Brydn's 2003 Travel Journal - Montana: "Hi Dogie"

Brydn's 2003 Travel Journal - Montana: "Hi Dogie"

Page 74

My truck stalls in the middle of nowhere and starts up. There is a mean old dog just around the corner. I meet two men in a pickup who help me determine what's wrong with my truck. I return to Jonsrud to camp.

I rev my truck up and start coasting down the summit. I keep the RPMs up but she stalls and hiccups wherever she wants. I get to the last corner that I'd reached by walking but had turned around to get back to the truck and didn't go around. There's a small house with a swing set and toys in the yard... and a BIG BLACK white beard whiskered attack dog. I go, "HI DOGIE." The dog jumps on my door to get in at the window. The dog follows me around a corner, barking the whole way until I can't see the house anymore. I still keep the motor running revving high so my truck doesn't die. The road's incline starts to level out. I pass a mile marker that says mile six. My truck won't idle without starting to die. I keep revving her up.

I stop for the first people I've seen the entire afternoon who are passing by in a red Dodge pickup and canopy. I tell the two dudes, a heavy set gray hair ponytail guy and his passenger who has a nice smile, about the summit. The heavy driver goes, "Vapor locking on you , huh?" Yeah, I vapor lock all the way to Highway 200. Then, like she's come out of being flooded, she goes up to 75 MPH. I decide to go to Checkers to get a new battery and replace the rotten one. I call my dad because cos he knows about F-150s. He says they used to put aluminum foil around the gas line to keep it away from the hot manifold. I get to Checkers. The new battery's the most expensive part I replace. Sure enough, the fuel line is touching the Edelbrock manifold. I swap out the battery in the parking lot. The sign out front says 117`. I never been anywhere this hot before. The summit really defines 'bold.' Dad says to find some shade for my truck. Vapor locks are common on hot days. I offer Ryan, the teller at Checkers, a beer on his smoke break. He declines. I go to the little store and get drinks; lemon aide powder, a six pack of ginger ale, and V-8 juice.

I drive back out to Jonsrud Park. Too many people around to camp there for me. I go farther out the Jonsrud Road to the next camp site. There are alot of people rafting today. One kid hitch-hiking has on cutoffs, an inner tube and a white plastic grocery bag full of beers. The road is super dusty and a wash board. I get here at 7:30 PM. There are still rafters getting in. I get camp site #6 because it's excluded far in the back. I set out the tent but there are yellow bees everywhere. I throw out the yellow bees and sort out the food box; 3 more yellow bees. "I hate yellow bees." I got stung by one in the ear once long ago while water painting in kindergarten and lost part of my left ear. As a rule; more than 3 yellow bees means there's a nest close by. There are 3 yellow bees just around my red beer. So I move but site #1's too close to the super dusty road. I get site #4 thats in between the pump water and the pit toilet. All the rafters leave at dark. I'm 5 miles down the wash board road. The few people that came by car leave. 12:13 PM, it's a star party.