This morning, along with the song birds, turkey calls and chukkar clucks filled the air.
I’m really liking my neighborhood and the neighbors within.
Today was my opportunity to get back to Salt Lake and take care of business, but more importantly to see the little lady.
I got gas this morning, pack my things, shuttled a truck and trailer from the dam to the take out point, and got out of town. I made it about 20 miles.
To make a long story short, I stopped my truck, turned it off for a minute, and then tried to restart.
No go.
The truck acted as if it were dead. A few people tried giving me a jump.
No go. The second gentleman and his wife who offered help also gave me a tow to a resort shop.
The service guys at the resort tried to help me figure it out. We didn’t get it started but now have parts on order and hopefully tomorrow, I’ll be back on the road.
Me and my honey are so very bummed out. I’m not sure when the next opportunity will come, hopefully next week, but i will try again.
Is there a lesson to be learned here? Maybe not by the break down but maybe this:
Last night I woke up at 2 a.m. and contemplated which way I should go home. Either through the town of Vernal, Utah which is a little bit longer; or through Wyoming which is shorter, but maybe more perilous.
I thought it over and over. Everybody here said Vernal. I wanted a shorter route and was thinking I would the risk the wilds of Wyoming.
Back and forth I went. Solid, known, tested wisdom of others vs. Self indulgence of getting there quicker. Finally I decided to go with the wisdom of others.
Eventually, I faded back to sleep.
My truck died exactly at the intersection of the two routes. I ended up not going either way. I wasted all that sleeping time worrying about it and none of it mattered.
Lesson? Don’t waste time on stupid stuff. Just decide to do the wise choice and be done with it.
The sun finally shone today. Uninterrupted by clouds or snow. It was lovely.
I took the sunny day to get some things done outside. Shoveled some snow away from my trailer, worked on the propane tanks, and troubleshoot a little battery problem that has been happening.
In the “heat” of the afternoon, I took a little stroll around the neighborhood that will soon be full of people once word gets out that spring may have sprung.
Last night the elk cruised by. They were hard to miss and this morning their tracks were all over the hillside. On my walk, I noticed others that have also passed, but unnoticed.
An owl swooped by, but refused to pose for a pic and left no tracks.
And of course my own tracks.
Without the snow. We would have no idea of all the critters that cross our path everyday.
I wonder what else goes on of which we have no idea.
As I got ready to settle in for the night, I noticed I had some new neighbors. A herd of elk moved in across the road from me.
I stood in the snow watching them with awe. They grazed. Occasionally glanced over at me, but really didn’t me much attention. The younger ones chased each other around.
I noticed that I had stayed out too long watching them as i started to shiver and get cold.
It was at that moment that it occurred to me that it was I who was the new neighbor. This was their house. I’m the one outside of my element. They were having dinner and playing around.
Sometimes we think a little too highly of ourselves as humans. When actually we’re the outsiders looking in.
At the time of this writing this evening, I have not seen a single other person today. I know they’re out there but they must be hunkered down in their own places of shelter.
The wind and snow continued today, but mostly the wind. The trailer shook and creaked. And then finally it stopped. The sun kind of came out and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.
This storm is fitting a losing war. The little bit of sun was working on the edges of the snow banks and the birds were busy picking small bits from the plants still above the snow line. In a week, this storm will just be a fading memory as the springtime reclaims its time from the Chair of the seasons committee.
There will be plenty of people around soon enough. Although it’s been cold and at times unsettling enough to wake up and stay awake, the solitude is nice. More items got done inside the trailer and the walk through the fresh snow void of footprints other than my own has been precious. There are not that many times like this in this life. I do savor them.
Today was my first day on the job. For old man winter it was just another day at the office.
The snow came early this morning and just kept coming. Inch after inch. The small snow, the stuff that really piles up. As the old saying goes: Small snow- deep snow. Big snow- little snow. Or something like that.
After shuttling one trailer, it was time to turn it in. There was not to be any more business.
So I have sat in my trailer, watching the snow pile around me. I worked on some things that needed some attention, checked the internet for fan mail (haha), and generally cabin fevered the day away.
I’m expecting more of the same tomorrow and again on Wednesday.
It’s kind of hard to make a good first impression as a rookie when the seasoned veteran shows off.
Mike M Jensen 