CLICK BELOW: to send BEN a little love on the road.

Download AIMAIM Remote
Send me an Instant Message
Send me an Email
Add Remote to Your Page
Download AOL Instant Messenger



CLICK HERE: to send comments, info, hate mail, little bits o' love?

Check out the all NEW Sacklunch.com Reading List Featuring Books We've been reading lately.


SEARCH THE SACK.


Ben Marcus' Road To Nowhere (a.k.a. Alaska Journal) Click Here.

 
Click here to ADD SACKLUNCH to your AvantGo Channel List!
And read it on your PALM, WINDOWS CE, or WAP enabled device.


Try AOL FREE! 500 Hours


See the ugly logo above? Sign up for AOL and we get $15. Come on, support the cause. Do it now.



Latest Update: June 19, 2001 by Ben Marcus

23:44 SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2001 A CAMPGROUND NEAR DIVIDE, MONTANA

Ike is out running around. Hope I see him again. This just feels like coyote country. I just pulled into a National Park Campground near the Big Hole River. I came here expecting to find only the recent memory of Mike Locatelli. I knew he was coming here with Richard Metiver, but I thought he would be gone by now. Turns out he'll be here until the 23rd, and I have someone to pester.

After Missoula I headed south through the Bitteroot Valley, which lived up to its reputation. It reminded me of British Columbia, but lusher and more populated: snow covered mountains on both sides, a very nice river running through it and lots of horse and cattle ranches. There also is a large pole house industry in the Bitteroot Valley. I saw at least a dozen operations, some of them surprisingly large scale, with cranes and huge piles of poles.

I almost ran out of gas and had to turn around, not knowing what was around the corner, but certain I had passed gas somewhere along the line. I bought another $50 worth and pushed on. It was dark by the time I got to a little town called Darby. There are lots of little "casinos" all over Montana, which mostly means slot machines. Bad for me. Good for Montana.

At Darby I called Mike Locatelli's house in Santa Cruz and talked to his wife, Nancy. Turns out Mike was still in Montana and had arrived here on Friday. He's going to stay until the 23rd. That was good news. I called pops for Father's Day, won $10 on a poker machine and then called Mike.

They've been drifting the Big Hole every day and catching trout. As I drove from Darby to Wisdom and then to Wise River, I figured I'd hang around those guys for a few days. I can read and fish and write while they're drifting the river, then maybe hang with them in the evening. I've got 80 DVDs and also my VHS/TV, so I should be able to keep them entertained.

It's very dark here and starting to rain. Ike came back a little wet. I'm going to read the Lewis and Clark book for a little bit and then hit the sack.

It's weird to know someone out here in the middle of nowhere.

14:49 MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2001 JERRY'S ACCESS, WISE RIVER, MONTANA ODOMETER: 54944 TRIP METER: 867.4

MONEY: DIVIDE BRIDGE CAMP GROUND: $6 SALMON FLY AND CADDIS FLIES AND LEADERS: $24.98 WATER AND MILK AND SPOONS FROM WISE RIVER STORE: $3

Wow. It's rare and cool when a place lives up to the hype. The Hollister Ranch does. Santa Cruz in November does. Montana does.

Parts of British Columbia look like the Big Hole River valley, but this is absolutely flawless trout country. The river flows through perfect horse and cattle pasture, there are snow covered mountains on both sides and puffy clouds are moving through a blue sky.

Earlier today I got stuck in a traffic jam of about 300 cows and calves who appeared to be doing road maintenance by eating the grass on the side of the road. There were about 8 people on horseback moving them along. Everything is healthy here: horses, cattle, people, pasture. Trout. Mosquitos.

Right now I'm in the parking lot at Jerry's Access, just down from Wise River. People launch and bring out their boats here, and it's also possible to fish from the bank. Ike just wandered off into the trees along the river and I found him with his nose down a gopher hole. There's a half-dozen pickup trucks with trailers in the lot and a drift boat going by every 10 minutes or so.

I'm waiting for TroutFitters to open at 15:45 so I can go get a proper fishing license. I went there earlier today to see about Mike and Rich Metiver. They were on the river but I saw a picture of Rich with a nine-pound brown trout on the wall. They also sell Maui Jims for less than that outlet store, just in case I break mine.

I bought some salmon flies and caddis flies and two spools of leader. The guy in the shop rigged me up the local brew: A bug, juicy, floating salmon fly on the end, with a caddis fly trailing behind it. Never seen that before, but every river is different.

There are a couple of fish camps along the river and all of them are fairly plush. Mike and Rich will be at Troutfitters until the 22nd, and I'm hoping they'll grant me a big favor.

I called Evan today from a payphone and they're going to dedicate some pages to Jay Moriarity. They want me to write the piece, so hopefully I can use the phone for calls and computer when Mike and Rich are on the river. We'll see.

This place is perfect: sunny but not hot. Last night it rained and it actually got a little cold. I would imagine the mountain tops got some snow.

After buying the gear at Troutfitters I came to Jerry's Accss and made a bowl of oatmeal. I started to rig up my 14 foot spey road but then thought better of it. I used my smaller, ancient steelhead rod instead, and did a few casts. No bites, and then I remembered I didn't have a license. I thought I saw Fish and Game checking me out, so I packed up and went back to Troutfitters. They were closed until 15:45. Now I'm back at Jerry's Access. I rinsed the oatmeal out of the pot in the river, then used the post for a shampoo. I rinsed off in the bush, not in the river, so don't worry.

I also called Pez to see if the latest Surfer's Journals were in, and would they maybe Fed Ex some to me here. Pez said he would when they came in.

So that's it. Montana rules. I wish I had the $1,500,00 they're asking for 700 acres on the river. This morning I realized what my ideal country house would be. I've always known it will be a big main house with an Industrial Strength kitchen and Entertainment Room, with smaller cabins outside for sleeping quarters and bathrooms. Now I know that the Main House will be shaped like a barn. Barns are nice. Barns have style. There are some classic barns around my mom's house in Sequim, so I'd probably copy one of those.

All I need know is a couple of million. There is a doctor from Indianapolis who built a $3,000,000 stone gothic mansion along the river. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but it's got location, location, location.

That's it for now. Gotta go find Ike again and buy a license.

Montana rules.



TRAVELS WITH IKE
June 17-18, 2001
June 16, 2001
June 15, 2001
June 14 , 2001

NORTH COAST
March 14, 2001
March 11, 2001

March 8, 2001
March 4, 2001
March 3, 2001
March 1, 2001
February 20, 2001
February 19, 2001
February 18, 2001

February 17, 2001

February 16, 2001


ALASKA 2000
November 19, 2000
November 18, 2000
November 15, 2000
November 14, 2000
November 14, 2000
November 12-13, 2000
November 11, 2000
November 9, 2000
November 8, 2000
November 4-6, 2000
November 3, 2000
November 1, 2000
October 31, 2000
October 29, 2000
October 27, 2000
October 26, 2000
October 25, 2000
October 22, 2000
October 22, 2000
October 21, 2000
October 19, 2000
October 17, 2000
October 16, 2000
October 16, 2000
October 14, 2000
October 12, 2000
October 11, 2000
October 10, 2000
October 10, 2000
October 9, 2000
October 8, 2000
October 7, 2000
October 6, 2000
October 6, 2000
October 5, 2000
October 4, 2000
October 3, 2000
October 2, 2000
October 1, 2000
September 30, 2000
September 29, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 27, 2000
September 25, 2000
September 24, 2000
September 23, 2000
September 22, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 20, 2000
September 19, 2000
September 19, 2000
September 18, 2000
September 17, 2000
September 16, 2000
September 15, 2000
September 15, 2000
September 14, 2000
September 13, 2000
September 12, 2000
September 10, 2000
September 10, 2000
September 8, 2000

September 8, 2000

PHOTOS
October 1, 2000
October 1, 2000
September 27, 2000

 

[an error occurred while processing this directive]