A Year of Change

First up for the day is the gym as we haven’t been in over a week. Then Jag has a soccer game from 11 to 1 and then Ty has his pre-ride so he can learn the course, in Steamboat from 2 until 5. We were going to spend the night in Steamboat, and still might, but we might also drive home and then back in the morning. We’ll decide later.

Yesterday I was stuck in a bad rain and hail storm on I-70 coming back from Denver. It was so bad I thought the windshield was going to break. Thankfully there are no dents on my truck. Lori worked until about 5:30 which made for a long day. I’ve had poison ivy or mosquito bites or something for a few days. I think I picked it up Tuesday night searching for elk. Anyhow Libby called in a steroid cream to Walgreens which seems to be helping.

Jag was out until 1 am and Ty until about 10:30. Late nights for two boys that have sports today. Ty is building a desktop computer with the technology teacher at school. He knows a lot and had to research all the components and will build it and install the operating system by himself. I spoke to Mr. Chambers (his teacher) and he said this will be a great learning experience and that Ty can do it, super cool.

That’s it, time to get moving. I’ve been trying to download some pictures but they’re not coming through yet. Check back later and I’ll post them when they come in. Hope everyone is well, God Bless.

Last night in what started out as kind of a crappy game, the Green Bay Packers ended up beating the Chicago Bears 10 to 3. Mom loved football and loved her Packers. So there ya go.

This morning we have a meeting at school at 7:15 so time to get moving. It’s 6 am now and it seems we never ever get any sleep. Then I’m off to Denver to pick up a check for a rifle I sold and to get some work on the truck. We’re skipping the benefit at the Hyatt in Denver tonight as we just have too much going on.

It’s getting cooler up here and Fall will soon be here in full swing. Bring it on. That’s it. Tom told me I need to get the blog up earlier as I’ve been late. Tomorrow I’ll put up some pictures. Lori said Dixie had a nice date which is great to hear, you go girl, God Bless.

I made it home around noon. No elk this time but I’ll be back out there October 5th. Tonight we have football, whoo hoo! The boys have remarkably been getting up and out the door on time, Jag and Emma are no longer an item (don’t say anything to him!) and he’s fine. Guess she was drinking and vaping which Jag doesn’t go for. Harley woke me at midnight and 4 am to go out with diaherra and for a moment at 4 this morning I thought I was getting up to go hunting again, Ha! Lori is as beautiful as the day I left if n0t more and nothing much changed on the news or in the Country. Surprise surprise. That’s it, time to go as I’m off to Denver, have a great day and God Bless.

Ok to be fair, our Country really isn’t all that civilized these days. In fact you could argue that the rural areas and wilderness are more civilized than the cities. Oh well, you get what I mean.

Last night I shot a nice bull but couldn’t find him. Today 4 or 5 guys are looking for him as he was hit good. As I said Marty got a nice one and we share the meat so all’s well. I have until Christmas to hunt though so I’ll get back into the mountains before then.

Time to get back to work, go to the grocery store, pick up Ty after school, do some laundry and get ready for football tomorrow night. Tom and I are excited! That’s it, sorry for the late post today, God Bless.

This morning around 5 (meaning we woke up at 4!) Marty and I took separate trucks with 4 wheelers in tow over to the other side to hunt. Turns out Marty got a nice bull while again I couldn’t find one. We did call in a cow elk that came sprinting around 30 miles an hour a hill straight toward me. She stopped literally 5 feet away but still didn’t see me. I thought she was going to run me over and was ready to jump to the side if need be. Then she hung out 10 feet to the right of me looking for the bull elk she thought she heard, that was really us. That was it for the morning. I thought about shooting her as I knew Marty had a bull down and the cows are better meat anyhow but decided to pass. It was her lucky day.

Tonight I’ll be back at it while Marty tries for a bear. I’m going to pass on bear as it’s too greasy and I won’t eat it. I have no interest in killing anything I won’t eat. I miss Lori and the boys. Having the kid here who could be dead in 3 months makes you want to hug your kids. Life is short, don’t waste it. That’s it, have a good day, live life and God Bless.

Another early morning, another 5 or 6 mile hunt. No elk this morning but Mike, a former Air Force fighter pilot of 30 years from Wisconsin, did get a small 4X5 last night. I would have passed on it but he’s happy. Now to be fair, I have passed on 2 smaller bulls. J.D., the 21 year old kid with terminal brain cancer from Minnesota is having a blast. Hope he gets one. I built a blind over some water yesterday morning and even though I think it’ll produce a good bull, I told him he can go sit it tonight if he wants.

Lori and the boys are fine. Thanks much to my family for letting me go off the grid for 5 days. Marty and I went to Steamboat yesterday for supplies and are going fishing today. That’s about it, maybe I’ll get one tonight! God Bless and Happy Labor Day.

You can tell this morning it’s colder outside. I’m opting for a long sleeve shirt and a heavier coat for when I walk out the door. After our morning hunt J.D. and his dad Paul arrived. J.D. is a 20 year old kid with a terminal brain tumor and some guys on a forum bought him this trip, sort of like a Make A Wish thing. He’s grounded for being so young and knowing he doesn’t have a lot of time left on the earth. Kind of puts things into perspective when you think about life. There’s a young kid who is a cameraman here too documenting J.D.’s hunt and for that matter, his life. We’re all treating him no different than anyone else which I think he appreciates a bunch. Sure hope he gets an elk.

My morning hunt ended with lots of sign but no animal. I did step into a river trying to cross it so I had one wet foot for a while. Same thing with the evening hunt, nada, nothing. Elk 2, me 0. Hopefully I’ll have better luck this morning. Just a quick note, hunting elk is not easy. In fact, it’s really hard. Lots of hiking, sitting, standing, moving, waiting and walking. Still though, I love it, animal or no animal. My back is sore and I have a bit of a headache, Marty has allergies, red eyes, a sore back and is a little sore too. Other than that, we’re good! Pictures to come.

Have a great day, God Bless.

Here we go. Up early and will be out the door by 5;15. We made it here with no issues except Marty and I each drove our own trucks as he has/had a bad cold. Upon arrival we unloaded our gear and rekindled relationships we see once a year, fun times. Next up was a little shooting to make sure we’re still on target. Then after 3 hours of bullshit (guys sitting around laughing and telling stories) we went out scouting. It was pretty easy to find the elk even though they were all a half a mile or more away. We glassed them until the sun was down and headed back to our cabin. Around 9:30 or 10 we all headed to bed.

4 am comes early and I’ll get 6 or 7 miles in between sun up at 6 and 9 am. It’s the first day so I’ll probably pass on any animal unless he’s really good size. Lori and the boys seem to be doing fine although we only communicated by text. That’s it, have a great day, GB.

Today I’m off hunting. I need to take my truck as Marty has been sick and I don’t really want to ride with him for 2 hours in his truck and all his germs. Problem is Lori needs the truck to take Ty to mountain bike practice today and Tuesday.

Yesterday I had lots of work to do around here getting ready. The boys first day of school was great for the boys. Glad they had a good time. Lori says she’s cleaning around here all weekend. There’s always a lot to do as it never stops.That’s about it, time to get moving as I need to take the dogs up the hill as Mojo shit all over the house yesterday afternoon while I was making Jag’s bed downstairs. I bought the boys new sheets at Costco and had to wash them before putting them on their beds. Have a good day and holiday weekend. Be safe and God Bless.

Jag’s a Senior and Ty a Sophomore. Hard to believe they were once little. This is also the first time they drive themselves to school. What a change.

Yesterday I was at the distributor in Denver and made it home around 3. Lori picked Ty up from his trip which was fine but a bunch of the kids on his trip are kind of jerks. He then went straight to mountain bike practice on Vail Mountain. He had a pretty good spill and cut up his elbow right where it had been healing from a previous crash. Jag was at soccer and Lori hung out at the house with the dogs.

Tomorrow I’m off hunting so today I need to pack and go to Costco. First up though now, after going to Walmart at 6:30 this morning to get Ty his back to school stuff, is a trip to the gym. Lori is already gone to work too.

Hope everyone is well. Time to go, GB.