Long Distance Traveling for Birds

Alaskan swamp collies said:
I don't want to ask how you know.
Click to expand...
From YouTube. Also luck helps but bedbugs have been around for years and their here to stay even in expensive hotels.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanyanas/2024/05/16/how-common-are-bed-bugs-in-hotels/
So staying in a five star hotel gives you a little over a two percent chance of having bedbugs not bad but its more then a zero percent chance. Still how many hunters plus Fido are going to stay in a five star hotel reasonably close to good upland or waterfowl hunting?
If the chance if getting bit by bed bugs is fourteen percent each time one stays in a motel or hotel that means in the long run getting bit is rather likely. Its something to think about .

Leftyhunter
 
Last edited:
My buddy and I do a couple trips in December for geese and pheasants. We always stayed in a bed and breakfast. It got sold and new owners said no dogs. Crazy because of how many hunters stayed there. We found an air bnb last year 10 minutes away from our spot. Shag carpet from the 70s but clean and huge. We each had a bathroom off our bedroom. We were able to watch football at night, and cook and drink without driving back to town, like we had to in the bed and breakfast place. No slamming doors of a motel. My dog was welcome. I probably would only do air bnbs. I am not into towing anything in the winter. They do have the cleaning fees and tax but still very reasonable if split it 2 ways. My 2 cents
 
So I travel a lot. Mostly I prefer to use a trailer, but sometimes I can’t. There was a motel where I looked under the bed. I left the dogs in the car and slept in my clothes on top of the bed, maybe 5 hours before I left. Than a friend was hunting with his wife and she slept with the dog blankets in the tub because it. Was the cleanest. There was a motel in SD where the bugs in the bathroom looked like freshly hatched chicks only ugly. Or the place in ND where we duct taped the bathroom window closed so my wife could shower in private, only if we quit early so there was hot water. Give me a trailer any day.
 
I stayed in a motel in Hugeton one year. Wall heater was by the front door, door had no weatherstripping. We stayed awake to make sure we didn't die from a fire.
 
Airbnb's can be good. I had 3 of them for several years. I have had a few bad experiences with Airbnbs also. Once place had septic problems ( ND) and the stench was so bad, you could smell it with the wind blowing 20 mph. Another place had no insulation and the gas furnace ran nonstop for 3 days. (KS) Hard to sleep when dry heat is running nonstop. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not...
 
Birdman2 said:
Airbnb's can be good. I had 3 of them for several years. I have had a few bad experiences with Airbnbs also. Once place had septic problems ( ND) and the stench was so bad, you could smell it with the wind blowing 20 mph. Another place had no insulation and the gas furnace ran nonstop for 3 days. (KS) Hard to sleep when dry heat is running nonstop. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not...
Click to expand...
I think the pro campers are winning the debate. More upfront cost but in the long term campers pay for themselves.
Leftyhunter
 
Last edited:
I personally always use canvas wall tents from Montana Canvas. Awesome company. I have a small range tent for when I'm by myself and a larger tent for when there are 3 of us. I can run my wood burning stove in colder temperatures. Also, with the bigger tents they can take wind and rain easily and I can sleep on a cot instead of the ground. Typically on these trips I'm bringing horses so staying in town is not an option and I'll either bring a corral or stay by one but I've outfitted my trailers to have running water, propane, and solar power so I can take hot showers, wash dishes and charge devices all with the trailer. I've also had less than ideal experiences with AirBnBs and motels when hunting on foot and I would rather just stay in the area I'm looking to hunt in.
 
The dog and I stayed in my RV for 10 days last year in a SD town CG. Cost $20/night for a full hook up. Most of the time I was the only one there, the townsfolk were friendly and it felt safe. Cooking my own meals and having peace and quiet at night was good. ( Except for that 100 car long grain train every week night that I quickly got accustomed to and barely heard by day 4 or so :) Late in the stay a couple of days of below freezing temps did freeze my dump valves shut but a warmer sunny day freed them up before left. Trouble free stay.

My wife came with me for a second trip after Thanksgiving and we found a Air B&B that allowed dogs at a reasonable price. I admit, for two people, a full kitchen, living room, King size bed sure beat the RV.

This year we booked the place again for two weeks. Maybe I’m just getting soft, or need a bigger RV, but with two people and now 2 dogs I’m thinking the Air B&B is a better choice.
 
Thats the key, finding a nice airbnb close by to where you are hunting. That has been a problem for us. That being said, I do hunt very remote areas. ND, WI, MN
 
Last edited:
Went all the way to ID from NM. Camped at dispersed campgrounds-no one around. No heater, low was only 28, but I think a buddy heater would suffice as the “ghetto/zombie” camper is insulated. Paid $20 for it
 
The “ghetto “ or “zombie” camper. It was used to house military electronics I believe. I installed a bed frame and bought a nice mattress. Not much room, but sleeps good and I don’t have to mess with a tent. I have a camp chef 3 burner stove and the buggy/sidexside all in one unit. Under the bed i can store a lot of things. I put those cheap led lights up inside. It’s really handy. I just wouldn’t want to be stuck in there for too long if bad weather hit. Only enough room to sleep one person. I think my son could get a decent mattress and sleep on the floor-might try to see if I could figure that out. But at least I am comfortable at night and I have no worries when in bear country.
 
Yeah we could get a couple homeless folks and they could start a podcast. You know they would all love my setup. It is sad to see so many living on the streets. Growing up in our small town in the 80's there was only one person that was homeless and I think he actually had a house. Fast forward to the 2018 and I'm eating lunch with some city politicians in same small town and they tell me the estimate on homeless folks is 300-500 and the mayor tells me he thinks it's 500 or more. What happened? Why are they everywhere? Because of the ACLU attorneys getting them all released from institutions? What gives?
 
Blondebomber said:
Yeah we could get a couple homeless folks and they could start a podcast. You know they would all love my setup. It is sad to see so many living on the streets. Growing up in our small town in the 80's there was only one person that was homeless and I think he actually had a house. Fast forward to the 2018 and I'm eating lunch with some city politicians in same small town and they tell me the estimate on homeless folks is 300-500 and the mayor tells me he thinks it's 500 or more. What happened? Why are they everywhere? Because of the ACLU attorneys getting them all released from institutions? What gives?
Click to expand...
In 1966 when my Father was a doctor in Bakersfield and then Governor Reagan started to dismantle the California state mental hospitals my dad said " where are all these people going to go".and here we are. Also the long term effect of drug and or alcohol abuse is social isolation that's what were seeing now. Of course the American family has been in decline for over sixty years.
Leftyhunter
 
Two years ago I drove to Hell's Canyon in my Chevy Avalanche. Slept halfway in the back with the midgate down, just me and the dog. And then parked at a campsite in ID during the hunt. Works for 1 man and a dog, albeit a 35 lb EB. Before that I had a Tahoe and love the camping feature of a large SUV. Have a buddy with an Excursion and they sleep a family of 5 in it. This gives the best of both worlds of low gas cost and no hotel cost. wake up cold, turn the heat on while you hit snooze and get dressed. Any trailer will knock mpg. I myself have 2 kids now and we just purchased a 17BH this spring and I was surprised at the mpg even with a small 3k trailer. Wind resistance being key, but I'll be damned if I'm going to get to destination and crank open some contraption to set up. Main use is with the family and going to lakes around the midwest for water ski tournaments, but I'd love to hunt out of it. I'd say any more that a 5 hr drive tho you start to question mpg vs hotel. However, like others have stated location is key and it would be worth dragging it somewhere to be close to the hunt AND you have your own space, place to stay while travelling, storage, etc. Plus, campers are cool. I also take a grouse hunting trip to northern MN and there's a nice motel right in the middle of the national forest we hunt. Something to be said about clean towels and other amenities. All depends really. If I was driving a distance, with myself and dog, I would probably choose a Suburban. Check out the 17 Bushwhacker Plus teardrops. I was really leaning towards these for ease of towing, and you can stand up in it.
 
I use a 3/4 ton truck,with a slide in camper.9 miles a gallon, but cheaper than motel fees.I can camp where the hunting is.For turkey hunting, it's great.Ive used it some for pheasants, but its boondocks hunting and camping. I like not having to worry about the people next door waking me up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top