Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I  wish each and everyone of you a special day.  May God bless you and everyone you come in contact with.

I always think back to what something might have been like first, long before what we see today as the way it was, and so with Thanksgiving.  What was the first Thanksgiving like?  With the world wide web available to us all, it was not hard to find some historical information about it.

http://www.pilgrimhall.org/1stthnks.htm

So, it seems there were but a small band of white people among the Indians of the area.  It was Fall and it was also time to prepare for the upcoming winter and it’s cold and snow.  All summer long they had taken care of their crops and gone fishing and put up lots of food in their storage places.  I picture huge amounts of dried fish hanging in a shed.  Each family having an equal portion of it.

I also picture dried game meats like deer, bear and whatever other kind of big game there was around there.  It too cut into strips and dried and hanging inside the same shed with the fish.

Game birds were plentiful, at least Wild Turkey, and those too had been properly harvested and taken care of and dried and hanging among the fish and the game.

And with Fall season the migration of the waterfowl was upon the people in full force.  They would have harvested many of the birds and done likewise as with the turkey and had them hanging in the shed as well.

Their crops of corn were stripped and dried and some of it made into flour and placed in cribs in the same shed.  Lord have mercy should something happen to that shed.  All of their food was in there and without it, they probably would not make it long.  Of course they had the others around them who would no doubt share their bounty with them should they need it.

53 people all huddled within a small area, each one caring very much about the other as they all worked together to make their survival possible.

And so they joined in a celebration to thank God for all that they had.  They invited the local Indians to join them.  Fresh game was acquired and cooked and shared with everyone.  A bounty of plenty.  And it says the Indians came forth with deer to share with the white people.  And they celebrated for up to three days.  The children played games, the adult men shot rifles and the women cooked the meals.  The Indians also joined in the fun and work involved and everyone had a great time.

The local Ogden Standard Examiner featured a story this week and in it the author said that for drink at their festivity they drank beer.  Sort of a necessity they thought, because the water just might not be that fit to drink and so to ferment it was the proper way to drink it.  I like that idea.  I imagine that the party lasted three days because that is how much beer they had on hand that was ready to drink.  More, of course would have been in the making but not quite finished to the drinking point (that is my take on things).

In that same article, it reads that forks had not been invented as yet and so they used large cloth napkins to hold onto the meat that they ate.  That sounds rather savage right now, but I have eaten in such a way and it is not such a bad way to get the nourishment you need.  A huge leg of turkey in one hand and a mug of beer in the other.  Tomorrow can’t come soon enough!

I have to differ some with the fact that forks had not been invented yet.  As there is much evidence that people used sharpened sticks way back when to hold meat over a fire to cook it.  I’ve done that as well.  And so, as time goes on a single pointed stick, would be better if it had two points to help hold the meat.  I’ve used things like that and sure enough, the meat can be turned to properly cook, without the meat spinning around.  And as we progress, suddenly there is a stick with three pointed ends and then four.

As Wapiti says, it is not a “fork” until it has four points on which to poke your food.  A three point one is a “trike”, a two point one is a “bike” and a one pointed on is an “eyenk” (if my memory serves me correctly).

I have learned many things in my life and one of them is to not send Edjukateer out to gather hot dog cooking sticks, which by the way usually have two points, because you get back eyenks of the smallest proportion.

Well, enjoy your holiday and may God bless you.

Bears Butt

Nov. 21, 2012

In life all is not fun and games.  Sometime or another there will be something that comes along and breaks your heart or really saddens you.  This happened to me yesterday.

A bit of background.

We took camp up into the Crawfords last Friday and got it set up.  During the week prior, I was visiting the Utah Wildlife Network forum and a man on there named “Vaporpest” messaged me and talked about he and his father going into the Crawfords the same day to set up their camp.  He and I exchanged messages back and forth and both were very excited.  His excitement was for his father to finally get a chance to shoot something with 4 points on each side, as he has never done that in his entire life.  I gave him pointers like “hold his caps, and don’t let him take the first one he sees” etc. etc.

Saturday morning found us enjoying the hunt and in the early afternoon we had to go into town and gas up.  On our way back into the mountains, a side by side rig was coming out.  I pulled to a stop and the man driving said…”Are you Bears Butt”?  Of course I answered affirmative and got out of the rig to meet the two gentlemen in the rig.

Sure enough the young man sitting in the passenger seat was Vaporpest and his father, Kevin, was the driver.

I gladly gave the tag holder, Kevin, one of the dream catchers I had made up for this occasion and wished him all the luck in the world.  We shared a couple of quick stories, including the fact that his wife was one of the “Hilton” girls (Cache Valley Rendezvous) and then we went our own ways.

Later that evening they stopped into our camp to share with us the wonderful stories they had about the deer they had seen during the day.  Grins were everywhere as you can see in this picture.

Matt and Kevin Hardman

We had a wonderful visit with the two of them and of course some of the stories got a bit exaggerated.  Including one about the color of the flames the fire was putting out.  “Alterwood” makes the flames do that Matt.

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Yesterday I read about a tragic accident out on the Great Salt Lake, where two young duck hunters had lost their lives when the waves capsized their boat and they succumbed to hypothermia.  One of the men was a son of  Kevins  and brother to Matt.

They would have received the text message just after leaving our camp as they cruised out of the canyon just a short mile away.

My heart goes out to them and their family, as well as to the family of the other young man who also passed in that tragic accident.

From the four of us who were in the camp and got to meet the two of you, we are all very, very sorry for your loss.  I personally hope you make it back up into the Crawford Mountains after the funerals as part of the healing process.  As tough as it might seem right now your lives will still go on, only now there is  a piece missing.  Your son and brother would want you to head on back to the mountain and bring home your long deserved prize.

I said a prayer for your families last night.

Bears Butt

Nov. 20, 2012

November 20…that’s today!  YAAAAA!  What else is going on?  Well for one it is National Absurdity Day!  Do something really dumb and you will fit right in.  If you are reading this before going to work, this is your chance to wear that Hawaiian shirt to your big business meeting and be able to get away with it.  Or place a special order with the hospital staff saying your doctor ordered you to eat some crazy food that they normally don’t serve patients (you see I don’t know who is reading this or where they are reading it from).

The bottom line is today is Absurdity day and anything out of the ordinary is perfectly justified.  I suggest you keep it legal however.  And maybe just inside the sane line or your tomorrow might not be too fun.

I looked up the word on line and found a definition that allowed viewers to make comments…I think that is absurd, and I told them as much.

As for my personal life, I’m just too set in my ways to be too absurd, besides I’m still in Crawford Hunt Mode…which to some may seem absurd.  To me it is perfectly normal and I know of 10 people who agree with me and several more that are fighting the urge to join the 10 of us, as they have to work, which to them is absurd.  I agree.  Just because they have recently changed jobs, I find it absurd that their new boss can’t let them have some time off to come up and join us in the hunt.  The boss on the other hand thinks it absurd that the newly hired pee-on is even asking that he have time off to go on a stupid hunt in the first place.  You see how absurd things can get in a hurry.  So, enjoy the day.

What’s absurd?

Frying your donut.  Wearing shorts in a snow storm (that could be confused with freezing your butt off).  Or Softballs normal “colder than cold” statement: “Standing on a wind swept, blowing snow mountain with nothing on but a wet sheet” (which IS freezing your butt off).  Pouring an entire bottle of ketchup on your fries.  Dipping the same fries in a beer before eating them.  Asking your brother for $20.  Fishing off the Golden Gate Bridge.  Desiring to get between a cow moose and her offspring.  Adding mustard to your coffee.  Washing the red flannel underwear with the white shorts.

You see the list goes on and on and is only limited by YOUR imagination.  You don’t have an imagination?                  That’s absurd….of course you do.

Bears Butt

Nov 20, 2012

Thinking about going back into the muddy situation we left yesterday in the Crawfords, I went in search of a better way to travel in the mud.  This is something I found.

http://www.j-wheelz.com/intro_video.html

Sorry, they don’t make them for 4X4 SUV’s….Yet!

Bears Butt

Nov. 19, 2012