Day 125
Yakkity yak
July 29th, 2010
I'm walking across America.
That's the idea, at least. I'm walking westward from New York City for nine months or so. If everything goes according to plan, I'll be in Oregon when the clock runs out. If nothing goes according to plan, maybe I'll end up in Peru or Mongolia or Pennsylvania. You can read all about the details of my trip if you're so inclined.
Email me at matt@imjustwalkin.com
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Here's my progress so far:
….don’t talk back!
(sorry, it had to be said)
and you said it first!
Thats a baaaaaaad joke.
Lois, you stole my line!
Funny, too, David, but yaks make more of a grunting sound…
Here are some yak faks (hee hee):
http://www.yampayaks.com/faqs.html
Hmm, they must have been staring at Matt right before/after he took this picture.
Who would have thought this walk would become so educational for everyone!?!
You DID end up in Mongolia!
Inner Mongolia – located just a few blocks from Eldon’s Knish and Egg Cream emporium in a suburb of St. Ignatius – home of YakityYakDontTalkBack tofu burgers. Guaranteed to taste just like mom’s.
Matt, be sure “ewe” look for Bighorn Sheep between Paradise & Thompson Falls. There are a lot of ’em along there. I saw a huge herd of them last year grazing alongside Hwy 200.
Great PICS! Can’t wait to visit Montana someday!
don’t talk back!
Is that furry mound on the left side a Yak backside?
I believe you are correct Candice…that’s exactly what I was thinking. :)
Here’s a link for close-up pictures of yaks. This ranch is in MT near Glacier National Park.
http://www.springbrookranch.com/Yak/Yak%20Picture%20page/yak_picture_page.html
Oh…they are pretty! Thanks for posting the link!
If this were Tibet, it would be time for Yak Butter Tea!
http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/yakbuttertea
I read that in “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson!
That was a GREAT book! I highly recommend it to Hobo Nation.
“Hobo Planet” now, Lois!
Donna at first I thought this may be the same ranch as you had listed since In terms of MT miles Glacier isn’t too far off. The Ranch that Matt has pictured here is the Living Diamond ranch founded in 1988 http://www.iyak.org/LivingDiamondsRanch.pdf You wouldn’t believe how much money these guys bring in! 4 of said Yaks actually were in the movie 7 years in tibet and the owner actually flew in w/ brad pitt!
Tatjanna wow that was interesting. I think we should all become Yak ranchers…. :)
I think we should all fly somewhere with Brad Pitt! ;)
I didn’t realize how valuable the yaks were! Wow…
you all need to quit YAKKIN’ so much!!!
i’m just tryin’ to figure something out here. help me out folks…..salmon lake, mt to placid lake, mt to jocko lake, mt, to st. ignatius, mt, to……polson(this ranch?) due north, instead of matt heading due west from st. ignatius towards st. regis? this really takes him way out of his way regarding direction, no?
I was thinking the same thing Charlie….but Matt knows which way he should be going…maybe this is the safest walking trail for him. Hmmmm….
I was wondering if Matt had some secret insight to fire roads or something. It thought from Ovando he would head to Missoula then take the 12 into the Columbia River Valley. I’m curious on where he is going to go now. Mind you I won’t be disappointed if our walk lasts a few extra days.
If you look at the route he has mapped out by clicking on the link to it on his details page, you will see that he is right on target. The pictures he is posting are right along the predetermined route. I assume he is using his gps tracker to keep himself where he belongs.
The other part is that he is heading somewhat north but I expect that is what makes for the easiest walking — I don’t think that Matt wants to go mountain climbing with his cart or maybe even without it.
@gayle opie: um, no. the route you refer to (“If you look at the route he has mapped out by clicking on the link to it on his details page”) shows ovando to st. ignatius and westward to ravalli, dixon, etc. if this ranch location is accurate it took him to polson, which was 9 hours due north, walking, which would mean 9 hours back to get back on that map track. i dont think he’d do that. even the google walking map doesnt do that. so my theory is that @tatjanna miller in montana, possibly mis-identified the ranch. just a theory.
Why not just Matt do the walking and us do the following. No real need to be armchair mappsmen…..enjoy hiw walk whereever it takes us…and forget about how he is doing it. Matt has made it 3/4 across america by foot…..set him free and dont worry….follow the red…solid line.
Fly be free !! Just don’t fly away to NY just yet!
The Yak in the photo are at Dixon not at Polson. The location that the map shows for the photo is correct.
If you look at the picture in flickr and click on the “more properties” you will see that Matt’s phone had gps tracking and it logs the location at which the picture was taken. Then when he posts it, it logs that on the map in the banner at the top of the page by placing the red teardrop. So when it says that picture was taken near Dixon, it’s a pretty safe bet that it wasn’t taken at Poison.
@gayle. thanks for the tip on how to track where matt has been.
yip, just as i suspected. dixon, mt make more sense. see jeff, there are things worth discussion…..friendly conversation. even for those who are ‘following the red solid line’. see ya round the bend!
Fly be Free !!!!! Like Jeff says, Fly be Free !!!! Let it flow!!! Wheee!!!!! Love this place, HoboPlanet, and all that it has to offer. The pics, the people, the conversations. Whee!!!!
I was in a rutt when I posted that. I am unrutted now. I track his photo’s in flicker too sometimes.
sorry … just cranky….need some chocalate……
Sorry to hear you’re cranky Jeff. Here *extends hand out to Joisy Jeff* take some of my chocolate. It helps with any and all problems especially crankiness.
They don’t appear to be staring at you. Can it be that Asian species are indifferent to the Matt pheromone.
One of them is displaying his backside to Matt – hmph complete indifference!
Oh I think one of them in the far back was turning around to look at Matt as he snapped the picture. If you go to the flikr page and enlarge it you can see it better.
Hmmmm….do you mean the one with the white rump? I don’t know Dorinda…. maybe :)
Yes yes! You see him?!? He looks like he heard Matt and he was turning is head to look around. At least that’s the story I’m making up. he he.
BARBARA IN MICHIGAN-
I am glad you enjoy my music selcetions. I read things and it reminds me of songs I have heard. I can not read music (nor spell correctly here half the time. I do not play an instrument but I love music. I have a whole house zoned stereo system including speakers in the ceiling of my back coevered deck. I listen to all kinds of music -really like older things and to me RAP is not mussic.
Now Matt you wanted some YAKKITY YAK – The best I could come up with was this YAKETY YAK –
Hope you enjoy Barbara and others also – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf7seK3n9rE
Also found this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3S-Vz7QNTk&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Fun Yak Facts
Yaks possess great lung capacity so they can absorb more oxygen. Their digestive system is also designed to keep them warm.
– In winter a wild yak can survive temperatures as low as – 40 degrees (F).
– A wild yak doesn’t reach full size until 6 to 8 years of age.
– In wild yaks, births usually occur in June and a single calf is born every other year.
– Dried yak dung is used as fuel in the treeless Tibetan plateaus.
Domestic yak are used for travel and as draft animals. They are also valued for their milk, meat, wool, and dung. Domestic yak are more varied in colors than wild yak
http://www.thejunglestore.com/Yaks
Saun
You sound DUNG CRAZY with all these facts and figures-but at least I am not BUFFALOED now.
“They are also valued for their milk, meat, wool, and dung.” Now how many human beings can that be said about? :-P
Did y’all know there’s a YAAK, Montana and a YAAK River in the far NW corner of the state? And, no, I didn’t spell it wrong! Montana geography lesson finished for today.
Did you notice that Yak spelled backwards is kay, as in:
Hoboplanet: Matt, would you please walk across the country and provide us with endless pictures of your voyage, and a forum to discuss them along with most everything else.
Matt: Kay.
“Don’t talk back”…an immediate response…okay I will wade into this a bit…an immediate response to a “certain age”…or do all ages know the words to this ditty???…in other words do you have to be 40 or beyond…to know it…or is it around enough to be known by 30’s and 20’s and teens???…just a thought…
So did everyone who visited this site know the song or are some of you “in the dark” until Don came up with his youtube of the song…
And then you wondered: “What’s the fuss about that song?”…
Well, since I posted the first “don’t talk back” above…I’ll say that I’m 39 and I have no idea why I know this song. I think that maybe in elementary school we sang it in chorus. Or, did they play it on “Happy Days” ??? No clue!!!
I must admit, I knew the song instantly. It is not from my time….but we have some of the best oldies stations in the NYC area….so you can hear this all the time if you wanted too…..
The Coasters were really popular during the late ’50s, so someone would have to be 55 or older to remember when Along Came Jones, Poisen Ivy, Little Eygpt and Yakity Yak were first Top 40 hits.
My, what an impressive assortment of bovids they have in Montana.
*blink, blink* Yaks?!!