Mountain of a Mystery...

On June 23, 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress(serial number 42-3399, nicknamed "Scharazad"), departed Pendleton Army Air Base in Pendelton, Oregon destined for Grand Island, Nebraska. From there, the bomber would join the other members of the 383rd Bomb Group and continue to England to participate in the ongoing World War II bombing campaigns. Around midnight, the captain radioed that their position was near Powder River, Wyoming. They were not heard from again. After the plane failed to arrive in Grand Island, the plane was declared missing and the Army mounted a search effort with no results. A second search was conducted the following year, concentrating on the Wind River, Absaroka and Big Horn Mountains, but still no wreckage was spotted.
On August 12, 1945 two cowboys spotted something shiny on a ridge line in the Cloud Peak area of the Big Horn Mountains. They discovered the wreckage and the deceased crew, and contacted authorities, who conducted an operation to recover the bodies of the crew and return them to their families. It was believed that during earlier search efforts, the paint color of the aircraft blended in closely with the mountain side, making the wreckage difficult to spot. After a few years, the paint wore off, and the shiny aluminum underneath made the plane more visible. No official cause for the crash was ever determined, but it is presumed that malfunctioning navigational equipment, and a moonless night combined with bad weather caused the pilot to not see the ridge until it was too late.

Lauren and I have decided to hike into the backcountry to find this area known as "Bomber Mountain". A local told me that it is a two day trip up to the crash site. It will be quite the adventure. I am sure we are up to it.



"It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have honors and not deserve them."
-Mark Twain
In honor of the crew of the "Scharazad":
William R. Ronaghan (pilot)
Anthony J. Tilotta (co-pilot)
Leonard H. Phillips (navigator)
Charles H. Suppes (bombardier)
James A. Hinds (aircraft engineer)
Ferguson T. Bell, Jr. (radio operator)
Lee 'Vaughn' Miller (assistant aircraft engineer)
Charles E. Newburn, Jr (assistant radio operator)
Jake F. Penick (aircraft gunner)
Lewis M. Shepaerd (assistant aircraft gunner)

Woo Hoo!

BAM! The home is wrecked. O, well you can build a new one with the scrap.

Boogeyman

As far back as I can remember I have scared myself to sleep.

Not like "normal" children, who often think there is a monster under my bed or the boogeyman is in the closet. I took it a few steps further. Call it a vivid imagination of the most hellish ghouls and decayed macabre corpses ever to sneak into Wes Craven's mind. I would conger these demonic figments and stare at them until I couldn't breath from the fear that gripped me like a wrinkled, puss boiled hand around my throat. I don't know what drove me to these lengths of horror and I still don't. My sister shares this misfortune, but to us we use it more as a gift of art. It drives us to use our minds in ways others could never fathom.

I wrote this blog because I still have these visions........................ I am 23.

Anthony Hopkins -"We are fascinated by the darkness in ourselves, we are fascinated by the shadow, we are fascinated by the boogeyman."

Grant...."Man Up."

With warming weather and green grass comes the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, and all that comes with it......
Lolo and I recently took a little adventure up to the Big Horn Canyon. We drove out to Barry's Landing and saw a cool little trail that looked like a fun hike. We decided to camp nearby at a small campground and head out first thing in the morning. We had packed up a nice little picnic and some food for that night and were enjoying spending time with the rear door of the Monte open just gazing at the stars while we ate. We got settled into the back of Monte and decided it was too hot. I cracked the rear windows a bit to let a nice breeze roll through and laid down for our first camp out or camp in Monte. It was about midnight or so and I was just about to drift off when.....We heard it. "Swoosh...swoosh....swoosh" through the high grass just outside the car. I froze...I froze...I froze like a little child. It came right up to the car. Lauren was whispering "Roll the windows up!" as franticly as possible and all I could do was say "Shhhh!". It was like a dream, a really really real one. And then IT touched the door of the car. Whatever IT was had claws. You know the sound of fingernails on sheet metal, that unmistakable, "Tap" sound. That's what we heard. My "Boy" was too far out of reach and I couldn't move. I never believed anyone when I heard them say " I was frozen in fear." But there I was, frozen...in fear. All of a sudden I felt a pinch under my arm that brought me out of the daze. I heard Lauren say "Man UP!" So all in one motion I lept past the open windows and turned the key forward while rolling up the windows and grabbing the gun. Lauren crawled into the driver's seat and turned on the headlights and we backed out of our spot, but nothing was there. Nothing, we were scared of nothing. Yeah right, Lauren and I both know what it was. There is nothing to fear but fear itself....(and BEARS!)




-The mountains have always been here, and in them, the bears
-Rick Bass

Locked up Abroad.....

Has anyone else seen this show? If you have you know the intensity it delievers. I have never been a fan of "reality" television or television for that matter, until we got the National Geographic channel. I am truly addicted to it. Locked up Abroad follows the story of individuals who have commited some sort of illegal act in another country. It is usually the college aged backpacker looking for some quick cash which quickly turns into a nightmare. This is really Must See TV.



Every body in the whole cell block....... Jail house ROCK.

Sure I've never seen Wisconsin....

I am sure you all are aware Lo Lo and I took a random trip to see the fam back in Michigan. It was a long and boring 24 hour drive and I thought it might be kinda fun since I hadn't been on a good road trip in a while. We started driving on Thursday evening and were planning on being there Friday afternoon. Well after we got into Rapid City sleep deprivation set in and we called it an early night. After a full nights rest we got up and drove across the Great Sioux Nation's once proud home. (Stopped at Wall Drug). I stayed awake for most of Minnesota and slept the entire state of Wisconsin...one state I have never seen....made it through the Chicago skyline and coasted on into Mattawan, MI about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

We had a blast! Literally...I bought some cheap rounds for my 'boy' and shot up a bottle in the back yard. I was stunned at the insanely redneck gun store Lauren took me to. Wall to wall people buying everything from shells to Barrett .50 cal sniper rifles. It was awesome. We hung out with friends and had a very happy Easter( Grandpa almost cried laughing with me about Grandma) It's OK Grandma I understand you. We ate at a good BBQ place...gives you stank em' out gas though....I drank some Oberon .... Watched Surfer, Dude and the Passion of the Christ.

We headed home early Tuesday morning and drove all the way to Buffalo, WY before calling it a day. We stayed at a cheesy little motel and I got sick. The next morning we headed over the mountain and made it home really early. All and all it was a fantastic trip and I did stay awake through Wisconsin on the way home!



Dan think's I'm awesome....

I'm All Out of Love...

You ever make a friend you thought would be there till the end?....and then when you decide to move on with your life....they WON'T accept it.

I have met a lot of interesting people in my life, and have only met one as interesting as my old roommate. No offense intended, but please understand this person is unnaturally sentimental....too upset by LIFE.

No one comes from a perfect family or has a perfect life, that is a given...let me give you an example of his down right, piss me the F off, annoying as close to a queer as a straight man can attitude.

I moved to Lovell, twenty miles away, in March. He stayed in Powell saying, "Oh, I'll be fine...I'll just move in with (another friend) at the end of the month." Needless to say he wasn't fine. Hence forth he has done nothing but impose his jealousy through Internet smack talk. The infamous social networking tool known as "Facebook" has become his battle ground for his nerd war.

I am not the violent type. I don't like fighting, at all. I have only been in a few tussles in my life and did not enjoy them or feel a surge of power nor do I ever try and provoke them. One of these rumbles was with him.

I was opening a pack of batteries with a kitchen knife. He came in ten feet tall and bullet proof...or as it is better known as DRUNK. I went over and joined another friend who was there in conversation about the evening that had. The roommate wanted to wrestle as he often did when he was DRUNK. I let him pin me a couple of times just to humor him in hopes he would stop and go to bed. He isn't a small guy, nor was he that of any threatening size. We used to joke that we would feel bad if we hurt him, "It would be like hitting a kid with down syndrome." He was humored enough to leave me alone for a while so I went back to open the batteries. He came into the kitchen and was spouting curse words at me and trying to advocate another match. I jokingly pointed the knife and said "Back up man.". All at once he rushed me and put me in a headlock. I dropped the knife and started prying on his arm. He kept applying pressure and I started fading from the loss of O2 to the brain. I went into panic mode. I whipped my head back hard and connected with his forehead. He was stunned at the move. I spun around and punched him in the abdomen as hard as I could, causing him to double over in pain. I then applied a reversed headlock and leaned back on it. He began laughing and mocking me. Already in attack mode, this drove my anger to a new level....one I had never felt and...it felt good. I leaned on the headlock and I heard him say "Is this all you got..ugh." I nearly fell as I leaned more pressure and lifted him up as I felt his throat collapsing on my arm. His body went limp and I let go of him and he fell to the floor....unconscious. I was in shock. I had never caused someone to loose consciousness. And this...this was my friend. He convulsed and wheezed heavily on the floor sometime before regaining his wits and sat up.

I really don't hate him. I just need to move on with my life in a new direction. One that doesn't involve drunken idiots and parties.

As far as his situation: " I'm all out of love...I'm Zoloft without you...."