Here he is in all his feathery glory:
So what's the story with Travel Bird? Well, every travel culture has it's superstitions supposed to bring good luck and safe travels. Motorcycle riders tie a little silver spirit bell to their bikes to ward off bad spirits. Ancient mariners refused to set sail on a Friday because it was unlucky. Some people have lucky travel socks or underwear, or little angels hung on their rearview mirror. We have Travel Bird!
It's hard to say where his journey began, but I'll tell you where we found him. Dave and I were on a roadtrip in Montana, exploring some incredibly remote backroads in my Jeep Cherokee, and sleeping in a tent. We drove down an incredibly rutted and dry gravel road for miles and miles, hammering the suspension and rattling our teeth. There was nothing but dust in all directions, and we were just about to turn back when we stumbled upon an oasis in the desert! A reservoir was tucked away, miles and miles from nothing. We whooped with joy and jumped into the cool water for a swim. Against all odds, we saw a dust cloud rolling in, and another couple joined us. Their names were Charlie and Arlene, an old, wrinkled cowboy in a Stetson and his wife. They had a big truck with a camper on the back hauling a boat, and they planned to camp and fish here. They were so kind and friendly, Charlie took us out for a ride on his boat while Arlene fished for trout. Later, we all shared beers around a campfire and told stories. Before long I found myself well and properly drunk. I had stumbled off to throw some garbage in the bin, and when I looked down I whooped with excitement.
"Dave!" I hollered "Check this out!!"
I had found an old pair of mounted deer antlers festooned with little handmade fake birds. Whoever had gone to the effort to bring this artifact all the way out to the middle of nowhere to dispose of will remain a mystery. This was obviously had been left here just for us to find and was the kind of treasure that couldn't be passed up, so as might be expected, we ziptied it to the front grill of the Jeep and it stayed there for the whole rest of our drive home. Charlie thought we were crazy kids, but he still smiled and sent us off with cups of hot coffee in the morning.
Later on the deer antlers became chew toys for Jax, but travel bird remained intact. He stayed with me in my Jeep while I owned it, and now he's earned himself a place of honor on our rearview mirror, where he gets rubs on the head for luck.
We haven't had an accident or speeding ticket since he came along. Coincidence?
You decide.
I'm stickin' with my bird.
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