So I was lucky enough to be the first person George sent Bucky to way back in April 2011. Back then I had my children pose (very reluctantly) with him. I thought it would be cool to do followup photos every 10 years with the same poses so everyone can see my boys aging rapidly and Ol Buck staying the same.
At the bottom I asked my sons some questions including a prediction for the future and to guess when Buck was born and died (they were closer than I thought theyd be!).

My son Sean was 10 months old back in April 2011. He is now 11 years 3 months. Still very hungry!
Attachment 480439

My son Maxwell was 4 1/2 years old when this pic was taken with Bucky in front of the Abraham Lincoln tomb here in Springfield Il. He will be 15 next week.
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I can honestly say Maxwell had WAY more fun doing this now then he did then! This is in front of our Korean War memorial
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You can see that Maxwell was sick of this game in the early photo. He was very enthusiastic this time around!
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Buck wanted to see Honest Abe's tomb. He said it reminded him of time he fought Ty Cobb in a hotel room. I was confused and assumed that was supposed to be poignant?
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Maxwell Brennan aged 14 years, 11 months, 3 weeks
Favorite song: Tame Impala " It feels like we are only going backwards"
Favorite movie: Lego Movie
Prediction for the next 10 years: I will make an animation!
Guess Buck Herzog's birth and death year - 1890-1950

Sean Edison Brennan aged 11 years 3 months, 2 weeks
Favorite song: BTS - Butter
Favorite movie: It
Prediction for next 10 years: to become a famous Tik Tok'er
Guess Buck Herzog's birth and death year - 1893 - 1929


Sean Michael Brennan Aged 46 years exactly
Favorite song - Pat Suzuki How High the Moon
Favorite movie - Dr. Strangelove / The Shining
Prediction for next 10 years: value in pre war cards go so high, middle class cant afford anymore :(

Thanks for the memories Big Ass Bucky! See you in 2031! :O

ALSO: If you want to trade for Bucky, be the first to ask on this thread. Ill pm ya :)

That's great, Sean!

Thanks George! Anyone want to trade?

Those are great photos, Sean. Thanks for posting. And Large Ass looks just the same after 10 yrs. Your kiddos are growing up fast. :) If we play it right we can have your kids kids take him for a while.

Let's make sure we keep good tabs on Large Ass. IF there are no takers I can get him back to home base here in Lucas Texas....but he does love to travel.
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Thanks Leon! Yeah I'm hoping to make this a 10 year tradition since this started with my youngest was basically zero (10 months). Seeing the sign-in book is great too!

Checking back if anyone wants to trade, send me a pm.
Thanks
Sean

If no one asks please send him back here so we can keep track of him. (and great pictures)..thanks!

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The Continuing Travels of Buck "Large-Ass" Herzog


Chapter 46 - Buck Goes Spelunking


As long-time readers will know, Buck "Large-Ass" Herzog is a jet-setting, globe-hopping, adventurous baseball card (consult earlier entries in this thread for details). But until this month, he'd never been underground.

Now, Buck has been in Alabama getting some well-earned R&R. And I don't blame him, he's been on the road since 2011. But when he heard that I was going to Carlsbad Caverns, he couldn't pass up the opportunity get back in the saddle and venture out again.

My own trip had a few stops, but timing was tight and so Buck had to meet me en route. I was driving to Columbus Ohio, and had Buck mailed there. He arrived a day before I did, and we caught a plane to Texas the following afternoon.

We spent an evening in El Paso, but really only used the city as our jumping-off point to get into the desert. The plan was to go east. US 62/180 is the only major road running east of El Paso, so we filled up the tank (it's about 150 miles between gas stations) and headed out.

First stop was Hueco Tanks State Park. The directions to get there are basically to head east on US 62 and then turn left at the flying saucer. It's close to town, a few miles north of the road.

Water collects in basins around the park, and so people have been stopping there for ages. The park is probably best-known from its ancient petroglyphs, but there is also more recent (19th c.) graffiti. Mr. Wayland scratched his name into that rock about a year before Buck was born. Almost made him feel young again. (But not quite; just by coincidence we were there on Buck's 138th birthday, and 138 years is a hard thing to forget.) We did a little hiking, but the temperature was something like 107, and there's only so much good that drinking water will do for you in that kind of heat, so we didn't stay out long.

After that it was a race across the desert. Our plan was to spend the afternoon hiking in Guadeloupe Mountains National Park. It's about 90 miles between Hueco Tanks and GM, through scrubland and salt flats. Fortunately, temperature dropped a little bit with the elevation and so we did some more hiking that afternoon. There's a picture of Buck enjoying a view of the mountains. The view in the other direction, of the desert stretching out forever, is just as good.

As evening approached, we set out again, with the aim of spending the night in Carlsbad, NM. The next morning it was time to explore the cave. We took a guided tour with a ranger, and then the next day hiked down the natural entrance to look around ourselves. Buck was suitably impressed. He insisted on returning in the evening to watch the bats fly out of the cave, but photography is prohibited (and pointless anyway, it would just be a blur) when the bats are on their way out, so you'll just have to take his word for it that he was there.

Now we're back home, but Buck is itching for more adventure. I've got the world's best-traveled baseball card sitting on my shelf. If you're going somewhere, just send me a message with a trade proposal and he'll be on his way. He comes with a nice little book detailing his travels, that's waiting for its next entry.

EDIT - Buck has a couple more trips on his itinerary, and is spoken for through September. HercDriver should have him by then, so contact him if you want to arrange any travels for Buck this fall.

Great write-up and photos!

CHPT 47: Large Ass Has a Let Down
 

Herzog arrived in WA for an upcoming week of vacation. The itinerary included visiting Seattle, going to a Mariners game, various sightseeing locations, and then going camping at Sullivan Lake and crossing the border to Canada.

Well, once his tour guide arrived in Seattle, he immediately got extremely sick due to complications from a colonoscopy (what a coincidence). The tour guide spent three days in the hospital, and Herzog missed the Mariners game, missed sightseeing, and missed Seattle.

But! We still went camping and to Nelson, BC, Canada. The campground was East Sullivan Lake Campground. It is a gorgeous setting just ten miles from the Canadian border. On Day 1 of the adventure, we stopped at Metaline Falls. This small town is the site of Kevin Costner's apocolyptic film: The Postman. You might recognize the bridge that Herzog is standing on from multiple scenes within the film. On day two of the three day trip, Herzog crossed the border and visited Nelson, BC, Canada. Nelson has an art school, and it is slightly touristy. It is not yet a Jackson Hole type location, but it is tourist centered. It is worth a trip. And if you need to make reservations, it is highly recommended you stay at the historic Hume Hotel. It was renovated over the last ten years - which took away some of the rustic charm. But it is across the street from a museum, and the entire town is within walking distance. When we returned from Canada, the rest of the afternoon was a beach day to help find relief from 100 degree temperatures that had taken over the Pacific Northwest. One thing that makes East Sullivan Lake Campground so unique (other than the gorgeous views), is that an airport is located right on the lake. The end of the landing strip drops into the lake. If you get to Sullivan Lake on a big weekend -- exp 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Labor Day -- there are usually a dozen planes that have flown into the airport to camp. That night after swimming Herzog was introduced to S'mores.

We got back from camping and another opportunity presented itself. Moses Lake, WA, was about to open a new Latter Day Saint Temple, and tours were being offered to the general public. So we jumped into the car and drove halfway across the state to see the temple before it is closed to member only access. My oldest child was born in Moses Lake, so we brought the whole family for some fond memories. If you ever need to pull off the road in Moses Lake for a bite to eat, consider going downtown to eat at Pho Saigon Vietnamese, J's Teriyaki, or Tacos El Rey Taqueria. These are much better than any common fast food.

If you are interested in traveling with Herzog please reach out to me, but until the card is sent, more sightseeing might occur in Spokane WA.

Had Buck with me to see the iconic Spokane Riverfront Park, with the Spokane River running right through the park and right through downtown. Went to visit my wife, and she works patriotically next to the jail...so I showed him the jail to too!Attachment 589252

Sent from my SM-G9900 using Tapatalk
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I went hiking this weekend with Buck Herzog in the North Cascades of WA. I went to Colchuk Lake (water looks like Blue KoolAid), and up Aasgard Pass, into the Enchantments, and out through Snow Lake. The Enchantments are high alpine lakes surrounded by Tamarack/Larch. It is WA #1 most popular hike. I was surrounded by 100s of people for the first 7+ miles. Some people turn around and go back downhill by way of Aasgard Pass. My group exited an extended route that made the total hike 20 miles in one day. In order to overnight, campsites are drawn on a lottery system. So most people only go up for a single day hike.

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Anyone got travel plans for the holidays and want to take Herzog along?

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I'm moving soon, probably within a month, and would like to send Herzog on his next adventure. It would also help prevent losing him during the chaos of reorganizing. Anybody going anywhere soon? Attachment 617678

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Hopefully someone will volunteer and keep this going. Awesome pics Tim!

Tim,

I've had him once but I am going to a Meet and Greet with Tom Brady next weekend on 4/20, would love to take a pic of the 2 GOATS together....

Greg

I think I need to take 'ol Large Ass to see The Alamo. I promise to take good care of him while in my possession. :D


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Alamo_pano.jpg

Don’t forget to show him the basement.

(Hopefully that’s not too obscure a reference, lol)

I don't think Large Ass has been to Iceland. Let me know if he is interested. I'm leaving in 4 weeks. I'll throw in Amsterdam and Norway as well.

You mean you're hoping to take a Reykjapíc?? :D
(Thank you...and remember to tip the waitstaff.)

I got it Justin. :D:rolleyes:




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Hopefully all of these three can happen --- meeting Tom Brady, looking for Pee Wee's bike, and heading to Iceland would be a pretty stellar summer for Large Ass.

There are some plans in the work. He's on his way to see Brady. But others have lined up to claim him too. He should see some great places this summer.

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Let me know if he wats to try and find the bike..

Update on LA Herzog
 

Can happily report that I safely received the infamous “Large Ass” this afternoon.

He will be joining me on a camping trip on the Brazos next weekend and hopefully another adventure that will be a completely new experience for our slabbed friend Mr. Herzog

Looking forward to sharing the journey!

Large Ass has had quite the go of it...He must be some kind of triple platinum miles candidate, by now.
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The Travels of Large Ass Herzog
 

An update on the infamous Large Ass...

-He was supposed to go to Texas Rangers game with me, but unfortunately didn't make in time. Oh well, next time Bucky! Maybe he can bring back some health to our starting rotation...

-Bucky joined in on a father-son campout, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It ended up raining all weekend, so he was glad to spend most of his time indoors, and went a short hike that I forgot to document...

-Lastly, Buck experienced what I think is a first for him. He helped welcome our 3rd child, Merritt Anne Galvin into the world! I had to cover his eyes for the more graphic parts, which he was thankful for.

Turns out, Merritt shares a birthday with Ed Walsh, so I had to commemorate the moment...!

Very special for us as we have lost 2 kids in the last 2 years from miscarriages, one who was a girl. So our hearts are full of gratitude for our girl Merritt arriving!

Thank you Large Ass for accompanying me the journey!

Maybe 10 or 15 years down the road Merritt can take a picture with him....

Now, who wants LA Herzog next?

I can ship him out later this weekend or early next week once we get a couple more hours of sleep :)

Amazing post Matt! Thanks for sharing

I’ll have to throw out Amsterdam now. Have already left. In Norway now, but he would never find me here or in Iceland.

I do think Large Ass deserves a visit to the Blue Lagoon though.

Going to the Giants-Cardinals game at Rickwood Field
Whoever has Large Ass please PM me to see if he can make it to the game Thursday

Tony