After years of talk we finally pulled the trigger and got a boat. We had debated the merits of a raft vs. drift boat, new vs. used, and mostly how the heck we could pay for either. In the end a used drift boat with a price we couldn’t resist fell into our lap., Read More
Dear Winter, It’s true, 20 below keeps the riffraff away. So let me begin with a heartfelt thank you. You’ve been generous. At the risk of sounding ungrateful though… it is quite cold. The dog comes back whining after a pee cold. The kid gets a Slurpee headache walking to the truck cold. Maybe,, Read More
Purple mountain majesties get all the ink. But for every picture-postcard perfect acre of Tetons, Big Horns or Snowys in Wyoming, there are ten of high desert sagebrush steppe – and they do the heavy lifting. They never make the movies or the magazine covers. They just make the antelope, sage grouse and elbow, Read More
Separated by a thousand miles, we head to church with the rest of our family. While my mother peers into the casket, we drop the boat into the river on a sunny January day. Water drips off the oars after every stroke. Tears of sadness and joy stain the faces of those in attendance., Read More
When I was a boy, I spent much of each fall and winter in the backseat, driving hither and yon with my parents to assorted sporting events. I went to hundreds of games, all over the country, and each meant the world to me at the time, but today I can’t remember squat about, Read More
“Dada, Dada I called the pheasant!” came the voice from the yard. I can’t call anything. To a passing flock of mallards, I’m as persuasive as a hitchhiker with a chainsaw. The most effective thing I can do with an elk bugle is leave it in the truck. I have my strengths, but imitating, Read More
“We don’t eat the feathers, cause see that would be silly, right Dada?” “Right.” “Yeah, cause we only eat the meat, and feathers aren’t meat and… and… um… cause see the meat’s on the inside!” The duck we were plucking had only hung for a couple days. I’d planned on waiting longer to breast, Read More
It’s cold out there. After a long day in the duck blind your fingers are frozen, your nose is nippy and your cheeks are cherry red. A salad just aint gonna cut it. You need something hot, hearty and wholesome. Step on in to the STS Bar and Grill where the woodstove is cranking, Read More
“Dada… um… what… um… what are we going to doooo today?” It was a good question. We’d been batching it for a few days and the seams were starting to show. Three consecutive days of no mom, no nap, and long hours hunting in the elements had combined with the post-Christmas hangover to produce, Read More