A Year of Change

Starting to cool down. Mid 60’s today. Lori and I went to Aspen yesterday and it was beautiful. Yellow, gold and red abound. Had a nice lunch with Rollie and Dave who were married last weekend. Then we made a quick stop in Basalt at a furniture store before heading home. This morning it’s off to the gym.

Tonight we’re going to the neighbors down the street for a little party. It starts at 7 so we have the whole day ahead of us. Not much smoke up here but the closer you head to Denver, the thicker it gets.

Shit’s getting crazy out there folks. Trump has covid and some people on line are posting things like “I hope he fucking dies”. What is wrong with people? No matter which side you’re on, if you’re wishing death on the President of the United States, get the hell out of the Country. This shit is getting too real. It’s like you can’t put a yard sign in your yard without retaliation by some, especially if you’re a republican. Democrats are unhinged with their hatred of Trump. So much that they hate anyone who supports him too. Well, good riddance if you’re going to hate me over my political views. Given the current climate, I won’t hesitate to push back strong against anyone who gets in my space. Watch your top knot!

The ranch up near Walden is on fire on the north side of the highway. Sad. It’s been a bad year. We need snow as soon as we can get it. I picked up ribs from Hickory House in Aspen on the way home so we have leftovers today to snack on.

Time to walk the dogs. October 3rd, 20 days until Robi’s birthday, whoo hoo.

God Bless.

Yea, Friday! I need a weekend. October 2nd, wow. The Broncos won, the President and his wife have covid and the mornings are getting cooler. The trash is out and the dogs are fed.

We need two living room chairs. Not sure where to find them. Maybe we should go west instead of east. Would be nice to find a couple on a deal. You’d think more stores would be having sales but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Marty, James, Clark and I hung out for a bit last night. We’re trying to find a night when we can cook up some elk and our prized huckleberry pie. Would like to get to Costco today to see if they have any bunk beds left. Lindsey said she didn’t think so but was going to check for us.

Next week James and I are headed to Denver to exchange our rings. Not sure what day. Would like to get out bird hunting soon. It opened yesterday. We’ll give it a week.

Skipping politics today. It’s such a drain on your brain and doesn’t do much good anyhow. Keep preparing for the coming months. If you haven’t started yet, start now. You might experience shortages on some items you’re used to running down to the store for. Take a look around the house and think about what you use daily. It’s the weird little things you don’t think about that you’ll miss.

Make it a great day. The colors here are beautiful. They’ll be gone soon. God Bless.

We headed out from the meat processor at about 8:15 and were home by 6 pm. That included about an hour worth of stops so I made it in about 9 hours. I drove the entire way which probably saved us an hour.

When I arrived home no one was here. I started putting meat in my freezers and soon realized I didn’t have enough space so I called Margaret (our cousin Lee’s wife) and she sent Robert and Lindsey over to pick some up. I must have given them over 50 pounds of elk.

Lori is killing it at work. The Steadman clinic is all upset as they saw Lori’s Longevity Conference series in the paper and obviously were not included. The paper said they had about 15 calls from doctors and others at the clinic asking how they could be involved. Lori took charge of this and secured the sponsorship and ran with the ball. People in the valley say Dr. Braxton is everywhere and she’s already picked up a bunch of new patients. Steadman has been coasting on their name and now they’ll need to up their game as Lori means business, ha.

Sorry about the pictures yesterday. I also couldn’t read the comments. Here’s another try.

Have a great day and God Bless

6am, after a quick breakfast we’re headed into St. Anthony to the meat processor to pick up 6 large coolers full of elk meat. If we don’t have enough space they’re giving us some extra Styrofoam coolers to take home. On top of that one of the cooks here is sending us with 12 jars of huckleberry freezer jam. If you don’t know what huckleberries are you’re missing out. It’s a step up from blueberries and the only way you get them is by going and picking them. Around here folks guard their secret huckleberry spots like prize hunting spots refusing to tell anyone where it is. The other cook is making and freezing us a huckleberry pie to take too! Some women occasionally sell freshly picked huckleberries for about $100 a gallon!

It’s been a great trip. The three of us had a blast and are planning a bird hunt in a week or so. This is such a release and refresher for all of us. No stress at all, just good fellowship and friendship which is hard to explain. The three of us are pretty close to each other which is a rare thing these days. Brutal honesty with no posturing or hidden agendas among men is rare.

I miss Lori and the boys and am so excited for Lori as her new ad was picked up by an important publication and she’s already getting new patients from it. She’s such a hard worker and full of honesty and integrity which is paying off. Such a loss for her previous employer and they don’t even realize it.

We have about 10 hours of driving tomorrow and I’ll do the bulk of it if not all of it. It’s better that way. More pictures to come as the ones I posted seem to be elongated. I saw two comments but can’t open them. Anyhow I have lots of elk sausage, steaks, jerky, roasts, salami and more if anyone wants some. Should be about 300 pounds as my bull was over 800 pounds!

That’s it, hope you all are well. Wish everyone could enjoy the peace, quiet and harmony I feel when hunting in the wild. It’s hard to explain but is like being in another World at another time. God Bless.

I was right, not only about me but James too. We both scored record book bulls yesterday. Around 7am we were out the door which is late compared to when we leave when hunting Colorado. We didn’t have as far to go or hike this morning. Early on, about 45 minutes after we left, James came upon the largest bull I’ve ever seen. He immediately set up his shooting sticks and put a perfect shot down range on the bull. The bull ran a little bit and soon went down. We gave him a few minutes as they are tough animals and can get up if provoked and run or severely injure you. We quickly field dressed him and loaded him up for the trip back to camp to skin him. He’s a great bull.

After skinning him we headed back out to hunt for some more elk. It didn’t take long before I saw some tines shinning in the sun sticking up out of the sage brush. It was mid morning so this bull was bedded. I slowly approached him after circling him so the sun was at my back. When I came within about 100 yards he became nervous knowing something was up. I decided not to go any closer and waited for him to make his move. As quick as you could blink he jumped up and I squeezed off a shot just as quick and he went down faster than he got up. James and Marty were way up the hill looking down at me and said he dropped in an instant. I was close enough so I shot him in the neck so as not to ruin any of the meat. I too gave him a few minutes before approaching him and poking his eye to make sure he was dead. By then the guys had made their way down to me and helped me field dress him too. I said a prayer thanking God for this beautiful animal and the opportunity to take him. He was a true gift.

Later in the day we went out to help Marty find a bull but didn’t have any luck. We’re headed out this morning searching for elk for Marty. Hopefully we’ll find one.

We were tired when we made it back to the lodge around 7pm. I had started a load of laundry earlier so I finished that up before dinner. We had chicken fried steak, mashed potato’s and gravy and yes, corn. Not healthy at all but really good. I need to stop eating this kind of food but I worked up a big appetite.

I talked with Lori and she and the boys are well. The three of us were talking about how lucky we are to have such great wives that actually want us to go have “guy time” together. They’re great women. Much better than us! Ha. (but don’t tell them, Lori never reads the blog)

God Bless.

Have a good feeling this morning. There’s some good bulls in the neighborhood, the weather is changing a bit and the moon is right.

Yesterday we woke up and after breakfast in town, we then headed up into Teton National Park. This was the opposite direction but we thought we’d go anyhow as we had time. Plus I’m driving Marty’s truck so the driver is in charge, right?

After basically making a big circle to see the Tetons we headed to Idaho. It was a quick 2 hour drive at most and we stopped for lunch. The ranch is nice and it’s high desert here which is a switch from the country we’re used to hunting. Still though, good country. Elk grow antlers faster and larger if they get more sun so living here and not in trees means bigger bulls. In the summer they can grow an inch a day! There are also wild bison you can hunt but I think I’ll pass this year unless one charges me. We’re in grizzly country too so you have to keep your head on a swivel. Less people mean more wildlife.

Dinner was homemade and great. There are about six other hunters here and there from as far away as Indiana. A few 18 to 20 something year old kids recognized James right away and he was very gracious as he always is spending time with them. One 18 year old girl who is a Latter Day Saint (Mormon) from Texas is going to college down the road in this town that’s pretty hard core Mormon. She was really shy at first but then opened up once I said a few things to make her more comfortable. The owner of the ranch’s grandson and her showed up and after awkward good hearted questioning from Marty, we found out they met on social media. The young kid said his grandma told him James was coming so that’s why they showed up. James and I both noticed a twitch like he was on something. Not sure what, but something, ugh. We said to each other later how we hoped we were wrong.

James and I are rooming together. I had him rooming with Marty but he said he’d rather room with me, oh well. It’s fine, just was looking forward to my own room.

Time to get moving. Clear and cool but not as cold as in the above picture. I hope everyone is well. This truly is God’s country (it all is in case you’re wondering) and there’s no crap going on anywhere, just people living their lives the best they can. Be well, be safe and God Bless, and thanks to my lovely wife for holding down the fort and encouraging me to go! She’s the best!

We left a bit after 7 and were in Teton Village at 3:30. Our room wasn’t quite ready so we had to wait 45 minutes or so. As soon as it was done we moved in with all our gear and then headed into Jackson. The town was buzzing with lots of people and we hung out for an hour before going to dinner. Then it was back to the hotel. At dinner Marty gave James and I each a cool ring from Knight Rider. It symbolizes a brotherhood which is hard to explain. I’ll post pics later. Sadly they were a bit too big for both of us so we’ll exchange them for another size. When we left the restaurant we left them there accidently so we had someone pick the bag up and bring it to us.

Wyoming is beautiful. The billionaires are pushing the millionaires out of Jackson. Jackson itself is a little too Aspen for us if you know what I mean but the surrounding area is incredible. And the State’s politics are the best in the west!

Lori was at home with Jag who has a bunch of friends over. I guess they’ve all been tested but you never know. I know some are local kids that couldn’t go to college due to the vid.

We’re heading out mid morning to maybe the Tetons on our way into Idaho. We’ll decide what after breakfast. I’m up but the other guys are sleeping. Hope they get up for elk tomorrow, ha! Fun first day, great to be here with these two guy’s. We’re a good trio. More to come. No protests, politics, or really, any virus up here. Life the way it should be in the west, so God Bless.

Last night at about 10 pm Jag pulled in. He’ll be here for at least two weeks unless they shut things down for good. Lori said he brought a lot of stuff. I was in bed but did get up to see him for a minute. Ty was anxiously waiting for him. They missed each other.

I’m leaving in about an hour so I don’t have a lot of time. My cousin Lee and his wife Margaret came over yesterday and I gave them some stuff from storage we didn’t want. We’re a lot alike in many ways. They too would like to find a place in Wyoming.

Lori made it to Denver and back while I ran errands and packed. Should take us about 8 hours to get to Jackson if all goes well. Looks cooler up there which will be nice. There was a small fire out Highway 131 which is on our route but it’s out now. Time to get moving. Should be home next Wednesday or Thursday with a couple coolers full of elk God willing.

Be safe and God Bless.

In 23 hours and 45 minutes I should be on the road to Wyoming. Can’t wait. The colors are changing, the elk are bugling and the mornings are cool. It’s definitely the best time of year.

I think Marty will come pick me up at 6 and then we’ll go grab James and then we’re off. Lori will have to do the blog for the next week or so. Jag is coming home today for two weeks since they’ve essentially shut down all of Boulder, especially to anyone between 18 and 23. He wanted to bring six friends! Ah this is a big no. We’re even making him get a covid test before he comes home. No telling where six 18 somethings have been, right?

We have a meeting at school this morning with Ty’s counselor and then Lori is off to Denver to get her hair done. I have a lot to do to get ready to go. Mostly stuff around here to make sure all is good for the family. Packing is easy for me as I have all my stuff pretty much ready to go.

Work is going fine. Things are getting better every day but they’re threatening a lockdown again. Supposedly cases are rising, mostly at colleges. Maybe they’ll shut down all the schools and go to all on line learning. Jag has the option but we’ll wait until this two week period is over to see what’s going on.

The birds are enjoying their breakfast. All 100 of them. Bird seed is expensive. They need to go on a diet. Cool weather is coming. That is it for today. Be well, be safe and God Bless.

Was looking out the window yesterday and saw what looked like smoke. In a Nano second I knew I was right. I called Ty down and had him run over closer to the fire to verify it was not some neighbor burning trash. It wasn’t. I dialed 911 and let them know and about 5 minutes later the firefighters started to show up. It was a long 5 minutes. The fire burned only about an acre but could have been much worse. Lucky I was home. It was a tractor from the county with a mower attachment that created a spark and caused the fire. I saw it all happen. It took about 3 hours for it to be cleaned up. They cut down every sage brush bush there was until nothing was left but a lot of black dirt. Scary.

Today Ty has in person school. Lori is home and I’m home too. The colors are changing here with yellows and golds spreading fast. Should be peaking this weekend or next week for sure. We leave Saturday and will be in Jackson Wyoming Saturday might before rolling into Idaho Sunday. Sure would be nice to have a place up there. We’re scouring the internet daily and I have a buddy who is a real estate broker out of Jackson watching for great deals. Unfourtanetly it seems the entire Country wants to buy property in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana or Colorado. Can’t blame them.

Here’s 20 acres for under $160K about 45 minutes from Jackson Hole in Idaho. Idaho is also the lowest in the nation for taxes! Be great to have a small cabin or something there. We’d like something with water but that’s much more expensive. Just looking. I’d like to have a small piece of land somewhere for the boys. The Teton’s sure are beautiful too. Fishing and hunting is good and the soil is fertile and best of all, the people all get along.

This is the path we walk the dogs on a few times a day. You can see where the mower cut the grass along the edge and that’s where the fire started. Fire moves quick!

Time to go. Leave it to Beaver is on! I also just watched My Three Sons. They should make all these protestors watch these kind of shows. God Bless.