Gal-Gone-Camping

Hello Friends!

Life Happens

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I was on my way to getting my blog posts all caught up, when once again, life happened; taking a hard, sad turn.

Around the middle of October, I took my oldest dog, Pepper, to the vet to get some medication for her arthritis. Turns out she had a problem with her spleen; anemia, and a second round of bloodwork showed that she was not re-producing red blood cells which carries oxygen to the brain; sometimes causing confusion. The diagnosis…cancer in her bone marrow.  Even though she was 14 yrs old, I was not expecting this!  She had been healthy aside from the arthritis. I had no idea she was sick.

She continued to decline to the point that I didn’t think she was going to make it to Thanksgiving. She had quit eating no matter what I offered her. A miracle occurred a couple days before Thanksgiving when she started eating good again. What a blessing our holiday was!  A couple days later, she was back to not eating anything for about three days.  Then, out of the blue, she started eating again, but still not gaining weight, and very weak. She took spells of throwing up and began to have occasional bladder leaks. Her mobility became extremely worse, to where she wasn’t able to get up and down. Sadly, I had to have her put down on Dec. 13th… which will go down as one of the darkest days of my life.

To say I am heartbroken is such an understatement. I am devastated. I love my other two doggies, Gracie and River just as much, but Pepper and I had very special bond.  She had to know where I was every minute; she was my protector. She thought it was her job to take care of me; to watch over her Momma.  How can it be that I also had to give up my kitty cat, Bob, who passed away May 11th this year?? It’s been almost more than I can bear.

On top of all that, my mom’s health has not improved at all, resulting in more doctor/hospital visits, which has been very stressful. Consumed by these and other issues for the past few months, and becoming very sick myself through November and December, I just totally shut down.

Things are still very difficult, but with the Lord’s help, I’m getting through it. I have cried every day since I lost Pepper, but am starting to feel better mentally and physically than I have in three months. “Thou, who has shown me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shall bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”  Psalm 71:20  God doesn’t promise that we will never experience hardships and heartbreak, but he does promise that he will be there to help us through it. “…I will never leave thee nor forsake thee…” Hebrews 13:5-6

Thank you all for the prayers and comments I received on my last video where I talked about Pepper being sick.  We are never prepared for death. I will never be the same; but am so very grateful for the years and so many wonderful memories I have of my sweet Pepper girl. She lived longer than most dogs and had a great life. She certainly made my life better and will live forever in my heart.

Picking Up Where I Left Off

I’m picking up the blog timeline where l left off, with the events as they transpired, but just wanted to explain why I’ve been silent for a while.

NOAH THOMPSON MANIA!

Do y’all know who NOAH THOMPSON is??? Well, just in case you don’t…he is a winner from last year’s AMERICAN IDOL!!! and…he just happens to be from my hometown! During a break, the contestants went back to their hometowns for a homecoming concert and festivities which was filmed, and clips included in the show.  Let me tell you…this was one of the biggest things that has ever happened in our little town! Eastern Kentucky is known for producing huge musical talent, and Noah may be on his way to joining that crowd. What an exciting time that was for him and us!

 Suspicious Track & Trees

A while back, while on a walk, I experienced something strange. I felt something hit my head. My first thought was a bird dropped something on me, but there was nothing–that happened twice. Then I saw 3 or 4 trees where a large portion of the bark was missing. I figured someone may be gathering bark, but there was no where to park off the road to get to the hillside. Lastly, I saw a large track that I couldn’t identify.

Y’all know I’m fascinated with the Bigfoot phenomena. I’m not saying this was a Bigfoot track, or that the other incidents were related….but sometimes things happen that make you wonder. See video here: https://www.facebook.com/CatrinaVargo66/videos/723974568624297

My Own Bigfoot Expedition!

I always wanted to go hunt for Bigfoot in northern California where the Patterson-Gilham film was recorded in 1967.  I still plan to do that someday, but this experience led me to plan a Bigfoot trip closer to home.  The team from the TV show, Expedition Bigfoot, were in the Pine Mountain area of south central KY in 2020, investigating sightings in that area. I mapped out an expedition of my own and set out for Pine Mountain in June.

Chained Rock Trail

First on my list, was to hike Chained Rock Trail inside Pine Mountain State Resort Park. This trail is a tourist attraction; definitely the star of the park. I was the only one on the trail for most of the way…just the way I like it! Chained Rock is named for a huge boulder that is held by an enormous chain that the townspeople of Pineville installed to keep the rock in place; fearing it would fall and cause much damage and possibly death.

Could It Be?

The view from here is amazing and the vastness of the Cumberland Mountains made me wonder if some unknown species could survive undetected.  What do you think? There have been sightings from all over North America as well as other countries.  Some are hoaxes no doubt, but what intrigues me the most is the thousands of credible people who have had similar experiences as well as so many ancient cultures who have carved pictures on rocks of the same type of creature. They had no way of communicating with each other. How can that be explained?

Exploring Little Shepard Trail/Road

I did some more exploring, left the park, and in an attempt to find a dispersed camping site, later found myself driving on questionable road that seemed to go on forever. It is called Little Shepard Trail and meanders through part of Pine Mountain. I wasn’t able to find much information on it.  I never did see any camp spots and it was getting late. The scenery was beautiful, and as much as I would’ve liked to have followed the road to the end, I had to find somewhere to spend the night. Finally, I found a place to turn around and made my way off the mountain.

Traveling To Kingdom Come!

After a full day of driving, hiking, exploring, and searching for Bigfoot, I was exhausted; feeling like I had traveled to kingdom come! Well actually…I did!  I ended up at Kingdom Come State Park where I camped for the night.  As soon as I entered the park entrance, I saw a bear!  How exciting! It was already across the road before I could get a picture.

Where there’s bears there could be a Bigfoot, right? I requested the campsite farthest away from anyone else, and was told bears are seen in this section of the campground more than any other. It felt so good to relax by a warm campfire and watch the stars. I kept a watchful eye out for bears…and Bigfoot. I didn’t see either that night, but I did see a strange light in the sky! There was so much fun and adventure on this trip that I had to split the YouTube video into two parts. See part one of my Bigfoot Expedition here: https://youtu.be/JnafGfjhDpM

Happy New Year!

I’ll close here for now.  I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas season. Let us never lose sight of what it means. How thankful I am for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I’ve been dealing with some aggravating issues here, but hope to publish the next post soon. My water froze off during the insane artic weather we had; I was without running water for 5 days. Now I have a water heater issue; haven’t had hot water in 4 days.  Glad I’m a camper and have off-grid living capabilities in my house too!

I got a few trips in this year, but most of my travel plans were halted due to taking care of my fur babies during their last days…which I would do all over again.  I have to admit, 2022 just about broke me and I’m glad to see it gone. I pray 2023 is a good year for all of us.

Until next time, remember….DON’T WAIT TO LIVE!

See ya down the road,

Catrina