As if things couldn’t get any crazier

Last night I was graciously invited by Facebook to their Fan Subscription program. It’s an invite-only program for popular influencers, so I’m kinda honored and a little shocked.

It’s been a crazy last two years! I’m still trying to wrap my head around things, and this is definitely one of them. Everything just keeps moving forward, growing, and evolving and it’s pretty cool.

At the top of my official Facebook Page, you’ll now find a “Become A Supporter” button. If you choose to support the page, the monthly recurring subscription is $4.99

Here’s what you’ll get:

1. A supporter badge on all your comments.
2. Twenty posts a month specifically for fan subscribers, and no one else.
3. Discounts on short stories, prints, and E-books.
4. Exclusive behind-the-scenes, unfiltered content of my adventures and writing news.

Yours truly in Grand Teton National Park three weeks ago (and showerless for three days, haha).

Michael Hodges author national park

Walking away from a brutal crash in Jackson, Wyoming, and totalling my car.

car3

I shouldn’t have survived.

On May 23rd, while heading from Yellowstone Park to Jackson for a date, I hit a giant elk and destroyed the most reliable,tough car I’ve ever had. The elk was so massive that I saw no sky behind it.

The windshield shattered, the radiator cracked, the engine bent and smoked, spewing fluid onto the Thule and breaking that, too.

The hood saved my life.

Upon hitting the elk, I thought its back legs were going to crash through the windshield and kill me. But the hood crumpled into a shield, blocking the elk. And saving my life.

Wrigley’s collar was still wrapped around the rearview mirror…right where the hood acted as a shield and the glass stopped shattering.

I’m sore and a little beat up. And I shouldn’t be alive. But someone was watching out for me. I still see the impact in my mind, can feel it, can smell the steaming coolant.

Ten days later, I’m still a little shaken. And I feel so LUCKY to be alive. And yesterday, I bought a new Subaru Forester in beautiful Whitefish, Montana. There’s been so much death and destruction lately. And for me personally, I’ve never been big on couches and walls. I put myself out into the world, and these are the kinds of dangers that result from that.

It’s been a long time since I posted here, thanks to a growing audience on my Facebook. But I hope to post here more often. I’ll be working the national parks and forests until late October, filming wildlife and focusing on writing projects.

Thanks everyone for sticking by me. I appreciate you all.

Goodbye to my Crosstrek, which *not once* left me stranded in 130,000 miles despite being used for much, much more than going to Costco. It took a thousand pound elk to stop that car.

Best,

– Michael

wrigscollAR

The Crosstrek at the collision center. Note Wrigley’s collar.

There is no goodbye

There is no goodbye.

Missoula. The Hollywood Hills. Santa Monica. Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Six Rivers NF. Klamath NF. Redwood National Park. Mt. Shasta Wilderness. The Hollywood Loews. Willamete NF. Deschutes NF. Colville NF. Idaho Panhandle NF. The Davenport Grand (haha). Lolo NF. Flathead NF. Bitterroot NF. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Rogue River-Siskiyou NF. Flathead Lake. The Pacific Ocean. Lake Couer D’ALene, The National Bison Range. The Mission Mountains. Glacier National Park. And campgrounds, parks, trails, and roadways too numerous to mention.
We saw moose, wolves, grizzlies, elk, bison, walruses, seals, eagles, foxes, black bears, owls, chipmunks, waterfalls, peaks, endless forests and glorious sunsets. We were free. Each morning brimming with possibilities.

20,000 miles in 8 months, together. Somehow, we wrote the perfect ending even though I never saw it coming. You never showed me even the slightest symptom my friend, until twelve days before you left my side.

Last week, Wrigley died peacefully on my lap as I pet him and told him I loved him.
He went out on top.

12.5 years ago, I adopted Wrigley with my friend Sarah from the Chicago pound. Strangely, he’d been left alone in a large metal cage in the pit bull section. He had numerous infections, and would throw himself at the cage bars when we walked past, purring intensely. When Sarah and I walked away from his cage, he’d make sure we heard him. He never gave up on us. He chose us.

Many of you have seen him adventuring with me on social media, and he’s gained quite a following. The thing is, Wrigley didn’t have an owner, and I didn’t own him. He and I simply had a 12 year bromance.

He displayed a level of beauty, awareness, and intelligence I have yet to see matched by another animal. He was a beast, too! More like a lynx.

I’m in shock at how fast all this happened.

Thank you all for the kind words of love, support, and encouragement regarding this situation. Wrigley was there for the creation of all my novels…there for all the cool stuff…there for the adventure. There by my side, always.
But most of all, above everything else, Wrigley was an original. And his loss is a void that simply can’t be filled.

I still see him out of the corner of my eye, still expect him to come running when I emerge from the shower, still expect to see him happily putting his paws on the center console and staring at the highway with big eyes as if to say, “where to next? This is fun!”.
He *fascinated* me. He was a light that people were drawn to. When I took him on walks, people immediately approached, their faces filled with wonder. “He’s so huge and handsome” and “his eyes are amazing” were the compliments he received the most. That’s just the effect he had. He was a joy.

I hope I had that effect on him.

Before leaving on this crazy adventure, Wrigley would sometimes “yowl” in my Missoula house during the early morning hours. After researching this behavior on the internet, I found that yowling means a cat is bored.

Wrigley didn’t yowl once in the last eight months.

Last September, Wrigley and I drove Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park at 1am. We had the park to ourselves. As we climbed the winding road to Logan Pass, the roadside trees kneeled in the wind as leaves pirouetted in the headlights. I parked at Logan Pass and got out, fighting the wind as I opened the door. I slung Wrigley over my shoulder and we looked towards the sky. To the west, lightning flashed across the horizon, illuminating nearby peaks. To the east, the sky remained clear and braced with shimmering stars. We stood there in the night, feeling the wind, watching the universe, hearing the distant rumble of thunder.

My travels will never be the same…will never be as joyful. Nor will my writing days.

But I know Wrigley would want me to try.

I won’t say goodbye, my friend. There’s no such thing. We are all one in the end.

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Wrigley adventuring in Northern California, March. That’s 14,000 foot Mount Shasta behind him.

The Wolf, the Wilderness, and I

A unique and incredible thing happened in late October. While hiking in Glacier, I had a once in a lifetime encounter with a wolf.

Due to the weather, I was lucky to have this portion of the park to myself. As a copse of pine trees kneeled in the wind, I had a deep sense that creatures were stirring other than me. My thoughts evolved beyond my self-involvement, to thoughts of ecosystem and planet. There was no Hallmark Card sentimentality, no self-improvement jargon, Just me, in a promising wilderness breathing clean air.

I decided to hike in a rugged wildlife corridor I’m familiar with. Visibility was poor in the falling snow. A half hour into this corridor and brutal wind, I caught a glimpse of movement along a stand of leafless aspen. At first I didn’t quite understand what I was seeing. I knew it was an animal. My first thought was “coyote” as the animal exited the tree line into the meadow.

A moment later I knew better.

A wolf stared back at me. Looked me right in the eyes.

There in the falling snow, in the Glacier wilderness, the wolf gave me thirty seconds. I had my camera out and was able to fire off a couple dozen images. However, at the end, as the wolf continued to stare at me, I let my camera fall to my side.

And I just enjoyed the moment.

An unspoken understanding occurred between us. Man and wolf. We had just the right amount of space and respect. I never felt fear. Just admiration for a truly special animal…admiration for an original.

I blinked snow out of my eyes, and when I opened them the wolf was halfway back to the aspens.

In the fading visibility the wolf turned to regard me one last time, and then disappeared.

I hiked back to the trailhead. The wind stopped blowing, the landscape hushed. I thought about how incredible my time in Montana has been.

When a wolf crosses your path, you know you’re headed in the right direction.

Best,

– Michael

wolf polished brightness

Whew. What a crazy few months.

I’ve been on the road. A lot. I’ve been in Hollywood, Redwood, Oregon, Washington, Montana and all points in-between.

Thing are coming. Cool things. The re-write on THE PULLER script started today, and I have a new novel coming. It’s very descriptive and dark, and is absolutely in the same literary style of THE PULLER…but it takes place in Montana. My agent and I are crafting into its best possible form right now.

My social media presence continues to grow organically. I focus on my verified Facebook and Instagram, both of which use the same handle: @michaelhodgesauthor If you want more frequent updates from me, those are the places to be.

I’m sorry that I can’t answer everyone’s messages. I simply don’t have the time but I try to get to as many as I can.

I’m looking forward to launching thee cool projects on you all soon. Thanks for sticking with me. 😉