Hazy in Colorado
(9/2/2009 12:00:00 AM)
The recent haziness has made our area looking a little like California according to my friends from there. I guess it is only fitting with the smoke from the California fires making it's way past our home. It also represents my feeling for the summer. Usually I think of it in terms of being a blur but a haze is similar enough to a blur that I think it will work as well. The summer is nearly over and it feels as if it has just begun. Oh, well. I do like the fall as well.
As usual, the end of summer means the nearing of hunting season. For this fall, the hunting is going to be a bit sparse as I only have one tag and my son has two tags. At least it will get us out into the wilderness a bit. Also with the end of summer comes the start of school, AWANA, and the normal busyness of a family, I guess the summer wasn't much different. Caleb's start into high school has been somewhat uneventful, but he really enjoys it and is doing quite well. I have been having a hard time adjusting to waking up in time to get him to the bus in time. I did have to park in front of the bus one morning as it was pulling out to leave. The other kids are getting back into the swing of things. Jacob's first tooth came out today as he was attempting to tighten his watch band with his teeth. I suppose it would have come out at his next judo practice if not then.
I hope to have a few fishing trips if nothing else before I officially give in to the coming fall. I did catch some nice cutthroat and rainbows during my last trip to the Catamounts. Of course I lost a half dozen or so flies in the process. At least I am able to make replacements for them. The last fishing trip did give me a good opportunity to use a fly rod that I had just finished making. It worked our quite nicely.
Time for me to finish this up so that I can get to bed. That bus comes awfully early in the morning for me.
Summertime
(7/19/2009 12:00:00 AM)
I thought that summer was the time to take it easy and catch up on everything that you were not able to do during the rest of the year. That certainly isn't the case this summer. It has been three months since I have written anything in here and it isn't because of a lack of material.
The summer started off with a bang as we travelled to Yellowstone in May for an early vacation. If you ever get the chance to visit Cody, WY, be sure to stay at The Cody. It is a very nice place with all of the western decour that one would expect in such a location. It even met the approval of my wife. Since we were early enough, we were ahead of most of the crowds in Yellowstone. We saw all kinds of wildlife, even grizzly and black bears including one black bear that kind of surprised us as we returned from an ill-advised hiking trip down a closed road. The only real downside of the whole trip was an unfortunate encounter with a pronghon antelope on the highway. I am very grateful that the only casualties from the incident were the pronghorn and our van. So we had to make an unexpected vehicle purchase this summer. Not only is this summer flying by but it is also turning out to be a very expensive summer as well.
We have also participated in the Colorado Judo League's state championhips where Jacob was named to the Colorado All Stars team. He and Kallie both brought home gold medals from the tournament. The rest of us brought home what I call character building experiences.
Other than that we seem to running somewhere every weekend. Which reminds me, Caleb, Kallie, and I ran in the 4th of July race in Palmer Lake. Everyone did well. I even received a medal for the first time in many years in a running race. It was fun. I hope to be able to write more frequently in the future. I guess we do what we make time to do. By the way, I did get a chance to wet a line or two while visiting family in Iowa. I have found that largemouth bass are suckers for my hand-tied woolly buggers.
Spring Time and Snow Storms
(4/28/2009 12:00:00 AM)
If our winter was without it's snow storms, our spring is certainly making up for it now. We have weathered a couple of blizzards and other heavy snows all within the month of April. Although I was happy to get a couple of days of from work, it certainly hasn't helped my fishing plans for the year. Hopefully, May will be a better month.
We did have the opportunity to do some fun things. We did get to compete in one of the toughest judo tournaments around. In fact in between some of the competitions, Caleb walks up to me and hands me something saying, "Dad, here is part of my tooth." Not exactly the words you want to hear, but it turned out to be a minor chip on his tooth. No real harm done. I was also talking to one of my judo friends before the tournament about my competion. He says, "they are both good competitors and they guy named Monty, I have never defeated. By the way, he fought in the olympics for Iran or something." Oh great. Just what I wanted to hear before meeting him on the mat. The match ended the way I kind of expected, but there were some surprises during it though. You can check it out in my favorite videos.
With all the snow and storms this spring, I am ready for a bit warmer temperatures and milder weather patterns. That should come soon, hopefully I will then have the opportunity to dust of my fly rod and head for the lakes.
No Fishing Yet
(4/4/2009 12:00:00 AM)
I am still not getting my fishing done this year or much of anything else. It seems that the spring time is always quite busy with kid's activities, snowstorms, and the myriad of other items that I have been stuck doing. Our judo club hosted the first Colorado Springs Classic tournament. We did quite well at the tournament and came home with two golds, one silver, and one bronze medal. I could leave it at that, but the bronze medal I received is also the same as last place with a division of three competitors. Oh well, I fought hard anyway.
As I was thinking about the odd name for the judo tournament that our club hosted (I don't quite understand how a first event can be considered a classic), I was reminded of some other labels and things that don't quite make sense. While putting away some of my kid's toys, I notice the label on one of the items stated in big bold letters "Non Toxic". While I am glad that my kid's toys are non-toxic, I kind of thought that non-toxic was implied when describing children's toys. If that wasn't assumed, then what was the big deal when the paint on some of the toys manufactured in China was found to be dangerous. I highly doubt that those toys were labeled as non-toxic. I believe that I will continue to assume that kid's toys are not toxic whether they have a label stating such or not.
As the length of our days wax and our spring snows wane I hope to get a few fishing trips in. My favorite fishing hole usually opens around the first of May which I know will be here before we know it. Hopefully, buy the next time I write I will have a good fishing story to tell.
Tying One On
(2/20/2009 12:00:00 AM)
Those who have read this site recently will remember that I have resolved to fish more often this year and thus increase my life span. As expected I am off to another slow start this year. I have gone fishing exactly 0 times so far. So if I make an early trip to my grave, there will be little doubt that the lack of fishing is the culprit. So to hopefully stem the tide a bit, I figured that tying flies in preparation for a fishing trip may also benefit my health. As I look over my fly tying bench with all of the fancy tools and materials I have accumulated through the years, I recognize that I have stepped a few paces beyond my humble beginnings as a fly tier.
My first fly tying vise came with a beginners kit that included all the basic materials that are required for tying a fly. I now recognize that although it had all of the necessities, it didn't have some of the key tools that make fly tying easier. So here I was, a beginner fly tier, attempting to tie my first fly using less than optimal tools. The end result was a little odd. I tied a few pieces of feather, a little dab of fur, maybe a strand of two of tinsel onto a hook and walla my first fly was complete. I know that it is supposed to resemble something that you would normally find in the water and after much thought I figured out what. It is something that most fisherman have probably seen a variation of while fishing in a lake. It was a very close representation of a carelessly discarded cigarette butt that happened to attract a few strands of dog hair, floated next to the down feathers of a duck, and was stuck to a silvery wrapper from a stick of gum. Boy I sure hoped that trout liked those things.
I think that I am bit more skilled at my fly tying than I used to be. I believe that it might be right up there with my bow staff skills. Whatever my skill level may be, I do enjoy making the few variety of flies that I use for fly fishing. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to make one of my own pseudo-creations. Who knows my next creation may be a cigarette butt, gum stick special.
Another Year Well Under Way
(2/3/2009 12:00:00 AM)
I seem to always be a little behind as is evident by the January dating of my Christmas letter. I even attempted to give this note a date of 2008. In keeping with this pattern, I have a hard time imagining that the beginning of the New Year is already a month in the past and that we have already had the joy of celebrating Caleb's 14th birthday. This past month has been a blur. Much like the month before and the month before and... You get the idea. How does one keep the months from becoming nothing but blurs? I suppose that the knowledge of the proper answer to that question would make one a very rich man or woman. So the answer is not easily found. The way that many people deal with this is to find ways to extend ones life. Healthy eating, exercise, and the avoidance of unhealthy habits is some of the more common techniques for increasing the number of blurs in your life. I even read about one elderly couple that decided they were going to avoid left-hand turns in a vehicle since they are so much more dangerous than right-hand turns. You know, three lefts is the same as a right. We have all heard the statistics about the number of minutes that each cigarette costs you, so their avoidance is a must for extending your life.
One thing that you don't hear about are the activities that increases the length of a life. In fact, I have only heard of one. Even though it came from a movie (I unfortunately can't remember which one), I have decided to use it as my method. I don't have the exact formula, but apparently for every hour you spend fishing increases your life by some number of minutes. Of course this begs the question, what about those who smoke while they are fishing? Is it a wash? I hope to find the medical journal with this documented so I can give you the complete formula sometime. So my resolution for this year (once again I am behind) is to spend as much time fishing as possible and increase the number of blurs that I am able to experience. Oh, but I wonder, how many minutes do I lose when telling my wife that I am going fishing again?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
(1/6/2009 12:00:00 AM)
The holidays are over and I realize that I didn't get a chance to send out Christmas cards and the oft included letter about our family. I lieu of the card and letter I figured that I will jot a few items of interest in this page.
First of all, we had a good time travelling to the cold and wintry state of Iowa for the holidays. We did enjoy a white Christmas which didn’t work out for our Colorado friends. It was great to see the many family and friends that we haven't been able to visit with for many years. Seeing relatives that I haven't seen for a decade or two was a special treat. I am especially glad that David, Marlys, Santhy, Chris, and family were able to make the trek from the cold of Canada to the not quite so cold of Iowa. We sure enjoyed getting to know our extended family a little better.
Back to our experiences over the last year…
Ann, I, and the kids have been keeping busy with many things over the last year. Sometimes I think it is too busy. Currently, all of our kids are still being homeschooled by Ann and me. Caleb is in 8th, Kallie 6th, Rachel 3rd, and Jacob kindergarten. Teaching the kids has been rewarding as well as challenging. With Caleb starting high-school next year, we may opt to do something different with him but that is up in the air. The kids are still very active in the AWANA program. They are all exceptional at memorizing bible verses and truly enjoy the games that they play. Ann and I both help out as AWANA leaders. We have also been participating in a judo club that is now meeting in a building at our church. All the kids have been raking in the medals at the tournaments and have been progressing well with their belts. Ann and I are also participating in the club. You might want to ask Ann about her tournament experiences. We didn’t do much travelling last year but we get to make a quick to South Dakota late in the spring. It was fun for the kids to see Mount Rushmore and other things that they have only read about or seen in pictures. We also were able to make a couple of weekend camping trips and day fishing trips. Although it didn't require any travelling on our part, we enjoyed a special treat by visiting with my uncle and aunt, Bill and Marlyn as the were travelling through the state. Other than that, the annual hunting experiences, like most years, has been a bust and turning out to be very costly, particularly for my truck.
As usual the last year threw a number of challenges our way but we also enjoyed many blessings. I look forward to the new experience of the year to come.
Bucks and Bears
(11/9/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Things have finally settled down just a bit so I have a moment or two to write something. The reason things have now settled down is that all of the hunting seasons that I was planning to participate in this year have come to an end. The last of which was a deer season for which my son had a tag. We went out with the full expectation of finding a deer, but we saw everything except that which we could shoot, specifically a buck. Believe it or not but we saw a very large herd of elk and a lone bear. But we did not see a single deer. Not even a doe. In all my hunting trips I almost always see a number of deer. Occasionally we will encouter a few elk and on very rare occasions a bear. True to my typical hunting experiences, I came back with nothing more than a few more hunting stories and some more memories to recall with my son. Other adventures that our family has exprienced recently include a judo tournament where we came home with three gold medals and two silver, a trip to the Denver aquarium, and the pilfering of candy from our friends and neighbors (aka halloween).
We did have the opportunity of watching Alicia and Chris' kids when then went to watch the Cyclones barely get beat by Colorado. So close but not quite close enough. But the cousins had fun playing together. Kids often times have some strange ideas. I know that Jacob and Kade were playing a game where everybody that they didn't know were bad guys. They did make it clear to me that the list of bad guys did not include policemen, firemen, and people who sing. Of course not. How could they be bad guys? That logic probably makes perfect sense to anyone under seven.
Until next time... stay out of trouble. OK, maybe just hang out with people who sing. That should keep you out of trouble.
Another Season of Success or Frustration
(9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM)
Archery elk season is nearing its end and I have yet to even see an elk. Although, elk haven't been in range of my bow, this season has had some excitement. Unfortiunately for me and my bank account, it has been excitement that I would have preferred to avoid.
We were having a very difficult time finding the elk, so Caleb and I drove up to the higher country with the expectation that with the hot days, they were staying up high. That might have been the case, but they weren't there when we were. We did run into a couple of deer and even spied a big horn sheep when we were up at tree line. As is the case with many of the roads, the one that we took up there was quite rocky. It is the Rocky Mountains for goodness sake. One morning we were in a little bit of the hurry coming down from the mountain. As the saying goes about haste, I hit a rock with my front differentials and completely broke it away from the truck, thus wasting about $2500 in parts and repair costs.
Although my truck is almost fixed, I still don't have the nerve to continue my hunting expedition, and pronghorn and deer season are still to come. Pronghorn is just at a neighbors ranch so that shouldn't be a problem, but I have to venture back out into the woods for deer season. I am not looking forward to that. All my friends say that at least I use my four wheel drive truck the way it is supposed to be used.
Another Elk Hunt?
(8/24/2008 12:00:00 AM)
If you have read many of my other postings you might be wondering, why another elk hunt, or any kind of hunt for that matter. It does not take a lot of reading to recognize that my hunting experiences have been less than stellar. My actual hunting successes have been very few and far between and through a variety of unfortunate circumanstances I have yet to enjoy the culinary benefits of my hunting successes. So why do I do it year after year? I often times have to ask myself the same question.
I know that the cold mornings are not one of the things that keeps bringing me back to the woods. Reaching out of the sleeping bag to take a sip out of a frozen bottle of water is not something I look forward to. Forcing myself out of my sleeping bag to slip into clothing that is now frozen from the previous night's dampness, sends shivers down my spine as I recall the memory.
But there are a few memories that keep me ready for the next season. Hiking through the woods in the dark may get your adrenaline pumping a bit when imagining what is hiding around the next boulder; but hearing the eerie sound of an elk bugle in this environment really gets my hearting going. There are a few things more satisfying than getting that elk to answer your bugle. The fact that the only sounds you hear when deep in the woods are the clapping of the aspen leaves through the wind and the occasional call of a gray jay gives me a sense of peace that I rarely experience elsewhere. And there is the afternoon nap. Hiking up and down hills and over fallen trees for many miles, followed by a hearty lunch almost necessitates a short nap. Finally there is the thrill of the hunt. It is hard to explain but walking through the forest with the purpose of locating game brings me back to a time when things were a little simpler than they are now.
There are a few reasons I keep returning to the pine forests of Colorado. Sometimes it is hard to come back to the realities of life; but, recognizing my lack of success I suppose that I need earn my living elsewhere.
Summer's End
(7/28/2008 12:00:00 AM)
It is always hard to imagine but we are already in the final stretch of the summer months. With July ending and August just around the corner, we will soon be back to our normal schedule of homeschooling, AWANA club, and Judo practices to fill our weekdays. Our summer so far has been full and filled with goodtimes and new memories. Some of the highlights include visits from family, trips to Iowa and South Dakota, and a couple of Judo tournaments. We were even blessed with a short visit from my uncle and aunt, Bill and Marilyn. We had a great time catching up on the happenings of each other. I know that it had been several years since we have seen each other and it was the first time for at least two of my children to meet them. So I thank you, Bill and Marilyn, for taking some time from your busy travel plans to say hi and we hope to see you again soon.
As part of our summer routine we did spend a long weekend in Iowa for a family reunion. I was able to meet (in some cases meet again) some of my wife's aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is nice to be able to put a face to the names that I hear about. Of course, when we make the trip to Iowa, I am obligated to pack my fly rod and have some fun fishing in my father-in-law's pond. I caught and released a few nice sized bass and bluegill by dragging a wooly bugger a few feet from the shore. I continued to do so and my line stopped dead as if it just hooked into a solid stump. Then my reel started singing as the line was pulled off yard by yard. I pretty much figured out immediately that I had just hooked into one of the large catfish in the pond. The fish made run after run. All that we could see from time to time was the large ripples in the water as it neared the surface. My son called it a tsunami. After a little more than an hour, my son was able to wade into the water and sneak the net underneath the catfish and we finally were able to see it up close. That is what happens when you try to land a large catfish with a 5wt fly rod and 8 pound test. It turned out to be more than 25 inches in length and who knows how much it weighed. I do know that it was enough to feed 13 people for lunch the next day.
Judo Tournaments
(6/27/2008 12:00:00 AM)
As I alluded to in my last writing, we have had the privilege of participating in a couple of Judo tournaments over the last few months. Judo for those of you who are not familiar with Japanese means “the gentle way.†I would have to admit, that after participating in two tournaments, gentle is not exactly the term that comes to mind. In the total of the tournaments I have won exactly one match. The remaining matches included three choke submissions, one joint lock, and a fair amount of blood. It was me who was on the receiving end of all those “gentle†experiences. I think to everyone’s surprise, I did win one match. It wasn’t one of those lucky throws either. It was a knock-down drag-out fight that lasted the entire 5 minutes allotted for competition. Compare that to Caleb who won two gold medals in a net total of about 4 minutes for the five fights he fought. Unfortunately for me, the match that I won was the first match of the competition and I didn’t leave much gas in the tank for my remaining five matches. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the outcome of the other matches would have changed if the first one didn’t take so long. All of my competitors were good competitors. I do know, however, that for each match after the first I felt a little on the empty side. One required a short delay for me to empty the contents of the stomach.
The kids all did a tremendous job in their competitions. They came home with a number of gold, silver, and bronze medals for all their hard work. They each threw some nice ippons and battled some outstanding fighters. Kallie and Rachel were so close to beating a couple of veteran Judo players that they could have moved up a step or two on the medal podium if things turned out a little different. Jacob, who is always plagued with being the smallest kid in his bracket, had some nice throws and mat work. Ann even got a chance to fight some excellent fighters who were much closer to her size than she experienced before. Everybody in our family was able to bring home a medal or two from their tournaments, including me. I am fortunate that they awarded medals for last place or I would be empty-handed.
Successful Vacation
(5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM)
We have successfully returned from our short summer vacation. On our way to visit family in Iowa, we made a quick detour to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We saw all the typical sites such as Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park as well as the plethora of wildlife that makes that part of the country its home. Driving through Bear Country U.S.A. was a lot of fun. The wolf seemed to perk up its ears when we rolled down the window, which is apparently against the rules. We did manage to get a few good pictures without getting our throats ripped out. As we left the Black Hills we drove through the Badlands and continued our journey to Iowa. In Iowa we spent some time milking cows, wading in the Mississippi, and fishing in a farm pond.
One of my most interesting fishing experiences happened while fly fishing in my father-in-law's pond. After hooking into what felt like a bluegill, my line suddenly felt very heavy. A lot heavier than any bluegill I have ever heard of. As line was sailing off my real, I kept pressure on the fish. I could feel the fish shake his head trying to free himself from the line that that was keeping him from freedom. I kept the fight up as much as I dared with 4lb test line and brought the big fish almost to shore. As the fish neared shore, he lept out of the water when one of the most incredible things happened. The bluegill that I initially hooked came out of the mouth of a largemouth bass. The bluegill swam one way and the bass the opposite, and I quickly reeled in and released the bluegill with a new lease on life. We all had a good time on and a few memories were made, not too mention a couple of firsts. Caleb received his first gold medal at a Judo tournament (more on this later) and Jacob caugh his first fish fly fishing. I would say that counts for a successful vacation.
I Shouldn't Go To Birthday Parties
(4/26/2008 12:00:00 AM)
I found out today that I am pretty good at Red Rover. In this game you have two groups of people lined up across from each other and within each group everybody holds hands. Each group takes turns and calls out a challenge to the other team. The challenge takes the form of yelling out a name and telling the other group to send the named person over. When the person is sent, they build up as much speed as possible with the goal of crashing through the clinched hands of the other team. It turns out that I am quite good and to prove it, I yell out to the other team to send one of their top players, Kade, over. I know that I am up to the challenge.
He leers at me with look that seems to say, “I got your number.†The gritting teeth and intense concentration on his face only confirms my interpretation of the leering look he gave me. Nearing top speed, Kade closes in on the gap that Jacob and I are holding together with an iron fisted grip. Like truck hitting a reinforced steel wall, Kade lunges with all his might into the unbreakable bond that Jacob and I forged together. Kade’s legs were churning like the wheels on a full bore locomotive and our impenetrable grip was just about to reach its breaking point. Then Kade’s footing lost its grip to the ground and his torso was suddenly flung backwards and slammed to the ground. I stood over him like a prize fighter who has just defeated the defending world champion.
“How do you like that? How do you like getting slammed to the ground? That’s what happens when you mess with the champion.â€
And on and on went the taunts until my teammates had to pull me off of him. Okay, maybe I was a little hard on my six year old nephew on his birthday. Maybe slamming him to the ground was not necessary, and the taunts were probably a little bit overkill. What do you expect when you’re in the heat of the game? Although, I am a little sorry for lowering my shoulder to bust through the grip between Colin and Rachel, but I still think he is a pretty big three year-old, and I wasn’t about to let him get the best of me. I do think the kids had a good time at Kade’s birthday party. The Star Wars cake was out of this world (ha, ha) and the toys were enough to make me jealous. The parents seemed to do pretty good with the structured chaos that ensues during a well run Kindergarten birthday party. I know that I had fun, but I am already preparing for next year’s party. It will be that much more difficult to dominate with a bunch of seven year olds.
Spring is Here
(4/6/2008 12:00:00 AM)
The days have been getting warmer and the snow storms are now intermingled with rain storms. I do recall hearing some thundersnow the other day so spring time is officially here. Everyone should know what that means to me. Yes, soon my favorite lakes will have defrosted and I will continue my quest for a wall hanging trout.
Since the time is near, I decided to venture to one of the small lakes in town and see if Caleb, Jacob, and I can hook up with a few of the stocked trout. Since the lakes in town are free from ice a month or two before those in the mountains, this one has been clear for some time with ample opportunity for stocking. Unfortunately we weren't the only ones to figure that out. So we crowded onto the shore with a few other fisherman in search of the plentiful trout looking to fill their bellies with worms, powerbait, and Hot Tamales. Some of the kids next to us did manage to catch a couple using that gummy candy as bait. With that news I was expecting that the kids would be reeling in fish hand over fist. We didn't quite have that experience. The kids did however, get to reel in a couple of fish (after I hooked them) but we didn't live up to the haul that our fishing neighbors did. But they did have the advantage of being able to closely watch the four fishing poles that were constantly in the water. We usually had one in the water, which rarely had any bait remaining when it was reeled in. But Jacob got a lot of practice casting his fishing pole and Caleb was able to make a few dams in the sand. So I would call it a successful trip. But the real test will be when I ask them if they want to go fishing with me next time I go. If they agree to go with me again, I will know that it was a good trip.
Back in Judo
(2/18/2008 12:00:00 AM)
My doctor has informed my that my knee has sufficiently healed from surgery to the point of being able to practice Judo again. You might be surpised by my zeal to get back into Judo after such an injury, but I have been anxiously awaiting this point. Watching the rest of my family compete in a tournament and test for their various ranks has been difficult. Dont' get me wrong, I really enjoy watching them do their judo events and they are all doing well. But it just made me want to get out their all the more.
Well that time has finally arrived and I am now practicing with my club again. Now I made it clear to my teacher that I must only practice live Randori with lighter weight individuals. Since I am not a very large man, this means that I am forced to fight with the larger kids in our class and the women. I have found this arrangement to have its advantages. First of all, since Ann is one of the women in our class, I can say that they are more pleasing to the eye than us men. Our dojo happens to have mirrors in them, and I can say that I am not a pretty sight after a few minutes of randori. Secondly, the women and children in our class don't sweat. We have all been told that women don't sweat, rather they glisten. I don't know if I would describe it quite like that, but I have yet to face a woman or child in a competitive situation with them having sweat dripping from their foreheads. The last advantage, I suppose, is related to the previous advantage. And that is, that the women smell better than us men. Notice, that this doesn't necessarily hold true for the children. Now if my gym bag is any indication of the aroma that surrounds me on the mat, I would rather not compete against myself. Now that I have recognized the advantages of my situation I am wondering how long I can convince my judo instructor that my knee is not ready for larger members of our class.
Hunting Adventures
(1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM)
I promised that I would write some words about our hunting adventures. Once again my sure thing elk hunt, turned out to be a near miss. Unfortunately the near miss had nothing to do with a bullet and an elk, rather it had more to do with my truck and a number of trees.
On opening morning of the hunt, the only elk that we saw were many miles away at the top of a ridge way above timberline. After talking to some friends we determined how to get up there. He said it was steep and narrow and you might need to fold your mirrors in, but you should be able to get up there. He didn't say anything about getting back down though. Sure enough with a few close calls we made it up to the top without any major dings. And wouldn't you know it, we could see a small herd of elk across the valley about a half a mile away. That is just what we were hoping for. However, as luck would have it, the snow came in just as we were starting to head towards the elk. It was coming down heavy enough that we couldn't see much more than a hundred yards in front of us. Not good for finding elk. As we hiked along, we could hear the bugles but we couldn't see the elk. All the while the snow was piling up on the ground. As it became dark, we recognized that no elk were going to be shot that night and we hiked back to my truck. The ATVs that were up in the same area were long gone and my truck was covered by four inches of snow. I am sure you can guess what that means. The steep and narrow trail that we drove up is now covered with snow which now makes the trail steep, narrow, and slippery. Not to mention that it is now dark. I knew that I was in for a white knuckled drive down the mountain.
I pointed our truck down the hill and we started driving, or should I say started sliding our way down the hill. We slid between trees, around corners, into deep ruts, but we made it without serious damage to us or the vehicle. This was much to the surprise of the other hunters who we met up with who saw our vehicle before we came down. I think there quote was something like, “I knew that you guys were in for quite a ride out of there.†Learning from that experience we decided to go to the easy place the next morning. After a few hours of hunting and a couple more inches of snow, we began our journey out of the easy place. Unfortunately, the easy place is not so easy when the dirt road is rendered slippery by that snow. As luck would have it, while driving down this steeply cambered dirt road, the rear tire of my truck slid into a 2 – 3 foot rut. We were about as stuck as you could be. The wheel was spinning and the truck was going nowhere. After mumbling a number of words that are best left unheard, I calmed down and thought about what to do. There were a number of deadfalls around so we started collecting as much as we could and filled the rut with limbs, branches, sage brush, and anything else that we could find. Lo and behold, with the rut filled I was able to pop my truck out of the rut and continue on. We had a few more near misses as I decided to avoid the rut and drive next to the road through the sage brush, boulders, and other snow covered obstacles. But we escaped without requiring the services of a tow truck or rescue helicopter.
We hunted one more night and after falling several times down the hill while hiking over snow covered tree limbs, we decided to pack it in and call it a hunt. No elk to take home, but we certainly have brought home some stories.
End of an Era
(12/16/2007 12:00:00 AM)
In the midst of the all the busyness that accompanies this time of the year, my running around as if my head was recently severed from body has been put on hold for a short time. One week before the day of this writing, my grandfather breathed his last and went on to receive his reward as we all must someday. His health has been degrading for years and we knew that his time here was short but his passing marked the end of an era. He was my last living grandparent, my mom's last living parent, and my kids' last living great-grandparent. I, along with many other of his descendants, took some time to get together and honor his life by recalling some of the memories that we shared. I truly should say that we honored both my grandfather and grandmother (she passed away one and half years prior) as we cannot remember one without keeping in mind the other.
When travelling with grandma we all knew that if stranded there is no need to fear if grandma was near. The supply of crackers in her purse could sustain a small family through many a harsh winter. My grandpa's wit and humor can be summed up when he made us children carry our personal coolers with the advertisement for his company facing out when we went to witness the Indy 500. We all laughed at these fond memories and cried for the future without new ones. As I sit here and think about grandma and her crackers, I recall hiking to one of my favorite fishing spots and feeling quite hungry. Was I going to turn into one of those statistics who suffers from malnutrition and exposure in the unforgiving mountains? Have no fear when you are with me. I must have located about two dozen granola bars and cheese crackers that I stuck in my daypack the previous year. And I am not above making my kids give a shameless plug for my wish list web site. You can't even read this writing without being bombarded by advertisements. So I have concluded that the memories of my grandparents have not died with them. No, those of us who were influenced by them are making new memories in their honor without even trying. I don't have to look too hard to find some of grandma and grandpa in my actions, and I expect that none of you do either.
Christmas Preparation (December 2007)
(12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)
Last weekend we embarked on our annual tradition of driving deep into the mountains in search of the elusive baby pine tree. When a beauty was found I hacked it off at the knees, drug it through the forest, affixed my harvest tag to the trunk, threw it into the bed of my truck (tying it to the fender did not work very well last year), drive screws into its lower extremities, and proudly display it in my living room. Who says hunting seasons ends after the last deer or elk season? So we now have a dead baby pine tree with many bright lights and odd baubles hanging from the branches. That is what Christmas is all about, right? Not really.
We know that the pine tree was originally used in churches to help illustrate the trinity (just as a pine tree has three corners and is still one pine tree, God is one in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The tradition has emerged from that original purpose, but we still celebrate the holy days (holidays in modern spelling) as a way of remembering Christ, even if it does require us to cut down a baby tree. According to the Forest Service, this is a good way of helping them maintain a healthy forest. Regardless of the fact that we were helping the health of the forest, our family had a good time locating and cutting down our Christmas tree and hopefully building a few memories along the way. Enjoy your Christmas tree or whatever tradition your family partakes, and try to figure out the way that your family tradition points to Christ, the true reason for the season.
What's Up Lately (November 2007)
(11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM)
Hunting season has come and gone for me this year. Although this hunting season was filled with exciting adventures (primarily experienced while driving my truck), many animal sightings, and even a gun blast in the general direction of the hunted, this hunt ended like all my other hunts. That is, without any game meat in the freezer. But I was able to enjoy several nights sleeping in well below freezing environments and many long walks in the hot sun coupled with other journeys through ankle deep snow.
We experienced just about everything that you can experience on a hunting expedition except that of hauling an elk/deer/pronghorn through the woods. The one success that I can boast of is that my post-surgical knee held up through the whole season. I was doubtful at times while skirting a steep hill and trying to avoid the fallen snow-covered tree limbs that provide no more traction than an ice-skating rink. For that I am truly thankful. I don't want to go through another knee surgery. I'll fill in the details in a later posting.