Toeing the dirt reality set in. No one else was around. The ranch was deserted. For a thirteen year old with a short attention span that spelled trouble. A whitetail doe tag was burning a hole in my pocket and I had hunting on my mind. Four and a half miles of dirt, and a nonexistent driver’s, Read More

“Seriously, we didn’t bring any duct tape!? Sewing needle anyone?” I asked, hopeful but not optimistic. “Nope,” replied Louis, “but we’ve got plenty of fish hooks.” “Huh… interesting… thread?” I pressed, sensing potential. “I have a little dental floss,” offered Steven. “Tippet!” I exclaimed, suddenly inspired. And with that I had a plan. Knowledge, Read More

The fireworks have already begun, not in earnest yet, but occasional pops and cracks are audible throughout the city. Coolers are filled with cold beer and lawn chairs line main streets across America. It’s our collective birthday and we have a lot to celebrate. This year my family was fortunate enough to be asked to, Read More

If you’ve been following STS for awhile you have probably noticed that we like photography. We’ve been lucky to have some of the best in the business share their work and insights with us, see here, here, and here, but we haven’t talked much about our own photography. We’ve been fielding more questions about how, Read More

Kirk Billings is one of those guys who just seems to be good at everything and really good at the things he likes best. He’s formerly an elite rock climber (although I wouldn’t doubt his abilities off the couch), who still has his picture on the cover of the local guidebook. He is a, Read More

Married man, middle aged, fit enough, in search of discreet adventure. I’m only interested if you can keep a secret. I will get up early and stay out late if that’s what it takes. Long weekends are also a possibility. Need someone to work for it? I’m your man. Toys and accessories aren’t really, Read More

Certain places have a way of getting their claws into you. I didn’t know what to expect the first time I pointed my truck south from Rock Springs on Highway 191.  Rumors abounded of big deer, pure Colorado cutts, and stories of bottomless draws where outlaws like Butch and Sundance disappeared from the law., Read More

I play at predator each fall. What hours I can spare from making a living, I spend slinking around the mountains and sagebrush steppe. In a good year I’ll kill an antelope, an elk, maybe a deer and a few birds. These I bring home to my family, where I pour more hours, and more love,, Read More

In the spring of 1990 an intruder tried to kill our family. Well, not our family exactly, but the pair of phoebes who nested under our second-story deck each year, and their family – two shell-bound chicks. We’d watched these little grey fly-catchers for three consecutive springs, our faces pressed so close to the deck slats above, Read More

“Daaaaadaaaa,” calls the three year old over a barely repressed giggle, “it’s baaaaack.” He’s spotted the pheasant again. That used to be reward enough for him, but now he’s grown to expect a show too – the Keystone Kops routine of his father trying to snap a half-decent photo. I’m pretty sure he’s rooting, Read More