Remi has grown a lot since I got him in August. He has claimed us as his own. The bay window is a favorite of his to keep tabs on us and the neighbors. He likes to stand there in the window and watch me when I leave in my truck.

We will be in IL on the 21st and will leave for CO on the 29th. We are looking forward to the visit. Heather has planned out where we will be and when we will be there. I will spend more time at Mom and Dad's or Sean's house since we will be bringing Remi with us. Hopefully we will get to visit with everyone.

It sounds like the church (Mt. Sterling) will be having a chili supper and hay ride on the 22nd, so we plan to be there. We will celebrate Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad at Mom's on Wednesday night and spend Thursday at David and Gretels. In between all of that, I'll bowhunt with Sean a lot and hope to drag a doe or two out.

Winter is approaching

Olivia and I took Remi out for a walk and released a couple quail for him. He is definitely "bird crazy" and hunts like a dog on a mission. I've not seen the same inclination to point out of him that I did with Bow at this age, but Remi pointed more as a pup than Bow did. So, I still think the point will come around, but I really need to get him on wild birds. Maybe I can find some quail in IL when we come to visit over Thanksgiving. Regardless, he is ours and we wouldn't trade him for anything.

Looks like we will be visiting IL over Thanksgiving. Our plans are to arrive on Friday the 21st and leave on Saturday the 29th. We will spend most of our time with family, so if you want to visit you will be welcome to stop by. I will bowhunt (of course), so finding me may be difficult.

The photo above is Olivia with Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert in the background.

Winter is here.

We had our first 1" of snow Monday then Tuesday night/Wednesday morning it snowed 3 or 4". When we got home from church last night at 8:45 it was 17 degrees. That isn't that cold if it was December, but it sure seems cold right now in October.

The kids are getting all geared up for Halloween. Boyd and Olivia got costumes last night, Ghost Rider and a Skeleton. We're going to take Isaac to Silverthorne and Frisco tonight to look for his costume. I believe he wants a Star Wars costume.

They will probably trick or treat at Beaver Creek this Saturday, then Minturn on the 30th and Leadville on the 31st. We'll have enough candy to last till next year.

Remi has grown quite a bit and is now 6 1/2 months old. He isn't as big as Bow was. I've released several quail for him. He finds them well and hesitates when he does, but he hasn't pointed for any length of time. I still believe he has potential, but probably not as much as Bow had. That is ok though, because he is a really good family dog even if he never makes much of a hunter.

End of Archery Season

It is a depressing time of year for me. Archery ended a couple weeks ago. I didn't get out much after killing the bull on the first day. I regret not spending more time in the woods looking for a deer now. I do have the late season rifle cow tag that comes in the last two weeks of November then again from mid December to mid January.

The Aspen leaves have long since turned golden and the recent wind has blown most of them to the ground. Winter is on its way and I can't say I'm ready for it yet. I enjoy the skiing, but I would like another month (or two) of Fall.

We drove to a local lake to look for waterfowl today. We did see one flock of 20 or so geese and three flocks of Gadwalls. I don't think hunting is allowed on the lake though, so it doesn't do me much good. I could drive about an hour southeast and hunt, but the cost to set back up to hunt waterfowl an hour away doesn't seem practical.

It has been a while since I had the necessary equipment for hunting waterfowl. I would need to buy waders, decoys and everything they require, a call or two, amo, etc. Seems like a lot of cash to only have a couple opportunities to hunt. But, it is something that Isaac could hunt before he turns 12 in three years and can hunt CO big game.

We hope to have the funds to travel home to IL over Thanksgiving. I will certainly buy my lic. and an archery doe permit. Don't think I can swing the either sex permit. Looks like the waterfowl season starts in IL during that week, so maybe I'll try to put Isaac on a wood duck or two. Probably won't be too many mallards there by then. I know Sean still has the dekes, but I would still need to buy waders.

Isaac and Olivia have been playing flag football since September and will probably have games until the weather prevents it. Isaac ran four or five touchdowns today in two games. He played for another team the first game that did not have enough of their own players. I think he's as fast or faster than most of the kids. Olivia holds her own with the boys. She ran a touchdown today also. I'll try to post some photos of them playing.

2008 Colorado Elk Hunt

Here is the video of my 2008 archery elk hunt. I did not know the video camera was on. The action came on so quick that I did not think about the camera until he said "I've got all of this on film".

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday was the first day of the Colorado archery season for elk and deer. I have both tags, but elk would be my main goal with deer second. I hunted with a friend and killed my first elk, a bull, at a few minutes after 7 AM. Not only did I kill my first elk, but my buddy managed to get my video camera turned on and caught most of the action on film. The bull was a 4x5 and would not be considered a "big" bull, but he looked great to me. I couldn't be happier with him.

Highline State Park Camping

We went with our church to Highline State Park on a weekend camping trip. We go every August, so this was our second trip. The weather was nice, but a little cool for the kids swimming. I did get Remi into the water there and there is no doubt he's a water dog.

I took several photos at sunset after working with Remi. There is nothing more beautiful than a Colorado sunset.

The fishing photos are from a little lake south of Leadville named Crystal Lakes. The fish are all "stockers", but I'm sure there are a few big fish in the lake. The geese are while I was fishing the little lake.