I have dreams dancing like a campfire in my imagination. Dreams of finding a treasure chest filled with pounds of gold and priceless antiques – and the joy of discovery of the unknown wilds. The dreams are sometimes faint, but they’re still glowing. All I have to do is get there.
No joke. Gasoline prices are killing this treasure hunter right now. Some people dream about winning the lottery, I dream about finding a treasure. But at this point, I’m already worrying about it so much, I may not want it anyway. Ha! Would it change my life? What would I do with it? Would it drive me crazy? Would the IRS be after me? The thoughts keep circling, and they’re exhausting.
All the while, my Yellowstone treasure pilgrimage is in the planning stage. Forrest Fenn’s treasure could be secreted away anywhere north of Santa Fe. Why not take the same big leap that Fenn did? The one he took every summer.
Fenn reflects fondly on his summers in Yellowstone. He even tells a wild story about how his brother once flew and landed an airplane on a lake. Then, it couldn’t take off again! Miraculously, Fenn’s brother got that plane off the lake somehow – not by flying though.
Even today, it seems mystery remains in Yellowstone for Fenn. His memoir is brimming with anecdotes about his time there. One story in particular stood out in my mind: Fenn’s summer gig as a dish diver when he found a surprise ally – Granny.
Granny helped him out of a pickle once or twice when his nature got the better of his interests. And the way I see it, by working that job, he earned a few bucks and learned a lot about life. I imagine him much like myself – longing to go out on an adventure but caught in the process of getting ready to go. The freedom to be out and traveling requires some rich life-learning. And by life-learning I mean get a job, and by rich I mean keep working at it.
But see, young Fenn already was in Yellowstone, and I haven’t even been yet. So I must ask myself: Am I really planning a 1,500-mile road trip to search for a bronze chest that might not be real and was hidden by some wiley ol’ guy so he could write a fairy tale about it? I guess I am.
With the close of my summer on the horizon, it’s crunch time for me to fulfill my commitments, fill up my wallet and get there. I’ll be hitting the road this time with the spirit of the Beatles song “With A Little Help From My Friends.” That’s the beat of my life right now. Without their help, I might even be slightly worried to wander into one of the world’s largest parks – home to mountain lions, bears and bison. While I’m fishing for cutthroat trout, a bear might be fishing for me!
Well, that’s it. I’ve got to finish packing. I’ll check in from the road again soon. Till then, happy hunting!
David Strawn is a Fort Lewis College student from Creede. This is the seventh in a series about the travels of a treasure hunter searching for the riches of humans, nature and human nature.
