Tues, 9/25/2012
Duck Truck wouldn’t start. Dead battery. Learned to get Lexus out of the other garage door!
Jen took girls. I took battery charger and ext cord.
7 AM Depart. Very foggy.
Tom Tom says 12 hrs to Lincoln, NE so expect 8 PM Arrival.
Leaves are changing in KS and NE.
Cutting corn in NE.
Every little town in NE has speed reporting radar boxes just outside town. Somebody made a fortune!
Lots of starlings! Waves of them!
Wed 9/26/2012
Tomtom takes me thru Iowa and the 2 Siouxs.
Jill is tired of being cooped up but I slept well last night.
Up at 7, email done and on the road by 8 with 3 McD coffees.
Will stop this PM in Sioux Falls and do work to catch up.
The upright seat seems to prevent shoulder pain.
Thur 9/27
AM Hunt
Hard to resist honker dekes at daylight
4 of 6 big honkers in early am hunt
A quick trip to try & jump some ditch parrots
Easy walking here
3 of 4 pheasants in late am hunt
PM
Pheasant Hunting
Lots of cover! Deep stuff!
Jill doing the hard work
Jill brought me a juvie!
1 of 2 pheasants in pm hunt
Fri 9/28/2012
AM Hunt
More honker dekes and a sunrise – never get’s old
7 of 9 big honkers
1 coyote running at 50 yrs – Lost my cool pic??? Found It!
2 of 2 pheasants
Wow, such trees!
Pm hunt
More easy walking here – wasn’t easy in the cattails though!
Randy B gave me a case of old 20g shells – they shot fine most of the time.
0 of 3 pheasants
Sat 9/29/2012
Am hunt
We saw turkeys but no geese or ducks
Tougher walking
3 of 5 pheasantsPM Hunt
2 of 3 pheasants
Sun 9/30
No geese
Flying Ear Retrieve
2 of 3 pheasant
Got a giant bag of pheasant and goose jerky and pepper sticks
Owners wife even cleaned all the bugs off my windshield before I left
Head south on 281 from hecla to rapid city
Eta 730pm
Very quickly out of farming and into grassland
SD changes quickly from grassland to canyons in Pierre
Stopped to check out Wall Drug. What a giant tourist trap!
Big storm dropped temp 20 degrees in just a mile or so outside Wall
met 2 other hunters headed to MT to public hunt. They say it’s good
They were funny. Retired game warden and retired judge with a truck full of dogs. Almost like the aloofs or the major.
The daily toll must be paid.
Mon 10/1/2012
The climb out of rapid city towards Rushmore is surprising
Rapid city is pretty much a tourist trap also
Mt Rushmore town is a giant tourist trap
Rushmore and Crazy Horse were very cool
Big change coming of the black hills onto the high plains
Oof! SE WY is very big, very sparse and very dry
Surprising little lakes holding ducks in the middle of very large high plains
Successful prong horn hunter taking a rest at a ranch gate
Several more trucks parked at gates appear to be antelope hunters. Must be opening day.
11:30and most hunters are walking back to their trucks.
4 pronghorns right beside the road
Haying cattle already. Must be extraordinarily dry
Near Douglas WY can see a mountain range to the west
Looks much like eastern CO
More prongs near the road
Speed goats?
Tues 10/2/2012
Rest & work in hotel
Wed 10/3/2012
Hunted Blue Grouse in the mountains
Forest grouse live up high.
Jill adapting well
Guide says, “We’re going over there”
The crazy things you see when you look down. Prob part of the quartz/gold seams in these WY hills.
Ups = Downs
Jill’s first taste of Blue Grouse!
Mine, too!
Storm moving in fast.
Obligatory scenic pic
2nd Blue Grouse
All time fav & phone background
2 of 3 blue grouse
I’m always curious to see what they eat – tell’s you where to find them…..
Tired dog
Thur 10/4/12
Hunted Huns & Chukars
First close look at Wyoming Chukar Country – Looks easy I thought…..
LOL – that was only the top – This is WY Chukar Country!
This was my first Hun – so very beautiful!
1/4 Huns
Dog is exhausted, me too a bit
Fri 10/5/12
Hun hunting again
Cold and snowy
Switched from 20 ga 6s to 12 ga 6 pigeon loads
Much better hits
And a Happy Hun Hunter!
And a proud, noble dog, too!
Chalk up another for the Team!
4/5 Huns
Hit a coyote at 50 yes w pigeon load. Rolled him.
This dog fetches in the water, too! My guide’s dogs wouldn’t get wet!
1/1 preserve pheasant
2/1 chukars. Dog found a cripple
Excellent hunt!
Sat 10/6
Need better boots or socks I think.
Several inches snow overnite
Off by 7 after battery charge
Very snowy and slick driving out of Casper
Roads cleared by Douglas
lots of antelope in alfalfa. Even a coyote
My legs are still sore!
Jill needs whoa training
I remember hearing the sound of my pulse after a tough climb
Heavier snow outside Cheyenne
Much heavier snow nearer Cheyenne
Switched to 4 wd hi and 55
Even heavier snow like NM 2011 trip. Just keep heading south.
Snow stopped immediately in CO. Roads are clear
Out of 4wd north of ft Collins. Funny smell. Need 60k and 4wd maint
Geese flying high over ft Collins
Green corn still standing in ft coll
Cranes flying out of colo spgs
Antelope out of Raton
State trooper in NM drive the hi way with headlights flashing. How courteous.
NE NM is very big with lots of canyons, mesas and lava rock but very short grass.
You can tell by the fences when you get into sheep country.
Mesas and canyons end at Clayton NM
Almost the first thing you see in TX is a Church of Christ
Now you see pivots and crops.
Big canyons start in Channing.
Much more grass here too
Canadian river is dry
Sun 10/7
Overnight w Kathy and Grant in AMA