By: Bears Butt

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For several years Utah has become very much aware of a problem with Zebra Mussels and Quagga mussels and are trying very hard to get the people who use the waters of Utah to become aware and to do their part in trying to control them.  Once they are in the water, they will always be in that water.  There is no known way to control them once they are in a body of water and they are very prolific, laying as many as 60,000 eggs several different times each year.

As part of the control effort, it is mandatory for anyone using a water body in Utah to display a certificate stating that you have not “boated” in any of four bodies of water in Utah in the past 30 days (the fourth is Lake Powell, as the mussels have just recently been discovered there).  This certificate is to be displayed on the tow vehicles dashboard.

Their definition of a boat is this: “If it floats it’s a boat”!

So that goes for kids float tubes, rafts etc.  And fishermens float tubes.

There are specific things that are required of the user after leaving any body of water in Utah and one of them is to clean, drain and dry your equipment and leave it dry for 7 days…but only if you have visited one of the known contaminated bodies of water.  It’s actually a good idea to do that regardless, but for some of us who only visit a couple or three bodies of water a year and they are not ones on the contaminated list, we are in luck.  BUT, you can get a citation if you do not display the certificate with your signature and current date on your dashboard.  The citation can be as harsh as visiting a judge, jail time and up to a $5,000 fine.  No thanks!  I’ll display the certificate.

If however you visit one of the known contaminated sites and don’t want to wait up to 30 days to play with your boat, you can have it professionally steam cleaned at one of the many DWR sanctioned “FREE” cleaning places…see their site for where those are located.  Your home hot water is not enough to kill the little buggers…it takes 10 minutes of 140 degrees to kill them.

I just finished taking their on line informational course and got my year long certificate to be displayed on the dashboard.  It takes about 30 minutes to complete and you have to have a perfect score…there are only 30 questions as well, but it is very informative.

Hope to see you on the water soon!

Bears Butt

May 13, 2013

Written on May 13th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

BearSittingAtComputer

Today the WEEDS are DEAD!  HAHAHAHAHA!

My marching orders have been given and those bad boys are going down!  I had to see the forecast calling for a few days without rain and now is the time!  As a kid growing up here the garden was the big focus for dad and mom.  The ground tilled up and raked smooth, ditches hoed out and the seeds planted.  Always some day or (mostly) nights to water when it was our turn and then the dreaded weeds!  I didn’t like summer time because of the weeds and it seemed like that was all we did all summer long…water and pull weeds…sometimes we got to hoe the weeds because the rows were so long!  I hate weeds.

No Grimace and I used to hoe and pull weeds and water it seemed like everyday all summer long and while we were doing that, we were dreaming about a cool mountain lake or stream and we would be fishing…but no…we had to take out the weeds and water the stuff.  And when harvest time came around, we still had weeds and some of them were higher than our heads…big old red root weeds.  But the corn and tomatoes tasted good.

And that is exactly why there is so much grass around here.  Grass hides weeds.  You know they are still there, but once a week you get to cut their little heads off with the mower..I like that part.  If you don’t believe me that they are still there, just let your grass die and watch what grows, even without water, weeds will grow and sometimes they are the pokey type..you know the ones that can poke a hole through your bike tire!  Or cause a great soreness in your heel if you should step on one!  OWEEEEE!  I hate those kind.

So now, I have them pretty much under control…I spray the edges of the lawn, around the raised garden paths and all through the “parking lot”…there are still weeds that would have to be pulled, hoed and raked, but that is too much work and besides in order to get to them I might destroy the asparagus patch…I let them weeds have their way.

Oh give me a spray….that makes the weeds go away….and I’ll be a happy boy all dayyyyyyyy!

Bears Butt

May 13, 2013

Written on May 13th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

WithOlySign

I’ve been reading all the Happy Mothers Day wishes on Facebook this morning and Bears Butt just had to have one of his own, only I stole it off the world wide web.  Sure I could have sat down here and thought up something clever, but I’m in a lazy mood this morning…besides, I haven’t watched the DVR recording of Adam Eakles show from last night.  Sherry and I just can’t stay up that late…that comes with age.  An Early to bed, late to rise deal that gets handed to you later in life.  Especially when you got up at 3 a.m. the morning before to go turkey hunting.

So, Happy Mothers Day to you all!

Things My Mother Taught Me (from Splitcoaststampers)

My Mother taught me LOGIC…”If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me.”

My Mother taught me MEDICINE…”If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way.”

My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD…”If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job!”

My Mother taught me ESP…”Put your sweater on; don’t you think that I know when you’re cold?”

My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE…”What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you…Don’t talk back to me!”

My Mother taught me HUMOR…”When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT…”If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.

My mother taught me ABOUT SEX…”How do you think you got here?”

My mother taught me about GENETICS…”You are just like your father!”

My mother taught me about my ROOTS…”Do you think you were born in a barn?”

My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE…”When you get to be my age, you will understand.”

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION…”Just wait until your father gets home.”

My mother taught me about RECEIVING…”You are going to get it when we get home.”

And, my all-time favorite – JUSTICE…”One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU — then you’ll see what it’s like.”

 

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Written on May 12th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

BearsButtDotComBearHandsUp

Man o Man, the month is slipping past quickly, it’s already May 11…..Today is Saturday and the Weasel, Conner and I are heading for the hills to do a little turkey hunting.

We have our plan and hope it pays off.  One of these days it will, perhaps today.

The game plan is to put Weasel and Conner on the top of the hill overlooking “busted” meadow, while I will occupy the low spot near Dry Dog Rise.  The birds should hit one or the other this morning.

We expect company in the area since it is a Saturday and most folks will be off work and out, but our key is the early start.  It’s 3:31 a.m. right now and I’m to pick them two up in 16 minutes…I hope they are up and ready.  The truck is packed, the weather is going to be quite warm and I’m pumped for a good day!

I’ll have my binocs today, unlike the other day.  It’s surprising just what little things one misses when out and about…you can see it, but just can’t quite figure out what it is without the close up look.  We would not have seen the gobbler last time we went out without the binocs.  What used to be short new growth from the Spring has now become tall green grass and even though the birds are tall, the grass hides them pretty good now.

Here we go!  More to come!

Bears Butt

May 11, 2013

P.M. Report:

Those miserable turkeys!  They were roosting South of us today!  They are NEVER over there!  OOOOOOO!

Our plan worked out perfectly.  We were in position before it was even light enough to see your shoes.  The birds woke up slowly and it was just a beautiful morning!  At one point I thought I had a hen turkey working into my one decoy setup, but later on after seeing there had been 6 other people sign in to the walk in access area after we had signed in, I figure it must have been one of them.  It did get my heart beating really good though.

Hunting on the weekend isn’t my bag, but with it being the only days Conner can hunt, we just have to sacrifice and try and figure out where the others aren’t willing to go and then go there.

Still a fun day and it’s always better to be out in the woods than sleeping or pulling weeds…I still have weeds!

Bears Butt

Afternoon of May 11!

Written on May 11th, 2013 , Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Stories
By: Bears Butt

WithOlySign

What a wonderful day and event that was held out at the Golden Spike National Monument.  Temps were hovering in the low to mid 70’s with a light breeze, a very nice day for the re-enactors in their hot looking black suits and the ladies in their long and multi layered dresses.

Before I get too far into this story, I promised some kids they would become famous on Bears Butt Dot Com…I’m not sure they will remember to check on this site, but here is the picture I took of them.  One of them called me “sick” and another said I had an awesome name…Bears Butt.  Thanks guys!  You looked to be having a very good time!

SchoolKidsHavingFun

And so the story goes.  144 years ago today they actually did drive the last spike into the last tie to complete the railway.  To think about that and in that day and age it was a monumental feat.  One which caused hundreds (and they said possibly thousands) of men died getting that rail laid.  From the West going East were a few thousand people from China and surrounding countries using tools available like shovels, wheel barrows, oxen pulled sleds etc.  Can you imagine how hard that work was to do?  Filling in voids, digging out the high points, following a grade laid out by the engineers that would allow the steam locomotive to be able to pull a string of transport cars up and down the mountains of the west.  Blasting out rock mountains to make cuts and tunnels.  The enormity of the food and water that had to be prepared and served several times each day.  The traveling tent city that had to accompany all those men.  The policing of difficulties that would develop among men doing that sort of work (In my opinion, construction type men have a lot of testosterone).  The medical issues that would have had to be handled daily.

Was there a clean up crew?  I doubt it and today one can still find a relic of those days if they hike alongside the old rail grade out in the West Desert of Box Elder County and further West across Nevada and California.

From the East building the tracks toward the West, you had a mix of European men from several different countries.  Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, France etc.  The same enormous task awaited them as well, with the same problems and needs.  Did they have a clean up crew?  I doubt it.

So, with literally thousands of hard working laborers working from opposite sides of the country toward one another, each railroad company expecting to make money based on the number of miles of track they laid, you can imagine the pressure that the “line bosses” were putting on the backs of the laborers…”WORK HARDER AND FASTER”!!!!  “DON’T GIVE ME NONE OF THAT ‘I’M SICK’ CRAP!  GET TO WORK”!!!!  You have someone in your face yelling constantly and pretty soon (shorter for some, longer for others) someone is going to lose their temper and strike out…BLAM!  And with that probably came a “blam” of a different “caliber” and someone was going to be dead.

Now don’t take what I just said as fact because I just made that up, but I’m convinced there is some truth in what I just said.  No matter how they died, hundreds if not thousands of men died pulling off this great feat and so today they had a memorial wreath that they set out and we had a prayer and moment of silence for.

CommemorativeWreath

Now this is a family site and I get to call all the shots, at least until the blog police make up rules for what can and can’t be posted on a site like this one.  So, here goes.  I’m not a big on politics guy so I’ll just say there were some dignitaries out there today and one of them gave a pretty good speech, I’ll let the news media say who they were.  They were schmoozing each other and congratulating  themselves etc. in typical political form, but I managed to get up on that stage (thanks to my son Mitch) to take a picture of a Famous Man, Mr. Les Dunn.

LesDunnAtGoldenSpike

LesDunnToLeadPledgeOfAlegiance

Les was there to lead the entire audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and he did a wonderful job!  Thanks Les!  For some of you reading this you might remember Les as the football coach for Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah.  A great guy!

Once I was done taking these two pictures I ducked off the stage to join the common folk and watch the show.

This will probably come as a surprise, but I have already told you I’m 63 years old, have lived in the same town my entire life and this is the first time I have gone out and watched a re-enactment of the driving of the golden spike.  What I found out by being me…I like to talk to people whom I don’t know…is that I was not alone!  I met another Willardite who is a bit older than me and he too had never been out to watch one of the shows.  I’ll just post a picture of him and his wife and you can figure out who they are.

TheChristensens

I also talked with one guy, who actually ends up to be a friend of my neighbors and the two of them work together at the Snowbasin Ski Resort and he is my age, lives in North Ogden and he too had never been out to the party either.  Were there others in the crowd as well?  I’ll just bet there were!  The crowd was, in my estimation about 200 strong…maybe more…

TheCrowd

TheCrowd2

You can count them…Oh and there were a few behind me when I took these pictures.

The pageant was very well done and the information they passed along was pretty good too.  They tried their best to make it as real as the day the event unfolded and I suppose they did it perfectly.  It seemed so anyway.  I don’t want to spoil your visit to the Golden Spike National Monument site, so I’ll just make some stuff up on here.

DrivingOfSpikeCrew

So here is the stage for the re-enactment and because I was so far away from it my pictures don’t show much if any facial details of the ones doing the acting, so I’ll just put words in their mouths, under each of the pictures.

20StarAmericanFlag

On the day of the event, they could only find a 20 star flag to fly for this celebration and so, these people did the same.  There were actually 22 states (I think, if you know differently leave me a comment under this story and I’ll fix it…thanks!) in the Union in 1869.  But way out here in the sage covered desert of Utah nobody seemed to have a current flag.  This is the first time I’ve seen a 20 star flag…that alone made the day for me!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this wonderful time in our lives.  You are about to witness for the first time in American History, the greatest feat known to man, the coming together of the first transcontinental railway, bringing with it the goods and services of the Eastern coast of America to the Gold and Silver of the West Coast…After all folks, It’s all about the money!  Now I will turn the bull horn over to the guys with the money and they can tell you their part in all of this.  In the meantime, I’ll go back in the back and have a drink!  My part is all but over.

GiftOfGoldPlatedSpike

Folks!  I give to the guys from the other train company this spike as a token of my appreciation and in celebration of this event.  I think I have done about as good as I can under my present financial situation.  It’s made of the finest gold and plates a solid steel spike.  I think you will like it!

Congratulations3

Congratulations!  Thank You!

GiftOfSilverSpike

I give to you all this solid silver spike made from a couple of days mining from the Comstock mine in Nevada, the Silver State.  Enjoy it and the next time you are in Elko, stop in for a fine drink and some gambling!  Take the train, it goes right through town!

Congratulations

Congratulations!  Thank You!

GiftOfGoldenSpike

From my train company, so as not to be seen as “cheap”, we have cast a solid gold spike and inscribed our names on it so everyone from here on out will know who we are.  We give this spike to the rail company that has been our rivals in this entire ordeal.  We are so pleased that this job is done, I’m going to join the conductor for a drink in about a minute.  Until then, please try not to damage this soft metal spike.

Congratulations2

Congratulations!  Thank You!

And so it went and the spikes were placed into a tie made of Laurel wood, the last tie that was needed to complete the task.  And so, the saying would be coined, “You have run yourself out of work, now go sit on your Laurels”!

It was a pretty cool looking tie I have to say and of course the gold and silver spikes were just placed into holes and the whole pounding of the hammer on them was just made up.  Who would want a solid gold spike hammered on?  Nobody…besides it wouldn’t look good in a show case in Sacramento, or Omaha or even the Smithsonian for that matter.

LauralLastTie

GoldAndSilverSpikes

Gold on the left and Silver on the right!

GoldenSpike

THE LA-Golden Spike!

The whole re-enactment was very well done and I don’t mean to make a mockery of it on here, I want everyone who is reading this to go out there and see and hear it for yourselves.  You will come away with a very different view of what it all meant when the rails were laid connecting the East side of America with the West side…over 1600 miles all built by hand labor!  No back hoes or drilling rigs.

Did you know?  Of course you didn’t, you haven’t been out there!

The Jupiter has it’s boiler heated with Wood!

JupiterWithBlueSky

While the 119 heats theirs with Coal!

119WithBlueSky

Coal burns a lot longer and hotter than wood, so why not make them both burn coal?  Well, the California side of things didn’t have much coal and to ship it to them would not have been cost effective, besides they have lots of trees and both steam engines have to stop for water about every 30 miles.  No big deal to load up another load of wood when they stop for water.  So, in reality, the guys running the 119 are lazier than the ones on the Jupiter.  When they stop for water, they can go into the saloon and have a drink, while the Jupiter guys have to load wood.  I would hope the Jupiter guys would have gotten paid more too…I don’t know.

So, we acted like the tourists we were today and had a really good time!  Chase even got to hold a golden spike!

ChaseHoldsGoldenSpike

And I got to go inside the 119 and take a picture of the Engineer and the fire box.

EngineerOf119

119RunsOnCoal

I’ll bet the engineer liked it when it was cold outside, but when he was running across a 110 degree desert, I’ll bet he hated it!  Metal flooring next to a high heat furnace…no thanks!

It was a fun day and I think I might even go back out again sometime.  Maybe in the winter months and see the steam clouds that come off the engines when they are fired up.

ReEnactMeetingOfTheTrains

One last thing.  I was strolling past the back of the 119 and noticed a picture drawn on it…it looks vaguely familiar.

LooksSimilarToOlyCan

Just add an upside down horse shoe and there you have it!

Bears Butt

May 10, 2013

 

 

 

 

Written on May 10th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

BearSittingAtComputer

Today in history 144 years ago, The Driving of the Golden Spike!  This is going to be a great day…the weather is going to be near 80, sunny and very nice for this celebration.  Sherry and I are heading out to be their to see the steam engines brought from their storage areas to face each other for the celebration.  Our youngest Grandson will go with us and I know he is excited!  As am I.

It should be an almost full day of trains and pictures and speeches and more pictures.  I’ll post them up when I get back.

This is a spot in Americas history and it’s really hard to believe there isn’t a “big deal” out there.  It is far removed from the big cities and for that matter, the little cities.  An hours drive from my little burg of Willard.  And to top it off, once you get there it costs $10 to enter, a typical fee for a National Monument and/or Park, but when all there is to see are two trains parked on a track, a 15 minute movie about the history and a few artifacts…I have to question that fee.  But on the other hand I see they need to cover costs as best as they can.  It isn’t cheap trying to maintain a building and two trains WAY OUT THERE!

More to come!

Bears Butt

May 10, 2013

Written on May 10th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

BearsButtDotComBearHandsUp

Oh man it is early!  My clock reads 3:06 a.m. and I’m to pick up the Weasel at 3:45…my eyes aren’t even open and here I sit….will the turkeys be asleep when we get to our spot…they better be.

Coffee in the cup probably should be whiskey.

Today should be our day.  Weasel and I talked briefly about what we witnessed the turkeys doing the past two weekends and decided our game plan for this morning.  Both of us have an uphill spot to sit in mind and both are above the roosting trees.  Last week we went in and set up below the roost in hopes the birds would repeat what they did last year…that didn’t work…so today we are going in the opposite direction and up.

If we had a third hunter we would put them where we were last week, but we don’t and so our fingers are crossed on our game plan for this morning.  We are taking our new found knowledge with us this day, plus our rabbits feet, good luck penny’s and Gobbler Buster shells…This is our day!

Last night I studied what would have been Google Earth, but because that won’t load on my computer any more, I had to choose Bing Maps, I think it’s the same image that Google has, but that’s not the point…I studied it for the boundaries of the place we like to haunt.  Looked at the map features, studied the slope of the ground and our travel route into the hunting area.  We are setting up about 150 yards apart and Weasel will be slightly down hill from my position.

The tree line follows below the Weasel about 20 yards and wraps around the hill and then up to just under my position 25 yards.  If the birds do what we think they will do, either one of us will be in a good spot to bag the bird.  Even if he gets his first, the others should continue around the slope and into me, unless they fly.

That all sounds great, but what we learned the last two weeks is that turkeys do what turkeys do best and that is to allude the hunters.  Our only guarantee to get a shot would be to cover the hills with hunters cutting off all routes of escape and position several more in avenues for wing shots.

So, in reality, today will be a nice morning stroll of about a mile in the dark with our red flashlights shining.  Traveling from the vehicle to within 100 yards of the roosting trees before the birds open their eyes.  Is there danger in all of this?  I suppose, but who cares…we want to kill a turkey and the early bird gets the worm.  The terrain will let us slip in without being seen and if we don’t fall down, we should be just right.

Bears Butt

May 9, 2013

Later:

I had a posting issue with this story this morning, I guess the computer doesn’t like 3 a.m. either.

So, the day went as planned.  As we walked in, there were 50 to 100 eyes watching us as we crossed a sloping meadow…that was sort of spooky, but as it turned out they were all deer.  It’s the red glowing eyes that bother me.

Our spots turned out to be perfect….well as perfect as “spots” get.  However, the birds were not roosting in the same trees that they have been roosting in for 200 years…they were across the valley!  Wouldn’t you know it?

So, as light began to show our surroundings and the little birds began to chirp and wake up, there we sat in our little hide outs..perfect places.  The deer were everywhere and I had three come to within 5 yards of me and never even knew it.  I just knew a gobbler was going to do the same…not so!

This morning the birds were very noisy and gobbled quite a bit even after they flew down.  I decided to make a hasty sneak down and over to where the closest one was sounding and as I left my hideout, I got busted by a hen that was walking along the ridge behind and below me.  I can’t believe how sharp their eyes are, just my head was sticking above the ridge line, and that was all she needed and off she putted down and away.  DANG!  Did she have a gobbler with her?  I never saw one, but there probably was one somewhere close by…at least until she started to “Putt”.  I continued with my plan and hiked down and over to where the bird was gobbling, I set up and called for about a half hour but could not get it to come down to where I was.  I waited a very long time after hearing its last gobble, but nothing came.  Then I heard a shot coming from up the hill past my hiding place and on the other side of that same hill.  A minute passed and another shot rang out…then almost a minute later a third and final shot.  Did someone kill the gobbler that was with the hen that busted me?  I’ll never know.

I then saw Weasel get out from under his hiding spot and start up the hill toward my hide out position.  I figured he didn’t see me cross the valley below and so I started his way.  About half way across the valley he saw me and we waved at each other.  I continued over and up the hill to meet him.  He had not heard the shots.

After a brief time to have part of our lunch, we decided to go around the hill in the direction of the shots and see what we could see.  About half way around we decided to sit and glass the opposite hill side a half mile away…it didn’t take long to spot a hen on a far ridge and then a gobbler came into view to join her.  We made a plan!  Cut down, hide in the tree line and climb to the same elevation as those birds were on.  They should follow the terrain and come right into us but we must be quiet until we are set up and then do some soft calling.  We were quick and quiet and soon set up.  I stayed down in the trees and covered some very well used trails that came off the open hill and into the trees.  The canopy of trees made it look thick from a distance, but once inside the trees it was very much open with viewing and shooting lanes in excess of 50 yards in every direction.  To me it was perfect for an ambush.  Weasel continued up and out onto the open hillside at the level of the birds.  We waited.  I called softly and we waited longer.  An hour passed, the birds should have been there by now.

I came out to where Weasel was and he was already coming my way.  We talked softly about the next part of the plan…He suggested I give a call to see if we could get a rise….I called…right below us a hen gave us a signal and so we moved back up the draw a bit and down about the level we figured she was on.  Quickly we got set up and I began calling, but nothing came back….we moved down the draw toward her and set up again…nothing again to the call…we moved a third time and figure we were sitting where she was when she called the first time…I called for nearly half an hour with no response.  They must have boogied.

So there you have it…skunked again…the story of our turkey hunting lives.

Once back up to the sign in book for the walk in access place we were hunting, there was a single signature of someone who came in a half hour after we did…did he get the bird?  Probably.

Bears Butt

May 9, 2013 p.m. report

Written on May 9th, 2013 , Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Stories
By: Bears Butt

WithOlySign

Yesterday was Weeds and Roses, today only weeds remain.  But with pending rain I don’t think I want to waste that expensive weed killer…it will wait for another day, perhaps next week.

The remainder of this week is filling up fast.  Today is a day with Sherry to do whatever…Tomorrow a turkey hunt with the Weasel and hopefully success…Friday is May 10 and the plan is to go out to the “Golden Spike National Historic Site” and celebrate the 144th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike.  We live so close to that place and yet in all my 63 years I have never seen the celebration…shame on me.

It was on May 10, 1869 that the last tie was put down and the last two rails were spiked into place to complete the transcontinental rail road.  When you read about this “transcontinental rail road” bit and do a bit more studying about it, it really wasn’t complete at this time.  But the need for a celebration was in order and after all the two railroad building companies did meet at this point…. eventually.

I understand that the two companies building their portions of this rail line were being paid by the mile and since the contract was let to each of them, one coming from the East and the other from the West, neither contract said they had to end  and so they actually laid tracks parallel to one another for quite a distance.  When the powers to be heard about this, they forced them to “back track” and meet at the Promontory Summit…sneaky track layers anyway.

Back to my writing:  And then on Saturday, we want to go turkey hunting with Conner…This day I really hope is a successful hunting day with a big bird downed by Conner…we will give it our best shot and hopefully he does too.

Bears Butt

May 8, 2013

 

Written on May 8th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

Looking forward to whatever else there is to do besides the Youth Turkey Camp is a tough thing to do.  All I see are weeds, roses needing trimming and a tree that needs something done to it.  Add to that the honey do list on the fridge and there really isn’t much to look forward to at all.

Sherry says we need to save money for our trip to California next month and for sure we are going to do that.  My oldest living aunt is going to turn 100 this December and so we want to get down there and see her before that.  If possible we will go to help celebrate that day as well, but we want to make sure we get to see her this year and June is the month to do it.  We all know how Decembers can be, especially with money.

So, I guess in order to save money, I should just get out the clippers and go “hang out” in the roses.  What will I do after that?

I just did text the Weasel about the possibility of a turkey hunt this week…maybe 2, gotta get Conner out and Saturday is the only day he has available.

Where to go hunting is the next big decision.  We have seen turkeys locally right in town, up at Mantua in a couple of places, over on the Logan side of the mountain, Mendon (of course), up by Hardware Ranch, Corrine and have heard about them being in Bear River City.  Our old stomping grounds gets hit pretty hard but we know it better than any other place.  Maybe we just go for a drive and let the Weasel scream out the window with his new Peacock call until we get a response.  I wonder how well it would be received in Mims Bar and Grill?

Bears Butt

May 7, 2013

Written on May 7th, 2013 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

WithOlySign

The second weekend of the UWC Youth Turkey Camp was a huge success just like last week was.  Was there any doubt?  Not one bit!

As camp hosts we have a lot of duties to take care of and even though it was Thursday night, we still had to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle were put together and made ready for our guests when they arrived on Friday.  It didn’t take us too long to get that done and then sit back and relax. The schedule showed the guests needed to be there around 8 a.m.  That meant we could stay up a little later than the rest of the weekend.  Tye and Kris provided us with some good old down home guitar playing music, which is always fun!

TyeBoulter

KrisWatchingTye

We had a great dinner cooked over the grill and who do you think showed up to spend the night and enjoy the fun?  None other than Brayden from last weekend!  I would have to say he and his dad, Mike, were sort of excited to be back at camp.  Even Mom showed up to have supper with them!

ShellyBraydenMikeBrailsford

Mom told us that when Brayden was heading out to go to school that morning he said “I can hardly wait for school to get out so we can go back to the hunting camp!” (or something like that)  Come to think about it, I’d rather go camping myself…but for you youngsters reading this, don’t let camping keep you from getting your education!  You will have plenty of time for camping after graduating!

With plenty of sleep behind us we were quick to get the coffee and hot chocolate ready for when the guests arrived.  We were expecting a couple of old faces from last weekend to show and four new ones.  Another fun and exciting weekend was awaiting us.  Even Tonya Kieffer from the Utah DWR came up to take pictures of the camp and the hunting for the KSL Outdoors Show with Adam Eakle.

TanyaKeifer

You can watch the video she took on that show and I think she said it would air on May 11 at 11 p.m.  Don’t hold me to that, just look it up on the KSL website page.  www.ksl.com

We had everything ready for action and guests started to arrive about 7:30 in the morning.  I love it when people arrive ahead of the time scheduled.  It gives more time to meet them and get to know them a bit before the activities begin.  They were all there when it was time for the DWR to give them a reminder about gun safety and safety while hunting turkeys.  Making sure they knew what was a legal bird to shoot and the consequences of making a wrong choice.

TanyaFilmsDWRGuy

TanyaFilmsWhileKidsListen

When that was done it was time to go pattern their shotguns.  Some, like Brayden and Kam, already knew where their guns patterned and so they went to get ready for the days hunting.

The young hunters were very good at safely handling their shotguns and made sure the barrels were all pointed safely down range or in the air at all times.  Darin thought it a wise thing to have the hunter/shooter assume a hunting position, one where they were most likely to be in when a gobbler comes a knockin!  He became “the tree” that the young hunter would lean against.

DarinActsLikeBre'sTree

Each hunter did a fine job and made sure where they would have to aim in order to get their bird.

AubreyWithTarget

I got it!

I got it,dead bird!

I’d have to say, this would have been a dead bird!  Way to go Aubrey!

Once the patterning was done, the hunters and their dads, or in one case grandfather, were paired up with a guide.  The guides instructed them on what to wear and to get ready to head on out!  It was nearly 10:30 and these kids were anxious to get out into the woods!

DarinMeetsHisHunterAndDad

We camp folks cleaned up from the breakfast and made ready our exit to become spotters…Wapiti, Weasel, Conner and I chose “The Gallery” to watch.  We were not sure who the guides and hunters were that were down in there, but we wanted to find some birds if we could.  “The Gallery” is a ridge over looking a remarkable piece of land that holds lots of game.  During the weekend, we saw Elk, Moose, Deer and Turkey while we viewed from this spot.

SpottersViewFromGallery

Again, being camp folks, our time for spotting was limited and we could only stay out until about 2 p.m.  Supper needed to be ready for the hunters and guides by 4.  We learned last year that the supper meal had to be served and eaten before 5 p.m. so that the hunters could go back out and “roost” some birds at dark.  Eating after returning from a “roosting hunt” would mean they would be eating after dark and there would be NO time for a camp fire and story telling time.  Lights out is at 10!  The morning wake up  usually happens just about 4:30 a.m.

We didn’t see any turkeys on this spotting excursion of ours this day and were back to camp preparing supper by 2:15 (see boss, we did good!)

After our supper, we cleaned up the mess (it sounds like we are a bunch of slobs doesn’t it?  We actually are quite sane about preparing the meal and eating it)  and made ready for an evening of spotting.  A contingency of us decided we needed to go off in a direction that none of the guides had taken any of their hunters.  We needed to drive our ATV’s into an area that offers little to no advantage view points from which to spot.  We figured if we could work our way into this area, find a bird or two and take some GPS coordinates of the birds where-abouts that we could get guides into there the next day.  The ride was wonderful and we saw lots of game but only sign of turkeys.  There would still be a chance that a guide could call a big bird in.

AfternoonScouting

ABreakAtThePond

As we were taking a short break from riding at this pond, we took a stroll around the bank and found quite a bit of turkey sign.  Scratched up grass and leaves, turkey poop and a general “grazing” of the grass.  A good place to set up and call.

Speaking of call, Jeremy got a text message from his wife back at camp…”Bird Down!”

BIRD DOWN!!!!  We were all excited to find out who the lucky hunter was and so we packed up the goods and headed off the mountain and back to camp!

As we rode into camp it was quite obvious as to who the young hunter was that bagged his big bird!  Brayden!

BraydenMikeAndGuideDarin

A very nice “double beared” Jake bird and a super story to go with it.  Braydens dad, Mike had called home and mom was soon at the camp to give her son a congratulations kiss!

BraydenGetsKissFromMom

High fives were had by everyone as Brayden was congratulated by everyone in camp

ConnerCongratsBrayden

…even the little ones…

BraydenGetsHugFromJeremy'sDaughter

As it turned out, Tonya just happened to be with this party of hunters as Brayden took his bird.  What she got on film just might air on the show…so tune in to find out.

Another thing that happened occurred the at the fire the night before when Weasel made an offer to Brayden…He said, “Brayden, if you shoot a full grown Tom bird, I’ll give you $5, but if you decide to take a Jake bird, I’ll give you $20”.  His dad then said, “And Brayden, I’ll do just the opposite.  You shoot a Tom and I’ll give you $20, but if you shoot a Jake I’ll give you $5”.  Well Brayden was in a win win situation with the bird as the icing on the cake.

BraydenWithBirdAnd$25

That was a nice way to end Friday evening!  Chock another successful hunt with guide Darin.  Congrats to you and to Brayden!  Is it the dream catchers that are making this luck come together?  Or is it the skill of the guides and the extremely good shooting of the young hunters?

We built a good fire and asked the young hunters to tell us their story of the day and each one of them did.  I just love it when the young ones come out and tell such great stories!  I am actually learning a thing or two about telling stories just listening to them.

LetsHearSomeStories

SasquatchAndGrandfatherLadd

Don’t look now, but that young lady in the picture is Breanne and they call her “Sasquatch”!

BraydenTellsStory

Then it was off to bed…we all had a busy day and the morning will come early…Camp folks!  I’ll see all of you at the camp kitchen at 4 a.m.!!!!

4 a.m. comes very quickly after a full day the day before, but we have the coffee and hot chocolate ready…some danishes, and lunches for the days hunt…the guides are the most anxious as can be seen in this picture.  Mostly guides and a couple of hunters…where are the rest?  We have turkeys to kill..oh ya, Brayden will be sleeping in today.

SaturdayMorning

As time ticks away the rest of the hunters find their way out to the gathering place and to the smell of hot chocolate and coffee.  A wonderful day ahead.  Partly cloudy and breezy is what is called for by the prognosticators, not being a died in the wool turkey hunter I don’t know what the guides are saying to each other about strategies, but they have something up their sleeves for sure.

Again, just like yesterday, once the hunters are gone, the crew cleans up the camp and gets ready for spotting duties…we are going to the Gallery again today.  Others are going various places to try and put an eye on a bird from a long distance.

WapitiAndEdjukateer

Up on the Gallery, the crowd slowly builds in size as the other spotters realize we have something going on up here that is a good thing and they want to be a part of it.

GallerySpotters

Hours and hours of peering through spotting scopes and binoculars tends to take its toll on the spotters.  Add to that the long day the day before and the short nights sleep and suddenly a nap seems more important than looking for birds.

EdjukatterSleeps

ConnerFallsAsleep

The sun feels really nice laying on this steep hillside, but not everyone is sleeping.  We have a big tom bird spotted down the hill and we are trying to get the guide, Kelly and his young hunter Leo on the bird.  All morning long that bird just strutted its stuff down there and more than once the hunter was just about on top of the bird for the shot…but the bird slipped away.

Not once did the bird know just how close he was to the frying pan and that gave the hunter a good advantage, but still the bird walked on and on.  The story gets really good when the hunters are hunkered down under a cedar tree and a hen turkey comes to within 10 feet of their position without seeing them.  But they had to wait until she got out of sight before they could move closer to the Tom…hours slipped by as we spotters watched and watched.

Like I said the spotting crew grew larger with more and more people coming to watch the events unfold.  In the end we had 17 people on the hill above the Tom and his 3 hens and the hunters.

As for me, I was on the cell phone talking to Kelly quite a number of times, trying to direct him to where the Tom was and at one point Kelly decided the bird had gotten out of town and they needed to do something different.  However, we had heard a gobbling down in the brush below our position and as Kelly and the hunters walked in the opposite direction I called him..the conversation went something like this:  “Kelly, I know you have  a plan in mind, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t tell you we have a gobbler sounding off at our feet.”  Kelly responded, “I’ll ask these two what they want to do.”

Pretty soon we see the three of them hoofing it back in our direction and toward the waiting Tom.  Suddenly we got a visual on the bird.  He was with his 3 hens and strutting like a crazy bird on the upper portion of a small opening in the oak brush.  I’m on the phone…ring, ring, ring…come on Kelly answer…ring, ring, ring…”The party you with to talk to blah, blah…”  I hung up.  Come on Kelly call me!  I’ll try him again…ring, ring, ring…”the party…”  I hung up.  After about 10 attempts, my phone rings…it’s Kelly…”Can you see us?”  I put the binoculars up and see them standing in a small clearing about 200 yards from the strutting Tom…”Yes.  But there is a deep cut in the draw between you and the bird.  He is up on the rise to your East…You will have to cross the deep cut to be on the same side as the bird.”  Kelly hangs up and they move in that direction, disappearing into the deep and steep cut.  Out of sight from us, all we can hope to see is the big Tom head in their direction and hear a shot from Leo’s shotgun.  We wait and wait.

My phone rings, it’s Kelly..”Still have a visual on the bird?”  He whispers…”Yes, but it is heading in your direction all fanned out.”  “Ok.” Came the response and then the phone hung up.  We figure Kelly can sense the bird is near and so wants to be really quiet…one of the only ways you can kill a smart Tom Turkey.  The bird goes out of sight from us in full strut and walking rather quickly toward where we last saw Kelly and the hunter.  We are all ears waiting for the report of a shotgun….nothing….nothing but the breeze blowing in our ears which are now as big as drums trying to pick up every sound of the forest at the same time.

Then the strutting Tom comes back into view, going up the edge of the brush line…I call Kelly…nothing…the phone goes to voice mail immediately…and then when I hang it up, it rings…it’s Kelly…”Hi Kelly, the bird is heading back toward the East along the edge of the brush, I think you will have to move toward the East and try to get ahead of it.”  The phone hangs up.

What do I know about turkey hunting?  I have only done it a few times over a 4 year period.  Why would Kelly want to listen to me, just because I can see the bird?  So we wait, not knowing what the guide and his hunters are doing and the big Tom slowly begins to disappear from our view.  17 spotters all trained on one spot, trying to see the bird which is now almost completely gone from our sight.

Suddenly the piece of a bird I am looking at explodes into a million feathers and the area turns into a dust bowl and the sound of the shotgun blasting comes upon our ears…17 people erupt into a loud chorus of yelling and screaming!  Some jump from their seated positions and are dancing around with arms flailing the air…someone should have been taking a video of the event…but you will just have to take my word for it.  Whatever it looks like in your mind is exactly what it was in mine and the guy next to me and the person next to them.  All of us were grinning and hooping it up!

And then someone says, I see the hunter…I call Kelly, Kellys says to  me…”Hey…he got it!” I say,  “Have him hold it up!”  And just then the bird is being held high by Leo as he walked toward our position and we could see him with the bird.  Again the crowd of us yell out our approval!  And we hear a similar sound from their direction!  What a great thing to experience!  Up on the hill far and high above the hunter, his dad and his guide we are high fiveing each other and in general just celebrating the success of a young hunter.

Now let’s side step this story for another.

Far down in the valley, possibly a mile from the young hunter and his downed bird is a guide with his young hunter.  He has had to answer the call of nature and has left the side of his hunter and her father.  He can see the 17 people high on the ridge above his distant position and turns his back from our view as he relieves himself.  He has always thought himself as more of a man than most men when it comes to certain body parts and as he finishes his duty, he hears a raucous yelling and hooping sound and turns to look over his shoulder at the dancing crowd at the top of the ridge…he thinks to himself…hmmm, I do have my back turned to them, but, well maybe they can see…..

As it turned out the guide did not hear the report of the shotgun and knew nothing about the kill shot.  Now back to the story….

SceneOfDownedBird

This is the view through my camera on full zoom..the killing field.  The folks down there are taking pictures, tagging the bird and just enjoying the bonus success of this hunt.  They still have a long and steep walk out from where they are.

As we wait for them to hike up to our position we have a lot of time to talk about this event, the kids involved, the volunteers and plain old turkey talk.  How it feels to be near your son or daughter when they succeed in the course they are trying to get to.  All the emotions that are felt in an event like this.  How the young hunters feel that don’t get the chance to fill their tag like this young man did.  And I wonder to myself, should there be a part in the teaching of hunters education a section on enjoying the sport as a pursuit with the bagging of the game a bonus rather than the ultimate goal.

And for this young man, he couldn’t be happier right now!

LeoAndDad

And for this old man writing this, I can only speak for myself when I say, today was the icing on the cake for me this weekend.  To watch for several hours as the sneaky old Tom continued to outsmart the hunters without even knowing he was doing it.  For Guide Kelly and the hunter to be extremely sneaky themselves and put the bird on the ground.  What a rush that must have been for Leo and what a proud moment for his dad.

Once we were back to the camp it was time to get the supper ready and feed these hungry folks.  A great batch of fixins was made by Kris and the crew;

GettingSupperReady

Sloppy Joes with salad, chips and home made lemonaide!  A perfect meal for a perfect day.

HungryCrew

 

Let'sEat

After the supper meal was eaten the guides headed back into the woods with their young hunters to try one last evening push to bag that bird.  Lots of birds had been seen today and the guides were more than anxious then ever to put their hunter on one.

AubreyAndDan

And while some took to road hunting, others hiked even with sores on their feet.  All were determined to bag that bird!

HailieAndKammie

JLoweKamieCutsBlister

Ouch!  Kami are you practicing to become a doctor?  You need better tools.

And while the hunters were out getting as close as they could to those big birds, the rest of the camp were either spotting for them, or kicking back at camp enjoying the wonderful weather and the day.

GoodThrowHunter

JeremyThrowsHawk

 

DustinShootsBow

DustinsGroupAt65Yards

And with only one more morning to hunt, the guides encouraged their young hunters in getting a good nights sleep this night.  The nights campfire was still a very fun one and stories were told, but the crowd was much smaller than the past couple of nights.

DanAndAubrey

SaturdayNightFire

I apologize for not taking any pictures on Sunday morning, the last day of this fun event.  I was asked to go along with Dan and Aubrey and their guide Bill to hunt a small pond on the West side of the camp.  This I gladly did and it was a very fun morning hunt.  We only saw one hen turkey and the Toms skirted around us.  If I have only learned one thing about hunting turkeys it is this:  Don’t Move!  Taking pictures requires movement.

And that is it for the United Wildlife Cooperative Organizations, 2013 Youth Turkey Camp!  I thank you folks for allowing me and my gang to play.  We had a really fun time in spite of all the hard work and lack of sleep.  I’ll do it again!  We met some really great people, had a ton of laughs, ate some exceptional food and enjoyed a wonderful camp and fun hunting experiences.  For those of you who volunteered and came forward to pitch the tents, take the tents down, cook the meals, get up at all hours of the mornings to get the coffee and hot chocolate going, clean up after the meals, take out the garbage, guide the young hunters and try to keep the UWC bosses in line….I THANK YOU!   It would not be right not to give a VERY BIG THANK YOU  to the Whitear family for letting us camp on their property and to the R and K Hunting Company for letting us hunt the leased lands they have available!  It was very nice of you to allow that.  And finally I’d like to personally thank the Utah DWR for their participation at this event as well and a special note to the Director, Greg Sheehan, Thank You for what appears from the outside looking in, as an extra effort at expanding your “Outreach Program”.  It’s what is needed right now in recruiting new hunters and fishermen in this state.

AND as my last note:  Someone has lost a slip over face mask and this person was at the “Gallery” on the first weekend…if it’s yours let me know…I’ll get it back to you.

Thanks again everyone!

Until next year!

Bears Butt

May 6, 2013

For a peak at some of the happenings at this years Youth Turkey Camp the following link is what was shown on the Adam Eakle show on KSL on Saturday May 11, 2013

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1112&sid=25163956

Bears Butt

May 14, 2013

Written on May 6th, 2013 , Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Stories

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BearsButt.com | Stories, Ramblings & Random Stuff From an Old Mountain Man

Just some of my old stories, new stories, and in general what is going on in my life.