Last weekend approaching

The last weekend of elk season is approaching and I have not loosed an arrow yet. It has been a really tough season for me. The first weekend started out well, but all of those elk have been pushed to parts unknown. I hope to invest in some horses in the years to come, so I can start hunting farther away from the roads and still be able to pack an elk out w/o losing any meat.

Mom and Dad have been here for a little more than a week and will be leaving this Thursday morning. I was unable to put Dad on a cow, but he has caught quite a few fish. I think this will be his last elk tag for a while. We'll miss them quite a bit after they leave.

Not sure if we'll make it home this year at Thanksgiving. Furlough days at work have required a little tightening of the budget. We are going to try to make it, and I've scheduled the days off, but.............we'll see.

Elk Season (opening weekend)

We had a good opening weekend. We did not get to pack out any meat or antlers, but we came very close to killing a bull that I had been watching with a large herd. I made a conservative guess on his score while watching him through a spotting scope for quite some time. We originally were thinking 300" and maybe 320, but after having him at 65 yards we both decided he is a solid 320. However, considering all the opening weekend pressure in the area, it is ulikely that we will find him again. We had a few other smaller bulls close also. I would have taken any one of them given the right opportunity.

Isaac and I made it out for a short scouting trip on Saturday. We found a little fresh sign and a little old sign. Nothing to get too exited about, but a nice day out anyway. Isaac is doing pretty good keeping up with me now, so after the first weekend he'll probably hunt with me quite a bit.

I have not updated this in quite a while. I've been uploading photos to Facebook instead.

Summer is nearing its end and I am preparing myself for the beginning of elk and deer season in four weeks. Isaac and myself spent part of the last weekend scouting for elk and plan to continue that right up until season starts on the 29th.

Summer?

I'm not sure if we are going to have a summer this year. The weather has been quite unusual for Colorado. We have been in a cloudy/raining pattern for a while now w/o much sunshine. Hopefully this passes and the sun shows back up.

I'm trying to get my remodeling done and get this house on the market. Still haven't decided if we want to stay up here in Leadville or mortgage more money than should even be permitted and buy a home in the valley (probably Gypsum). The more I look at the cost, the more I think stay in Leadville.

Once I finish up remodeling the two bathrooms, I'll be done other than some back yard work. I plan to spend the rest of the Summer fishing and camping with Heather and the kids, and hiking above treeline to look for big mule deer bucks and herds of elk. I'm desperate to get above treeline. Maybe I can get out for a weekend camp at treeline and include scouting for elk and deer along w/ fishing a couple alpine lakes for brook trout.

Remi

I've finally been able to get Remi out a little and let him enjoy open water. He hasn't been in water for a while. Winter doesn't leave any open water near Leadville.

He was so exited he was shaking, and that was before he got in the cold mountain water.

Turkey Season is over

Nebraska Merriam's

Turkey season has came and went, Isaac and Olivia have both had birthdays (now 10 and 8), and Summer is almost here in Leadville.

Isaac and I hunted in the IL 5th season, CO, and NE. CO was a bust, but I wouldn't say we put a lot into it besides driving. IL didn't go as well as planned, but I was there when Donnie Vickers killed a good bird and I managed to kill a jake on the last day. The jake wasn't supposed to be a jake, but instead his longbeard buddy.

Nebraska was a great hunt and I killed a bird the first morning. We had two more birds within range of my 12 ga, but I had not bought another tag, so it was back at the cabin. I decided to concentrate on Isaac killing a bird, but they just weren't close enough for his 20 ga set up. He had a great time anyway and I really like spending time with him hunting. The Nebraska hunt will become a family trip every Spring if we have the money. I'll buy a second tag next time though.

Donnie Vickers' bird - 24 lb - 10+" - 7/8"

My mistake jake - 17.5 lb

Nebraska Merriam's - 20 lb - 8 5/8" - 1/2"

Isaac w/ my Merriam's