Another Nevada Hunt

Last weekend I took off for Fernley Nevada at o'dark:30 to meet my brother in law Buck, my nephew Beau, and an old friend Jim Brunner for a weekend of Chukar hunting. It was my second trip this year, and I had my little dog Remmi in the back of the truck as I cruised through the predawn darkness. There was a full eclipse of the moon in progress, but I had no luck picking it up in my rear view mirrors. I had gotten a late start as I set my alarm to wake me at 5:30, my desired departure time, rather than 5:00 so I could actually shower, and get a cup of coffee before I left. So, while I did get to glimpse the eclipse in progress (about halfway), I had to hustle to minimize my late arrival at Fernley, and the rendezvous.

I had decided the evening before to take along Remmi, the younger and smaller of my two short hair pointers. Delta the older, and more experienced one, can be a little "reactive" around strange dogs, and I knew I would be hunting with my cousin Jim's dog Polly. So, Remmi got the call, I felt bad for Delta. That's the problem with having two young hunting dogs, they both need to go, but even without the potential dog fight problem, it is almost impossible for me to hunt two dogs. They move so fast and cover so much ground, that between watching where I am putting my feet (in some very rugged terrain) and holding on to my shotgun, I soon loose track of where one or both of them are! One keeps me plenty busy.

Arrived at Fernley only 10 minutes late, and we consolidated all our gear into my truck. The large back seat makes it a good rig for hauling four guys, and their dogs (just Cooper and Remmi in this case) out into the wilds of Nevada. It also saves a little on gas money, as we all split the fuel cost. Soon we were back on Interstate 80 Eastbound, smoking along at 75 mph. Even at that speed, and with all the non-highway driving I ended up averaging about 17 mpg, pretty good for a massive, one ton, full size (some would say "over-sized") pickup.

Buck, Jim Brunner, and Martin at the Cowpoke Cafe.
Buzz is ordering in the background.

About an hour later we were eating breakfast at the Cowpoke Cafe in Lovelock Nevada. Cousin Jim was there and it seemed like he knew half the people in the restaurant. For such a vast, and wide open state, Nevada is also pretty "small town". I like it. The food was good, I had an omlette, and the company was great! These pre-hunt meals are always one of the best parts of the trip. Especially the first one with all the anticipation and speculation of what we might find, and how many birds we'll see.

It was another hour from the restaurant before we stopped, let the dogs out, and "rucked up" for the hunt. It is amazing all of the crap you carry "just in case". Of course I guess that could apply to almost anything, even the gun "just in case you find some birds"! I put about a gallon of water (two half gallon bottles, mostly for the dog) in my vest, several energy bars, some dog biscuits, my camera, and some ammo. Around my neck, I wore a dog whistle, a small hand held radio, and my controls for the dogs e-collar. Of course I also had my Browning 12 gauge "Silver Hunter" which is a pretty light weight gun to carry, but loaded with 5 shells, it can get pretty heavy. The subject of how much ammo to bring is always difficult. If I don't bring enough, and get into lots of birds, that would be a real bummer! On the other hand, ammunition is heavy and packing around a whole bunch of extra is probably great from an exercise standpoint, but tends to wear you out. On most of these hunts we end up walking for 4 hours and cover 5 to 7 miles with perhaps 2,000 feet of vertical involved. So, while it might seem like a couple of pounds wouldn't matter, believe me it does! I carried almost a whole box (25 shells). I guess I was optimistic!

The area we hunted.

Remmi and I split off from the four others and started to the Northwest. She is a very active little dog, and it took my constant attention to keep her in sight. Sometimes the terrain just would not cooperate, as she would disappear over a ridge, only 75 feet away, and by the time I got up there she would by 100 yards ahead! She has a much easier time with the terrain than I do!

Man, Dog, and Gun! 

We hunted for a couple of hours without seeing any birds. I finally decided to circle up onto a large ridge system that led back in the direction of the truck. It took a while, but we were eventually on top, when Remmi finally went into "long distance stalk mode". head down low, tail up, moving more slowly and deliberately into the wind. After a few minutes of this I noticed about twenty chukar get up maybe 125 yards ahead of us and fly straight down the ridge away from us. Remmi didn't see them (thank god! She loves to chase once they break!) and we continued on. Finally, she disappeared over a small rock pile maybe 5 feet ahead of me.

I picked my way up there and to my horror saw she was now about 80 yards ahead down in a ravine, looking very "birdie". Before I could react, a single chukar flushed about 10 feet in front of me screaming (literally) down the hill at the speed of sound. I was so shocked that Remmi had passed within yards of this bird, that I just stood and checked my pulse to see if my heart had started beating again yet!

Well that one bird caused quite a racket, and although I didn't shoot (should have) five birds jumped up about 15 yards in front of Remmi. That cut it, she was gone! After the birds she went, and of course she flushed about 15 more (also well out of gun range). As I whistled and whistled to get her to give up the fruitless (but oh so FUN!) chase, I watched two or three other single birds flush near where she had been, and swing around the hill below us. I hoped they had set down, and that perhaps I might be able to get the dog on them later.

Finally, Remmi returned tongue hanging out, and pretty proud of herself. I sternly explained to her that if she hunted WITH me, instead of by herself, she would probably do better! I gave her a little water and let her calm down before we headed down to see if we could scrounge up a single or two. She kept wanting to return to where all the birds had flushed (opposite direction from where I suspected a few might still be). I whistled her over, and finally got her crossing to my right. Sure enough suddenly she froze into a left turn point. Her tail was straight up and quivering, head down and turned left. Glancing at me with her eyes, head frozen, she was "hot" as they say. I moved up slowly, thumbed off the safety, and about 10 feet from the dog, the Chukar broke, downhill and left. I fired once, missed, adjusted my lead (the bird was about 45 yards by now, and about to disappear around the ridge) fired again, and the bird tumbled out of site!

Remmi went bounding after the fallen bird. I reloaded, and shortly, here comes the dog back around, and up the hill with a mouth full of Chukar! I sat down in the sage brush, blew my whistle softly, and waited as she labored up to me, breathing hard through her nose. "Good dog! Good dog! Atta girl Remmi!" She came to me, and I scratched her belly and back, as she held the bird in her mouth. I reached around and grabbed one of the legs, and she gently let go. That made the day for me. She is a fabulous retriever, and if I can keep her under some semblance of control (and the birds are holding) she really is fun to hunt behind!

Took this back at the truck. Two birds, three shots!

After that, she led me directly into a group of about 5 more birds. Same story, she got wind of their nearby scent, and froze. As I approached she would slowly "stalk" ahead, until finally, she refused to move. Bingo, they jumped, and I killed another one. She made a fabulous retrieve again.

Back at the truck it was great to be cleaning birds, instead of grousing about not seeing any. Jim Brunner had shot two, and Beau had killed one. It was an awesome day! We stood around after cleaning the birds, and had a little bourbon, beer, and snacks, retelling the days events. Remmi was tired and hungry, as she wolfed down several cups of dog food from inside her dog can.

After hunt cocktail party. From left, Jim Brunner, Buck,
and yours truly.

Remmi chows down from her crate.

It really wasn't warm (you can tell by the grimace,
 Buck struck this pose for Buzzy's benefit!

Beau contemplates the day's hunt!

We spent the night in Lovelock. I think it may have been the highlight of the hunt for Remmi. She would not get off the bed, and slept with me all night. She never moved a muscle, or made any noise all night long.

The next day we missed cousin Jim, but were joined by Buzz Ebright, and his friend Martin. It was strange to see Buzz arrive at the Cowpoke in a silver Toyota Hybrid SUV, instead of his trade mark beat up pick up truck. I never thought I would see the day, obviously the vehicle belonged to Martin! However, Buzz did seem like he was enjoying it!

Remmi loved the room! We thought it was kind of a dive.

Buzz and Martin's "Ride".

We went back to the same area the second day. Remmi once again found birds too far out in front of me, but this time we were unable to locate any stragglers. No birds were to be had that hunt, but another nice happy hour with story telling back at the truck softened the days failures.

I got back home at 8:30 that night, it was nice to be back. We cooked up the Chukar soon after that using Kim's Mother's recipe for sauteing it all up and serving it over pollenta. Wow! It was fabulous.

That's All!

Cutting our Tree

Well, I told you this was going to be all out of order. After Thanksgiving day last month, we made our annual trip up into the forest to cut our Christmas tree. As usual, the Roberti's (Dave, Jane, and Kristin) came with us.  This year the Bohms (Boogie, Debbie, Kai and Kira) came with us as well. They aren't first timers. They cut a tree with us year before last. However, this year we had an additional three folks who joined us. They were friends of the Roberti's. Cheryl and her two daughters Mattie, and Mazie came up from the valley to visit, so it was quite a crowd.

We all met at our house around 1:30 in the afternoon on Friday. It was a beautiful day, and we were mostly recovered from the feast the day before. Kim packed up some snacks and hot chocolate, Jane grabbed her picnic basket of goodies and our three car convoy headed for Yuba Pass. My old Ranger District, Sierraville, has started selling a limited number of Christmas tree permits. It is something I always wanted to do, but never overcame the bureaucratic inertia to make it happen. My hat is off to Quentin Youngblood, the new ranger, for getting it done. Of the two areas designated for cutting, we headed for the high country south of Yuba Pass.

Maggie and Kristin on the ride up.

The higher elevation (over 7,000 feet) means that the prized "silver tip" fir grows there. Actually, (this is for you Maggie) it is a California red fir (abies magnifica). It is a beautiful tree with burgundy bark when it gets older. So much for the dendrology lesson.

When we got to Yuba Pass we turned South and put it in 4 wheel drive. There was a hard packed few inches of snow, but it was easy going. About a mile in we found our spot. A large flat with widely spaced large old red fir with thousands of young trees coming in below. It was an old "shelterwood" cutting done by the Forest Service probably 30 years before. It has been successful in establishing a new generation of young trees, and many are just the perfect size for a Christmas tree.

We parked our rigs, piled out, let the dogs loose, grabbed the ax and hand saw, and started on our search. I am experienced enough to know by now, that there is really no use in actually attempting to decide on a tree to cut for the first half hour or 45 minutes. It doesn't matter if it is absolutely the perfect tree. It is the hunt that matters most to my beautiful wife! So as we headed off, I began mentally cataloging candidates and marking their location. I figured they would look better to Kim after she had floundered around in the snow for a bit, and the hands and feet were chilled a bit. It is amazing how much easier it is to select a tree after being properly "prepared"!

I stayed above the road, where the sunlight filtered down amply between the large old trees, while the rest of the group was pulled down the hill into the thicker forest for some reason. I have heard (and believe there is something to it) that when people get lost in they woods they tend to wander down hill. Sometimes they are not even aware, that they are loosing elevation. The walking just seems a little easier. I know that when I am out hunting and very focused on maintaining my elevation it always feels like I am actually walking up hill. So perhaps it was this phenomenon that resulted in their voices getting fainter and fainter down the hill from me as I  marked 4 or 5 nice trees in the area I was searching. Delta and Remmy kept me company, as I crunched through the crusty settled snow, ax in hand, listening to the dog bells jangling and tinkling through the forest.

Their bells are a truly wonderful implement to have hanging around their necks as it allows me to keep up not only with their general location and distance from me, but the "doppler effect" lets me know if they are running toward me or taking off into the forest after some critter! When they are running toward me, the tone of the bells is markedly higher, while it decreases in pitch when they are leaving me behind at a high rate of speed. Maggie can explain this with a simple formula or two.

Finally, after about 30 minutes, I headed down the hill to see what, if anything, they had found. When I joined up with them, they were empty handed, and very interested in the trees I had seen. They were especially interested since there was sunlight up the hill a ways, which promised slightly warmer temperatures. (Their feet and hands were approaching optimum tree selecting temperature). I led them back up the hill following my tracks in the snow.

Kristin couldn't resist this "double tree"

While Roberti's had found a tree, nobody else had, and immediately Debbie found a nice looking silver tip. Her children (Kai and Kira) insisted on another with a nice crook in the top because it looked unique in a Charlie Brownish sort of way. I led Kim, Maggie, and Lucy back up my tracks past the trees I had marked.

"Wow, these look pretty good", my wife exclaimed. I told her I had one more for her to look at, just up the hill and in a little shade (as the sun was setting now). I was thinking that we were within a degree or less of "decision time"!

Well, the last tree was hands down the best tree we had seen all day! So, 45 minutes after starting from the truck, and 40 minutes from when I first found the tree, we cut it! We posed for our annual Christmas picture with dogs, axes, and saws in hand. Finally, we dragged the tree the 300 feet down to the truck. There we poured hot chocolate and snacked on salami, cheese and nuts. We stood around the tailgate visiting and enjoying each other's company, laughing and recounting the day. What a great time we had!

Mattie, Kristin, Mazie, and Cheryl enjoying
 hot chocolate and snacks back at the truck.

Kristin, Moe, Mom, Hodge, Omi (Debbie), Me, Kai, and Boogie.
The hot chocolate really hit the spot! 

After loading up, we headed back toward home. Along the way, we came to an overlook of the Sierra Valley. We stopped the truck, and Kim (the photo Nazi) took a picture. It wasn't the first or last picture she took that day. She wore poor Lucy out with her photo mania, probably Moe as well.

Our Valley, from near Yuba Pass!

An early photo of Hodge and Moe.

Staring to get a little old!

Loosing  patience!

We're done!!

At home we all sat down to some wine and delicious turkey soup from our Thanksgiving feast. We visited more, and relaxed, and just thoroughly enjoyed each other. What a fabulous start to the Christmas season!

Our Christmas card! The dogs were interested
in a couple of very loud snowmobiles that were passing through
nearby.

That's All!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

Well, due to my slackardly blogging recently, things are way out of order. So, with your complete understanding I will post on my most recent happenings. First Thanksgiving, then our annual Christmas tree cutting adventure.

Kim and I have been really looking forward to turkey day this year. Maggie and Lucy were heading home after nearly a whole semester away at college. Initially we were looking at a pretty small gathering with just the four of us. But it's just not the same without a bunch of folks, so we started a Thanksgiving invitational telethon! We immediately thought of Uncle Frank and Auntie Lucille. However, it looked like they may not be able to make it. Then we called several friends to see what they were up to. Well we got a big thumbs up from Wendy Selvaggio and her two girls Brooke and Sophia still at home, and her oldest daughter Sasha, one of Maggie's best friends who is living and working in Truckee now.

We went ahead and purchased a fresh turkey from Costco (22.5 lbs) and figured leftovers were not a problem. We traditionally cook the turkey in our good old Weber Kettle barbecue. This year I decided to cook it as slowly as possible, and add wood chips to the coals for smokey flavoring. So I was gearing up for something a little different. Scary, but exciting too.

So, a few days before the big event Frank and Lucy confirmed. Yay!! Now it was starting to feel like a real Thanksgiving, with lots of family around. Wendy wanted to watch the Dolphins play the Cowboys, and I thought "Wow, football and family on turkey day? It doesn't get any better than this!" Turned out Frank is a big Dolphin fan too so after the Macey's Parade, we would tune in the game!

On Tuesday, my little Lucy arrived in her pretty red Mustang. What a great moment. That's a hug I will remember. So nice to have her back here in the house! We visited and I kept puttering to get the house ready. Kim was at school subbing and had the same great reunion when she got home later that evening.

So, on Wednesday I worked the Turkey over for an hour or so. I oiled it up (extra virgin olive oil of course), spiced it with salt, pepper, and some Cajun Spices, then injected about a half cup of Yoshida's Gourmet Marinade into the bird. Into the 'fridge to set for 24 hours.

Maggie made it home while Kim was still in Reno at a Doctor's appointment, so after another couple of memorable hugs, we set to plotting. Lucy suggested we set Kim up for a scare, and as she drove into the driveway with a load of groceries for the feast, Moe had a brainstorm. "Distract her, and I will sneak out into the car after she brings the first couple of bags in!" We all immediately agreed. So, Lucy and I greeted her outside, and we all grabbed some bags. "OK", I said "No stopping until we have the whole car unloaded!" This, to ensure that she would return promptly after Maggie had climbed into the car.

Margeaux, Lucy, Auntie Lucy, Uncle Frank, Me, and Kim

I lagged behind as Kim headed for the Kitchen door with arms full of groceries, gave Maggie, who was peaking around the other side of the house, the hi sign, then followed with my bags into the kitchen. Kim obediently headed back to the car for more as Lucy and I followed. Around to the rear hatch of the VW she went, talking the entire way. She opened the hatch, looked in and saw Maggie sprawled motionless among the remaining sacks of grub. It took a half second for it to register, then suddenly she threw her hand to her mouth, and shouted "Oh! Oh!", as she leaped at least a foot into the air and landed about three feet back away from the car. It was the "perfect surprise", and Moe, Lu and I laughed so hard it hurt. Kim quickly turned from fearful to joyous as she realized who was in the trunk. A Thanksgiving moment to remember!

Wendy and Sophie crack up at a joke.

Well, it turned out to be a great family event. I cooked the turkey for 5 hours with lots of smoke, and it came out more moist and flavorful than ever before. Lucy and Lucy made the mashed potatoes and yams; Maggie cooked up some delicious stuffing, and baked a pumpkin pie; Kim made the gravy, asparagus, and jello salad; while Wendy spread out the appetizers! The game was great, food delicious, and the company was fabulous. All in all it was one of our best Thanksgivings.

Brown is beautiful!

Sasha and Margeaux

Three beautiful girls!

The two Lucys do the mashed potatoe!

Setting for 10

Nice looking plate!

Rice Krispy Treat Turkey Place favors

Next, our Christmas tree cutting trip!

That's All!

I Got it at GETS!

OK, I know I am way behind on my blogging. I was hoping to outlast Maggie, but alas I didn't. On November 6th Kim and I traveled to Palm Springs to attend the Governor Elect Training Seminar (GETS) that is put on for all the District Governors Elect (DGEs) in the Western United States. This includes Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, part of Idaho, a little of BC Canada, and of course Hawaii! This geographic area is called Zone 25/26, and is presided over by one of 17 Rotary International Directors (RIDs). My RID is a man from California named Ken Boyd.

Our GETS training started on Monday, and went through Thursday. Then the Zone 25/26 Institute began in the same venue, and continued through Sunday Morning. The Institute is a conference for all of the Past District Governors (PDGs), current District Governors (DGs), DGEs, and District Governor Nominees (DGNs), and a few special invited guests. Whew! Lots of acronyms in Rotary as you can see.

So it was a very full week for Kim and I, and our 23 classmates (the other DGEs). Our class has christened themselves the "Visionaries". This is a long standing tradition, that each new class undertakes. Our logo is kinda cool, based on the Star Trek pin that doubled as a communicator for Captain Kirk!

One of my classmates designed the logo.
Pretty cool don't you think?

I like the name, as it suggests looking into the future, and imagining great outcomes for our endeavors. It gives me lots of ideas for helping the Club Presidents look ahead and plan their year. Certainly one essential quality of successful leadership.

The training was very intense. We were working from about 8:00 each morning until around 9:00 each night with a few "after hours/off the clock" sessions thrown in as well. The strongest focus of the course was in public speaking and leadership. Our instructors were excellent. We began Monday by giving a short two minute speech (see my post about decisions) to our class as we were coached and video taped. Then we got to watch the tape, and get feedback from the class. After this we were required to deliver the "speech" in front of a meal session. Next we practiced in front of the camera doing a new member induction, then awarding a Paul Harris Fellow. This is an award for making significant contributions to The Rotary Foundation.

Later we were asked to do impromptu inductions and awards in front of various meal events. You never knew when you would be asked to speak. They got the drop on me good. We were off site and relaxing at dinner in a restaurant called Sammy G's there in Palm Springs. I figured it was safe to have a glass of wine or two since "they wouldn't call on us here in a public restaurant, after cocktails".....NOT!

Luckily I was sipping my wine carefully, probably because it was $7.50 a glass, rather than out of a sense of caution. After all, I wasn't driving. Sure enough, the group leader got up front and after a few remarks about how things were going it went something like this: "And now to induct a new member into the Rotary Club of Sammy G's, from District 5190, District Governor Elect Sam "Woody" Wilbanks!

Showtime! Well, I was lucky to have a few moments to think about what I would say. The room went silent, and I got their attention. Then, quite intentionally, I said "Well, I was hoping to speak on the Floatary Roundation, but I suppose an induction will work!" The whole place broke up, you should have heard them laugh! It was a moment or two before they settled down enough for me to "induct" my new member. My presentation went off well and without a hitch. I cannot tell you how many folks came up and complimented me on my thick tongued humor! My classmates kept joking about it for the rest of our stay there.

I have to say that my slurred butchering of the Rotary Foundation was not an original idea. I "borrowed" it from my good friend in Rotary Gail "Virus" Ellingwood, who after a few Cosmos opened one of our club 's charter night celebrations with a rousing (and unintentional) "Welcome to the Lohtery Club of Royalton!"

Well, I am going to have to save the rest of the GETS/Institute saga for my next post. Got lots of Rotary work (not to mention house work) to get done before turkey day. I will have a few more pictures next time.

That's All!

Bringin' In The Wood!

Well, I am sorry there will be no pictures for this post. But that's life I guess, I just couldn't bring myself to spend a minute to get the camera during this trial, er event. Wind probably would have blown it out of my hand anyway!

Last Thursday we awoke to a breezy day. Sun was out, and there was a storm predicted to be upon us. I thought that the weather man had missed the call a tad, which he had, and then wondered if I could get the cord and a half of split dried firewood from the end of my drive into the woodshed before I had to leave for my Rotary meeting. Kim and I had split this wood three weeks previous. (That's another story) I had thought about moving it under cover, but with our schedule, it didn't look like it would be possible before the storm hit. Now with the delayed arrival of the predicted snow, perhaps we had a chance. We decided to go for it!

When I walked outside I was amazed at the velocity of the wind! It was howling out of the South, bending over our trees, and stripping them of their remaining dried leaves. The sky was full of dust from hay fields freshly plowed in preparation for some precipitation, but none was in sight. No clouds, only screaming wind! I nervously eyed our trampoline, as a few years ago it had made a short flight across the yard, ricocheting off the corner of the house and landing down wind in our field in many pieces. We were lucky it hadn't hit me ( I was trying to tie down the hot tub cover at the time) or gone through one of our glass patio doors or windows. I decided to get a rope and secure the tramp before heading for the wood pile.

Kim and I then hooked up the flatbed trailer as the wind ripped dust and gravel up off the drive and into our faces. It was pretty chilly, and I was wearing a knit cap to keep my ears warm. The wind kept trying to pluck it off my head. We backed the trailer up to the windward side of the pile of wood, and started tossing pieces on. According to my guess, the wind was blowing about 40 mph and gusting to 50 mph occasionally. It was actually hard to stand and walk. Some pieces of wood were actually blown back towards us as we tossed them at the trailer. I finally go the hang of tossing the wood with just enough force that the wind would slow it down just enough so it would land gently on the rest of the pieces accumulating on the flatbed.

I squinted hard to minimize the exposure of my eyeballs to the wind, constantly blinking the dust to the corners  of my eyes. It was miserable. My ears filled with dust and grit. I finally got a pair of firefighting goggles for Kim to wear, as she could not keep her glasses on her face the wind was so strong.

We got about half the wood loaded, and turned the trailer around and backed it in next to the woodshed. It was a little calmer in the shelter of the house and the shed, but still miserable. Back we went for the second and final load. No let up in the wind as it continued to howl.

I noticed quite a bit of smoke coming over the ridge to our Southwest. There had been some prescribed burning going on over there the previous week, and it looked like the wind had blown some new life into it. I was a little worried, as the smoke was building, blowing our direction, and with the strength of the wind where I was there would be no stopping a fire.

It turned out that the fire was about 50 acres, and I think the wind was not quite as strong as I was experiencing. The Forest Service managed to pick it up by evening, and that night we did get about 4 inches of new snow. However, it is always a bummer when a prescribed fire turns into a wildfire! Bad PR! At least it wasn't Sierraville District. The Plumas had been the one doing the burning. Really not their fault, as this wind was not predicted.

So, back to the wood. We got the last sticks loaded and moved the trailer to the shed once again. We decided that we had to finish this job as we were now totally committed. So, we stacked all the wood, and with around 1/4 cord that was left over from last year, we measured nearly two cords stacked. I have probably 3 cords cut and waiting to be split, back out at the end of the driveway (under 4 inches of snow), so I should be looking good here in a bit. The wood splitter is reserved for the week after our Rotary Training in Palm Springs. Hopefully we'll have the woodshed filled before Thanksgiving. I am sure Maggie and Lucy are hoping for that too!

That's All!!

Some things in life you don't get to decide, some things you do.

I was the president elect of my small Rotary club in August of 2000. I looked forward to our weekly lunch meetings. We had a very lively and fun loving group, and the meetings sometimes bordered on anarchy...fun anarchy. I had been a member for four years, on the club board of directors for three, and was looking forward to serving as President. My view of Rotary did not go much past the boundaries of our small mountain community, or our 30 members.

Then my life changed forever when I got the call that all parents dread. Some things in life you don't get to decide: my beautiful 15 year old daughter was killed in a car wreck. Some of you may have experienced the unexpected loss of a child or close family member and understand the soul searching and contemplation that this kind of thing causes in a person. "Why did this happen?" I asked myself a million times (and still do). It is hard to describe the incredible frustration of wanting, beyond any power imaginable, to change reality. I wanted to somehow reach back in time to influence the fateful events that led me to this horrific new reality. But that of course is not possible.

My little Rotary club reached out to me and my family. Along with so many people in our community they offered comfort and consolation in every way they could think of. Without that support, I am not sure I, or my family, could have survived. I didn't get to decide that my Emily would not be taken from me so young. However, thanks to all of the support from people who cared for me, I came to realize that I DID get to decide how my life would reflect her short time with me. I decided then to dedicate the rest of my life to making a positive difference in the lives of others in Emily's name.

Seven months later I attended PETS. All of a sudden it was like a door opening, or a floodlight illuminating the night. Here was a different Rotary from the one I had grown to love in my little club. Here was a huge international organization with reach to virtually every corner of the globe. Instead of 30 members, here were 1.2 million members all dedicated to improving lives in their communities and elsewhere. Here was an organization that had pledged to rid the world of the scourge of polio, and was making dramatic progress. Here was an organization through which I could reach out and give hope to the hopeless,  to give children around the world at least a fighting chance to rise above abject poverty. Here was a way, to reach out beyond my little home town, and make a positive difference to humanity in a bigger way than I had ever imagined.

I was stunned and incredibly inspired to take advantage of the immense opportunity that Rotary presents. Of course I was busy thinking about how, as President, I would work with my club, to do more than we had ever done before. But I couldn't help but think about how I might get more involved in this bigger world of Rotary.

I made another decision that day. I decided that the best legacy I could build to honor my daughter was to become more involved in Rotary leadership. To do whatever I could to promote and forward the incredible work of Rotary. To take advantage of this opportunity to make a far greater positive difference in the world than I ever could have on my own. Today I stand here on another threshold about to take on the incredibly high honor of becoming a District Governor. Let's get it done!

The Grand Finale!

Well, I finally made it back to the Sierra Valley, Kim, dogs, cat, horses, and home! It was a long assignment, but very successful. We kept 'em small there in Southeast Texas after corralling the Riley Road fire. We probably worked 2 to 5 fires per day, ranging from a couple acres to 20 or so. The weather was never so bad as it was the day we landed in Houston, or we would have been much busier.

At the end of our assignments the tradition is to have a get-together over dinner and a few drinks to celebrate and unwind. All team members pack Hawaiian shirts to wear to these events. It is a great tradition, and brings closure to the whole experience. Well, this assignment's "Team Dinner" was unique.

One of our logistics guys knew someone in the Houston Astro organization, and did some negotiating with them. When it was done we got a fantastic deal! Here's what he got for us: Rooms at the Houston Hilton, (only a couple blocks away from Minute Maid Ballpark) a smoked prime rib and chicken dinner, 2 hour open bar, field level seats, and a pre-game tour! Not bad for $75 eh? (The rooms weren't included in the $75)

 So, Wednesday evening we all met up in the Hilton lobby, and headed down the street to the ball park. We are a large group (about 50) so it was quite a gaggle, and we plugged up a few cross walks. As the Team Safety Officer, I had to bust a few jay walkers, and direct some traffic! Once at the park, we got our tickets, and were ushered into the stadium. Through the concessions area the smell of roasting hot dogs assaulted my olfactory senses! I thought about the prime rib to come, but man those ball park foot-longs smelled awful good!

Our guide took us down into the catacombs of the stadium several flights of stairs, to the field level entrance. We came out of the tunnel, and onto the field right behind home plate.

We emerge from the tunnels onto the field behind home plate!

The St Louis Cardinals were taking batting practice. It was waaaaay cool! We could not pass up the opportunity to take our team picture with home plate in the background. It was a squeeze, but we did it. I was very impressed with the batting practice. These guys weren't practicing hitting the ball. They were practicing hitting the ball to specific spots, including the upper deck above left field. Impressive indeed.

These were pretty nice seats. Ours were not quite this posh!

Our hosts then lead us back through the maze of tunnels and stairwells, back out past those mouthwatering hot dogs, and into our dinner suite. This room was in an adjacent building, and was one floor from the roof, which had an open air patio overlooking the ball field!

Cardinals are swatting the ball right
behind me in that batting cage.

Pre-game view of the field. Man those hot dogs smelled good!

It was a warm day in Houston, probably mid to high 90's, so they had to close the glass roof of the ball park to keep it cool for players and fans. So, our view from the roof top perch was somewhat hindered by the glass and structural steel of the sliding "accordion" like roof.

My good buddy Scott Vail and I pose with Tom, our
 Ground Support Unit Leader on the Roof top patio.

Finally, dinner was ready and the bar was open! I think the line at the bar was a little longer than the food line, at least for the first half hour. Our Incident Commander, Rocky, is from Hawaii, thus the theme of our team dinners. Rocky took the floor and addressed the group. It was a nice talk about what we had accomplished and the good job we had done.

The bar is open!! Denise, our Air Operations Branch Director
looks pretty happy about the whole thing.

Rocky gives us all a post assignment,
congratulatory pep-talk.

Dinner was delicious! I was glad I had resisted the hot dogs! Actually this was easy since nothing was open when we were there earlier. The smoked prime rib was incredible. A typically Texas way of cooking beef. It was done perfectly, and the smokey mesquite flavor was wonderful. There was also some great bacon wrapped BBQ chicken. Everyone chowed down!

The game started at 7:05, and we watched the first few innings on the TV monitors mounted around the room. Finally we filtered out to our seats, and took in the action live. Great seats! It was too bad the Astros didn't put up much of a fight. They went down 5 to zip in the  first inning. Things settled down some after that, but I think the final score was something like 8 to 1. Frankly I don't remember. It was just so exciting and enjoyable to be there and experience it all!

The "jumbo-tron" at Minute Maid Park.

Our seats! The fellow looking my way is Tony. He was the
point person who really got the ball rolling on this great
"Grand Finale" 

The view from our seats of the Astros at bat!

It was a fabulous end to a very challenging assignment. For me it was a little bittersweet. Next year I will not be able to participate with the team as I will be too busy as the District Governor for Rotary District 5190. Hopefully I will be back with Team 4 in 2013. I would like that!

That's All!

On the Road Again!

The other day I decided to get out of camp and build my situational awareness of our area of operations. As I mentioned a few posts back it is a huge area, about 15,000,000 acres. So after the morning briefing I hit the road in my trusty rental car and headed north for the town of Lufkin. I had heard of Lufkin before. I think they make tape measures there, as that is a pretty famous brand.

Nice scenery, but the bugs were smearing
the windshield as you can see

The roads here in Texas are very nice. Lots of improvement work underway on the interstate, but even the "Farm to Market" roads are in fabulous shape. These roads are the main collector roads that feed the state highways and interstates. Anyway, it is a beautiful driving experience here. The terrain is very gentle (essentially flat) but the vegetation is mostly pine-hardwood forest. The road rights of way are wide and clear. They are vegetated with grass, and most seem manicured by frequent mowing. Basically its pretty cool!

I made it to Lufkin in a couple of hours and met with my Safety Officer stationed there to watch over the couple of firefighting task forces that are based there. It was a short meeting. Things were going well, and I dropped off a package of briefing materials for him to use. Then, it was off to Jasper.

Jasper Texas is kind of infamous as the place where a horrific murder took place several years ago. Two white guys chained a black man behind a pickup truck and dragged him to death. Coincidentally, the last of the two still alive (one died of cancer while waiting on death row) was put to death yesterday in Huntsville. Justice was served, but it still hurts me to think of all the pain these two morons have caused. Nothing can change that.

While I was in Jasper, I met with the Safety Officer assigned there, and we had lunch at "the best bar-b-que in Jasper". It was a fabulous experience. I never would have found "Billy's BBQ", and even if I had, I most likely would have kept on driving. The place was well off the beaten path, in a somewhat shabby looking residential neighborhood. It consisted of a small, very beat up, modified mobile home painted red. It was pretty ramshackle looking. Painted red, the aluminum skin was dented and pulling off in places. However, as I walked up the steps to enter the establishment, the most delicious smell of wood smoke and spicy barbecue nearly overwhelmed me. It triggered an instant reaction. Much like ringing the bell for Pavlov's dogs (look that up Lucy!).

You would never guess what great food was
waiting for us on the  inside!

The inside of the place lived up to it's exterior advertisement. It was well worn, and very cramped. There were three "booths" that probably were salvaged from an old restaurant renovation. In addition, a large glass trophy case squatted in the entry, taking up much of the already scarce space. It contained photos and memorabilia that appeared to be family oriented. Pro football players, soldiers, and sailors. A very old television was mounted on the wall and broadcasting the local public service channel.

Me and Rita.

Then the proprietor greeted us. Her name was Rita, and she had such a thick accent she was difficult to understand. But she had a friendly smile, and I quickly hit it off with her. We joked back and forth as figured out what to order. Choices choices! My friend Rich and I decided to order a plate of ribs, and a plate of sliced beef then share (that's right, Kim has me well trained).

Rich sitting in the booth,
waiting for BBQ!

We sat in the tattered old booths, visiting with Rita, and talking to a couple of other customers. Finally, Billy (Rita's brother in law) brought out the food. Wow! Besides large portions, the food was aesthetically arranged with pepper and onion garnish. Great presentation. I had the presence of mind to take a few pictures.

The trophy case and TV were almost antiques.

Sliced beef, white bread, and Potato salad garnished
with onion rings and a pepper.

Ribs, BBQ beans, potato salad, and onion pepper garnish.

OK, it not only looked good, but truly was delicious! It was certainly the best barbecue I have had on this trip to the barbecue capital of the country!

After lunch, and a short visit with the local forces standing by for fires, I headed for Woodville, another small town about 40 minutes away where we have forces staged. There I tied in with another Safety Officer at the Texas Forest Service (TFS) station. While we were visiting, and getting up to speed on the situation, the local TFS District Ranger came over to visit. He was new in the job (started in February) and came here from Chico where he worked for Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI). He knew several of the SPI foresters that I knew including Brian West (Lucy's basketball coach)! Small world. Turned out his wife went to Chatsworth High School (neighboring my alma mater Canoga Park HS). Weird.

A little later, I hit the road for Conroe and home. Finally got in about 6:00 PM. Just had time to develop my daily safety message for the next day's plan, and it was back to the motel. Another day in the can!

That's All!

Rotary in Tomball Texas

While my team was working the Riley Road Fire down out of Magnolia (couple of posts ago) I met one of the local fire chiefs. Chief Randy Parr is from the city of Tomball in Harris County. He was assisting the local Type 3 management team when we arrived, and continued working with us while we were there.

I arranged with my commander to do a "political mission" at the Tomball Rotary meeting on Wednesday morning. After getting a big "affirmative" from the boss, I called Chief Parr and got directions. It was about a 45 minute drive, which is just around the corner here in Texas. The club meets at the Tomball Community Center in downtown. As a city, Tomball is probably something between Susanville and Auburn in size. A very attractive community, and the club has about eighty members. The club actively supported the firefighting efforts by serving coffee every morning, and throughout the day. One of the members owns a "Starbucks like" coffee business called "Pip's". Their motto is "Just good coffee!" and it sure was. Rotarians also served breakfast to all the firefighters one morning.

Chief Parr Prepares to dig in!

Of course I was not allowed to pay for my lunch, and spent the first fifteen minutes meeting folks and chatting. Finally, someone said "Let's eat!" The meal was buffet style and catered by a local restaurant. They served fried chicken, green beans (pronounced "GRAIN BAINS"), mashed 'taters, green salad and banana cream pie for desert! Of course we washed it all down with sweet tea ("SWAIT TAY"). Delicious, I should have taken a picture of the food line, but I am still learning how to be a good cub reporter.

We opened the meeting with a prayer, the pledge to "Old Glory", the pledge to the flag of Texas,and  a rousing rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I remember singing that one often in grade school. Finally, we recited the Four Way Test, and got on to the meeting.

The President rings the bell to start the meeting.

The room was large, and nicely decorated with Rotary regalia. Flags, banners, a display board documenting club activities, and a poster advertising their big annual "Fish Fry" next April. They didn't really do fines, it was Happy Dollars, so people stood up and "fined" themselves. One interesting part of the meeting was "Pickem". This activity only occurs during football season, and consists of members picking the winners of the upcoming football games for the week. Pro, college, and high school games are included, about 10 games weekly. Each week they read off how folks did, with the winner getting to hang on to a football for the week, and the loser (worst percentage) getting the "Plunger" award. This is a highly decorated "plumber's friend" with a role of toilet paper on the handle. Not sure what the ultimate prize is, but the whole thing looked like a load of fun.

Coach Kaiser was very inspirational.

The program was the local high school football coach, Tommy Kaiser. The local high school has a freshman, Junior varsity, and varsity team. Last year they had so many freshman players (105!) that they actually fielded two freshman teams. A slug of players from this division move on to play for major college division 1 teams. They grow 'em big and fast down here.

Coach Kaiser was a dynamic speaker, and he gave a talk on what it takes to be a great team member. He went over eight characteristics of a great team member. They were:

1. Be Adaptable
2. Be Committed
3. Be Dependable
4. Be Communicative
5. Be Enthusiastic
6. Be Prepared
7. Be Selfless
8. Be Tenacious

Club displays were nice.

I won't go into the details, but by the end of his speech, I was ready to play football for this man. What great principles to be teaching our young people. It saddens me that in many of our local schools, budgets make it impossible to hire professional coaches. We resort to volunteers, usually parents. This can work, but its a real "crap shoot" and quality control is non-existent. OK, off the soap box! It was a great program!

The club is preparing for a nice community service project around Thanksgiving. It is called "Families Feeding Families". It is in partnership with some local church groups, and other civic organizations and is just a huge community potluck. All are invited, and there is no cost. It's not exclusively for those in bad economic straits, but also just for the entire community to come together and break bread. Nice idea!

After the meeting I had a ton of folks come up to me to express their gratitude for the work the firefighters are doing. Moments like that bring purpose and meaning to being here! I followed the Chief back to his department after lunch to take a look at what's going on with the Tomball FD.

Chief Parr and one of their newer engines.

Its a small but very nice station. They are funded through a portion of State sales taxes, and are just converting from a volunteer based department. Chief Parr is rightly proud of his people and equipment. He showed me a new engine they had just purchased for around $675,000. It was veeeeeery nice. My favorite piece of apparatus though was the 1948 Ford, Howe fire engine that they have restored for parades and PR. It was beautifully done! All it needs is a nice shiny wooden ladder, the aluminum one is just a little out of place. It is a truly a showpiece.

My favorite! A 1948 Ford Howe Fire Engine
beautifully restored.

I asked the chief where the name Tomball came from. Apparently, Thomas Ball was an industrialist with vision who transformed the town from a sleepy intersection at some dirt roads, to a bustling city with a main rail line running through it. As I left town, I went to the old railroad terminal where they have restored the building, and made a very nice park adjacent to the "old town" area. There, sitting on a bench, with his dog Spike, was a bronze statue of old Tom Ball. It was a great end to a great visit. 

The restored depot at Tomball.

Tom on the left, with trusty "Spike" the railroad dog on the right.

That's All!