And May the Best Man Win

Well, I got knocked off of my high horse. I got 2nd place at the MN State Fair. This threw me for a loop and as I was heading out for my vacation I was thinking of all sorts of excuses: The guy just built a beauty model; No lift handles; No rudder (spring loaded or otherwise); No fancy hatch latches; No rudder pedals; yadayadayada.

In the end, I concluded that the best man had won. He built a very fine boat and even built a shrine to it (a nicely designed, stained and varnish stand). To my detriment, I supplied a stand: sections of an old desk that I was in the process of dismantling for the trash.

Then, this week I called the MN State Fair cuz I didn't get a score with my prize money for 2nd place, $ 6.00 (First Place gets $8.00). They said that they would mail me the results. "Well, what did I get"? "A, you got 99 out f 100". "OK, what did the other guy get"? "He got 99.5". ... I got no complaints. Picture is Daughter Robyn and me in front of the booth at the State Fair. If you saw the display, my boat was the white one, White Cedar.

QOD: An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

Colorado Elk Hunt 2009

Well the Elk proved to be smarter than me but it was not for lack of trying. Greg and I scoured the mountains from one end of the county to the other but to no avail. My cuz Mike was successful with his High Country Mule tag. He had horses which took him to close to the tree line and he climbed the rest to get the Mulie shown. Mike applied 7 years to get his tag and worked hard at getting his Deer.

Other Highlight/Details:
> Two weeks with no one commanding my time other than me with an extensive menu of fabulous things to do.
> Meeting Mikes G-Friend Meg and her boy Adam.
> Car camping in the mountains; 3:00 AM wakeup call; mountain biking in 5.3 miles in the moon light, … twice.
> Listening to a bull in the deep draw bellering all day long (but when I came back in the afternoon to put a stalk on, he was down at the bottom of the draw)
> Playing Cat and Mouse with a bull for part of a morning
> Lunch on a precipice at 11,600 ft over a couple of valleys and great mountain peaks
> Getting two fluorescent lights installed in Mike’s kitchen.
> The scenic route home through Silverton (just in time to see the train) and the mountains leading into Gunnison

QOD: Wanting to be someone you are not is a waste of the person you are. Kurt Cobain (1967-1994).