Dump station is still not open. If it isn’t open by Friday morning it will be another very expensive drive to the public dump in Sheridan. There is a guy I’ve talked to several times. He’s very talkative. At first I didn’t know he manages the campgrounds up here. He stopped the first time because of my truck’s plates. He moved here from Wisconsin Rapids, WI 35 years ago. He and the two campground hosts acted like they didn’t know why the dump is closed. I knew why. Seems odd.
Heard our camp host, Wendy I think, just went to the ER in Sheridan because of an injured back and shoulder.
Just took a drive to send an email and get the weather and sports. Looks like it’ll be July before it will be in the 70s.
Someone asked me what the bathrooms are like in the National Forest Campgrounds here in the Bighorns. This is typical.
A beautiful clear warm day.
The South Tongue River is still high but it is lower today. The water is clear. Fished from 11:30 to 1:30 and was surprised to catch 3 brook trout on a #16 Bead Head Hare’s ear. Caught 3 more brook trout from 6 to 7:30 pm on the same fly. I tried a dry fly first, a small stimulator, and two fish rose to it but rejected it after a close inspection.
Fishing is on but it’s supposed to cool down for a few days. It was close to 70 today and I never saw one cloud.
My collapsible grill I’m happy with.
Thursday, June 23, 2022. Day 22
Woke at 6:30. 41 and sunny outside. 61 at noon.
Painted all areas of my “Hills” painting this morning. Sometimes a layer can seem like a step backwards. This layer feels that way to me but hopefully it’s a good base. I’m thinking two more layers and then some dicking around to finish it.
Here are two photos of the same painting at the same time using different camera settings.
Woke at 5. 33 outside and 66 inside. I think the near freezing mornings are behind me. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, I hope.
Need to find a dump station. I’ve been in my trailer for 14 days without dumping and my grey water tank (sinks and shower) is full. The dump station at Burgess Junction is not open yet. I might have to take a drive I don’t want to take. Can’t really take my trailer to Sheridan for chores. I won’t be able to park in some spots.
Thurs., June 16, 2022 Day 16
Woke at 5:30. 35 outside and 64 inside. Not much warmer.
Tried to fish the North Tongue River which is usually a little stream. It’s still high. While I was wading I would spook good size trout from just under the bank. That’s where they were hanging out so I couldn’t get to them. It was super windy. Trying to accurately cast a dry fly to within a few inches of the bank wasn’t going to work. The bank has a lot of what looks like willowy bushes that just have buds right now. I lost one dry/dropper rig to a bush across the stream. There was a deeper fast moving hole in front of it so I couldn’t get to it. Hopefully a few more days or a week the rivers will be fishable.
Friday, June 17, 2022 Day 17
Woke at 5. 44 outside and 67 inside. Feels like a big warmup.
12 degrees warmer outside made a big difference in my trailer.
The dump station up here is still not open. Had to drive to Sheridan to a huge Wyoming rest area on I-90 which has a free dump. A mile from the rest area is a U.S. Forest Service office where I bought a Bighorn National Forest Map. The woman behind the counter told me that Burgess Junction dump was closed because of a broken water line caused by the unusual weather and that it would be open sometime next week.
Sat, June 18, 2022 Day 18
Woke at 4. 59 outside and 64 inside.
Last evenings was perfect so I built the first campfire I’ve built in decades. It was pleasant. $6 for a small bundle of wood that seems to be enough for two small fires which will last about an hour and a half each. You can collect dead wood to burn. I’ll do some of that once in a while.
The Forest Service is behind up here because of the 30” of snow almost 3 weeks ago. This campground and another in the area don’t have working water pumps. The campgrounds just opened and I think the water has to be tested.
I chose to come here this early in the season in order to see the entire season. So far I’m getting my wish.
I’m camped at Tie Flume Campground for the next two weeks. It’s on the South Tongue River which is still pretty high.
Tie Flume siteView from my site at Tie Flume
Two years ago I was here twice, once in July and once in August I think, two weeks each time, for a total of a month. I caught many small trout.
August 2020August 2020
Like everywhere else the Forest Service has a shortage of camp hosts. When I told the 75 year old host at Ranger Creek that I was going to camp in the Bighorns for 100 days this summer, he said I should be a camp host and told me about his pay. There are signs at the entrance to the campgrounds looking for hosts. The pay varies by the size of the campground. He gets $1000 a month, his campsite, and some expense reimbursement. Works out to about $1500 a month. He and his cohost, his wife, get one day off a week. They live in Greybull, about a 35 minute drive away.
There isn’t anything wrong with it but I don’t want to clean the bathrooms a couple of times a day along with cleaning the fire rings and tables at each campsite everyday. The reservations and campsite postings must be handled also.
Every camp host I’ve encountered is a real talker.
The host here at Tie Flume seems to be very friendly. She must be 75 to 80. For a National Forest campground Tie Flume isn’t small. There might be 25 sites that need to be maintained and the sites reservations need to be handled. She’s in a conversion van from the 90’s and a tent. I hope it works out for her.
Turns out I can paint in my trailer if I lay the easel on its back on a TV tray I forgot I had under the trailer without extending the easel’s three legs.
The South Tongue River is still way too high
Sun, June 19, 2022 Day 19
Woke at 6. 52 outside and 63 inside. Warmed the trailer up in about 10 minutes. I think it’s supposed to be cool for a couple of days. At 11 am it’s 54 and mostly cloudy.
Once the dump station is open this will be a breeze. Every two weeks I’ll go to either North Tongue Campground or Tie Flume Campground. The dump station is about three miles from North Tongue campground. The two campgrounds are about ten miles away from each other. I will change campgrounds and dump my tanks and fill up with potable water every Friday. On the Friday I’m not moving I’ll hook the trailer up and take a short ride to the dump station. Right now potable water is an issue.
It’s Sunday so people are leaving. Local ATVers are taking their trailers, toys, and kids and going home. I realize they have every right but weekdays are much quieter.
Successfully started on a 12 x 16 stretched canvas painting using a photo I took a couple of weeks ago. By successfully I mean that I painted indoors and didn’t get oil paint on anything.
Don’t have any idea how the painting will turn out.
This is the first stage of the sky. There might be three more layers. The pencil drawing leaves dark smudges with the first layer of paint but the first layer will lock in or “fix” the pencil when the first layer of paint drys.
Kinda ballsy showing every step of a painting. Chances are the finished product won’t be successful.
Monday, June 20, 2022 Day 20
Woke at 5:30. 40 and sunny outside.
Painted the first stage of the hills and foreground.
It’s sunny but just under 50 degrees at 11 am.
Yesterday I learned that I can get water from a campground that is only 4 miles away. I have a 5 gallon jug with a top. One trip a day until the dump/potable water station will do it.
At 1 pm it was 59. At 3:30 it was 36 and snowing.
Droveto Greybull partly through snow. I needed to check on something. 67 degrees down there. On the drive back I saw two elk and a couple of antelope for the first time this trip. Almost every time I drive somewhere I see at least one moose. Two moose grazing together is common. I once saw three moose together and once four together. None of the moose, mule deer, antelope, or elk I’ve seen have antlers. Google this before posting this blog.
For the heck of it I went through the am and fm channels on my trailer’s radio. I wasn’t expecting to find anything. Campgrounds tend not to be placed at high points. The speakers aren’t terrible. Nothing on am but on fm I found Wyoming NPR loud and clear! Also one country, one classical, and one pop station. I was surprised to find anything.
When I’m painting at home I have NPR on my little system.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022 Day 20
Woke at 5:30. 32 and sunny outside. My furnace has been treating me well.
Yesterday I broke the end off of my HDMI cable. No movies until I go to town so I’m going to go today, a day early. I read a lot during the day, sometimes inside, sometimes outside.
Once it warms up I anticipate painting in the morning, fishing after it warms and the bugs and fish are active, and reading at night. For now I appreciate a movie at night.
There are two young families camped at adjacent sites. They spend the entire day outside. They each have their little rubber boots and rain jackets with hoods. Yesterday they were eating lunch at the picnic tables in the cold rain. It wasn’t pouring but it’s not for me. I admire the lifestyle but I wasn’t raised that way and it’s not for me.
It’s been warmer so Shell Creek is really roaring this am
click on individual photos to enlarge
It’s sunny and already 57 at 9:30 am. The painting I started and put in the storage box I built warped horribly because it’s only supported on two edges and the canvas is cheap canvas mounted on 1/8 thick cardboard. I don’t have room for a standard stretched canvas. I could paint one at a time because the bottom panel in the storage box is fully supported. Oh well. When I get home I will have many great photos to paint.
At 7 pm it was 70 degrees.
It’s Friday so the campground is almost full.
I was the only camper here for 4 nights except for a woman and her dog who slept in an SUV here on Wednesday night.
I had it made. It was quiet. Mule deer and moose visited the campground in the mornings and early evenings. Moose and deer came in again today near sunset but were soon spooked and left. I’m familiar with the two campgrounds I’ll be splitting my time between for the rest of my trip. They are prettier than Ranger Creek where I am camped now but they will be full.
As always, I lay low from Friday midday until Monday mornings especially when it comes to fishing. I can fish Monday am through Friday midday without crowds. I let the working people have it during the weekends.
Hiking into spots that are rarely fished is not realistic. Young trout bums have this covered.
Sunday or Monday I’ll be able to move to my site at North Tongue Campground The campground host of North Tongue Campground Lenny, who is a very friendly 80 year old woman, couldn’t remember. It’s where I was supposed to be for the last week but was moved down to Ranger Creek because of the snow. Someone is in try site and will leave Sunday or Monday.
I’m hoping, weather permitting, I’ll be able to do some fishing on North Tongue River. It is very small. It’s more of a creek. North Tongue has a good reputation. There is at least one YouTube video someone fishing the North Tongue.
Half of my time here I’ll be camped at Tie Flume Campground on the South Tongue River. I’ve camped there and fished it. Caught many small, beautiful trout, but can’t remember what kind of trout, maybe rainbows.
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Woke at 5 am.
41 degrees out which is better than 32 of the last couple of days.
By 6:30 am it was bright and sunny. Hopefully another day of sun and not running my generator
Campground is full
Shell Creek is higher due to warm weather and snowmelt.
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Woke at 7 am, 44 degrees outside.
Cleaned and organized things before move today or tomorrow.
This is my 5th season camping with my trailer. Hard to believe. I’ve never built a campfire. This year I bought a hatchet. When it warms up I’ll build a campfire or two.
For 2 or 3 years I’ve gone back and forth on buying an ok pair of binoculars. A month ago I finally pulled the trigger. After much research I bought Nikon Monarch 5, 10 x 42s. Not too expensive but a bright, sharp image and they are not huge. Some think 10x is a little too powerful which can make it difficult to find or stay focused on an object. I am able to stay on a soaring bird of prey until my neck gets sore so I’m very happy with them. I take them on my walks and use them once in a while in camp. I’ll do a little star gazing if Elon Musk’s satellites don’t ruin it. I have mixed feelings about that guy.
Sunday afternoon and Ranger Creek Campground is totally empty once again.
Moved to North Tongue Campground at 4 pm.
Monday, June 13, 2022 day 13 of my trip
Woke at 4, read and slept until 7, 46 degrees and overcast
Looks pretty gloomy outside. Totally different vibe here at North Tongue. Super quiet here because there isn’t a roaring flooding creek behind my trailer 24/7. Ranger Creek was open. I could look out my window while having coffee and see deer and sometimes moose grazing 30 feet away or 100 yards away. This is very wooded and I can see maybe 50 yards. It is prettier.
Kicked the temperature in my trailer up a couple of degrees during the day and at night. Propane isn’t that expensive.
I will be here until Friday when I’ll move to Tie Flume Campground. Friday is supposed to be 78 at Burgess Junction which is a few miles from North Tongue Campground and maybe 10 miles from Tie Flume Campground.
I’m hoping to begin fishing a week from today. Tie Flume is on the South Tongue River.
Took a walk when it was sunny around noon. The sun didn’t last long. When I walked the half mile to North Tongue River and looked west, rain was coming.
Worst weather day yet. Partly sunny until around 1 pm but after that the temperature dropped to 41, then windy and rainy. At 5 pm some campers set up their tents in the cold, wind, and rain. Not sure why one guy placed his tent on the side of a small hill. Took a photo through my window. They can’t see me.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022 Day 14
Woke at 6. 32 outside and 68 inside
. Very sunny at 7 am Burning a lot of propane but it hasn’t gone up like gasoline.
The tent campers are three guys with three tents. I wouldn’t want to be them but they’re probably having a good time.
Had snow flurries from 2 til 3 pm. Temperature was around 44 so it didn’t stick. Very windy, 45 mph gusts I read.
Got bored reading and napping so I drove down out of the mountains to Sheridan, Wy.
Forgot a tube of cerulean blue oil paint which is great for skies. Also, I don’t want to use the junky, cheap, cardboard, canvas panels I brought from home so I was hoping to find some art supplies in Sheridan. The Ace Hardware in town has a fair Arts and Crafts section. They have M. Graham Oil Paints and had Cerulean Blue. They also have stretched canvas for a reasonable price. Tomorrow is shopping, mail, wash, and bill paying, and blog day so I will pick my supplies up then.
A very nice couple in a tear drop camper are freezing their asses off next to me.
Wednesday, June 15, 2022 Day 15
Woke at 5. 33 outside and 66 inside. I think the near freezing mornings are behind me. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, I hope.
Need to find a dump station. I’ve been in my trailer for 14 days without dumping and my grey water tank (sinks and shower) is full. The dump station at Burgess Junction is not open yet. I might have to take a drive I don’t want to take. Can’t really take my trailer to Sheridan for chores. I won’t be able to park in some spots.
Rivers are still too high to fish. Drew three photos on canvas panels. Yesterday morning I tried painting in my trailer but it’s too small in there. Need warmer sunny weather. Yesterday was sunny and my solar panel fully charged my house battery without running my generator.
Several times daily mule deer and moose graze the grass in my campground.
This morning I drove to Burgess Junction and then west down from the mountains to Lovell Wyoming. One spot’s elevation was over 9400 feet. There was a viewing area west to The Bighorn Basin.
Bighorn Basin
The Bighorn Basin is not a beautiful area. I saw Halliburton and Georgia Pacific signs for bentonite and gypsum mines. Gotta have the stuff.
My new collapsible grill
This morning I was looking at my Bighorn Mountains National Forest Map. A couple of years ago I was researching streams in the Bighorns and marked promising streams with a fine marker. I laughed because Shell Creek right behind my campsite and a mile upstream was one of the promising streams I marked. Shell Creek can be seen in the above photo right behind my campsite.
Due to snow at higher elevations my campground was changed to Ranger Campground on Shell Creek. I like it quite a bit and will be there until June 14th. Shell Creek is about 50 feet behind my campsite. This morning I took a drive to Greybull Wyoming to get a cell signal and pick up a few things. It’s a beautiful drive along Shell Canyon. Rivers, streams, and creeks are too high now to fish. Shell Creek is a raging small river.
Shell Creek behind my trailerShell FallsPart of Shell FallsThe view west from Shell Canyon
Made it to Sheridan, Wyoming. Wednesday after camping at Adrian MN I turned my trailer’s water pump on and water started spraying from the back of my toilet. Two days later I installed a new toilet which I purchased from Camping World in Rapid City SD. They had one in stock. I got a call from the National Forest Service A nice lady told me my campground got 30 inches of snow Monday and I won’t be able to camp there for 4 or 5 days. She said I can camp at Shell Creek Campground which is on the other side of the Bighorns. That’s where I’m heading now.
