ODDS & ENDS

[sixshot]

From mid July til the end of august there isn't a lot going on in my part of the country, the grass is extrememly tall from all the rain, the rock chucks have went to bed for the next 8 months, the ground squirrels are almost impossible to see & the badgers keep getting hit by cars before I can do them justice.
About a week ago me & Callshot drove right up on a badger, he acted a little frisky but dove in the brush before I could get stopped. We hot footed it back up the road but I'm sure the badger smelled Steve. The next time I spotted him he gave me a snap shot & went down his hole.
I thought I had nailed him but couldn't be sure. I stuffed the hole with sagebrush & planned to check it the next day. When I got there at 6pm I knew I hadn't got him, during the night he had moved enough dirt to add on 2 more bedrooms & a deck.
Its absolutely amazing how much dirt one of these guys can move, it would take Callshot 3 days to shovel that much dirt, maybe more if I was helping.

I sat there until dark & then pushed another piece of sage down the hole part way, I needed to know if he was in the hole or out of the hole & hunting somewhere. The way you do this is to put the brush just far enough down the hole he can't pull it out, if he's already in there he'll push it out ahead of him. Well, this went on for 5 nights straight & he was always out of the hole when I got there.
Looking back I think the smell of Steve scared him so bad he decided to leave the country so I gave up! Did get some nice photo's of the mountainside & some cactus flowers blooming.

This is the lake across the street from my house, the Bear River flows into it about 2 blocks from my house.

The old Oregon Trail came right through Soda Springs, during the time when the pioneers were coming across the plains the Army had to build a fort along the site where this lake now resides to protect them from the many indians in the area. There were no Pizza Huts or Burger Kings at that time & the indians liked the settlers beef!

Many times the indians would come to the fort & trade hides for horses, food, blankets & rot gut whiskey.

I think Callshot was present when they signed the treaty!!

We got bored yesterday so Callshot agreed to drive...(had my hands around his throat) we bounced along a dirt road & a nice juicy ground squirrel had climbed up on a fence post, he had heard the rumor that Callshot was driving & had to see for himself. I launched him 15' off that post with my Bisley 45 & a 260 gr Keith, had 9 grs of Unique in the tank. It was cost $5 for a ride like that at Disney World. It was impressive!
The next one ran down a fence line looking for his momma, I drilled him in the big middle with another of Elmers finest & it was lights out, pow!

This is what my bright pink sight looks like when the sun goes down.

Dick

 

[Sheriff]

Enjoyed the photos. That badger probably heard of those extrordinary shots you fellas been making and vacated. :wink:

 

[doccash]

Nice to see a spot that is "blooming" we are so dry with less than one inch of moisture in a year. Thanks for posting I enjoy your photos. Dr.C

 

[callshot]

I wondered where you been all week. I got whalloped by a guard bee riding on her broom. it's been two days and I can just about get my eye open enough to see now. I must have picked something up riding in your truck IF all them animals could smell something on me. :roll: Of course I used to trade with the Indians. I must still have my Indian undies on, because they keep creeping up on me and wiping me out :!: I have found a new diet again. This one will shurly work. It is as follows: I can only eat now when you smile for a picture. This one should save me a bundle of cash as well as shed a lot of pounds. I have sent the pattend off so no one can copy it. A very bad time to start it now, just when the huckleberries will be coming on. :roll: What are you going to be next Tuesday when the govt. Shuts down. Would you still be an American? Those cactus blossoms are about the prettiest flowers there is, but they hide in the sage brush behind the wood ticks. Have you ever shot any wood ticks with your six shooters yet? Pictures needed. Later ya-all. Steve

 

[M'BOGO]

I was beginning to wonder if the rockchucks and badgers had united, separated ya'll from your magick beans, and sorted out the two of you. Over a week without your vagabond adventures, got the imagination kicked into high gear... Was half expecting to see you two on the Sunset strip carrying toy dogs sporting leather pants.

 

[Jeff Hoover]

Dick, did you switch to pink for better contrast on your front sight over the red, or is that Ruth Ann's summer shade of nail polish ? :lol:

Great pictures, especially the cactus bloom !

 

[contender]

Ahh,, once again, we get our weekly fix of "Tales from Soda" via the master storyteller. Great. It always makes me smile!

 

[foxtrapper]

Sixshot what can you compare ,in density, to the badger in your parts? Seems there are alot till you walk the range

 

[sixshot]

Actually I think the hot pink shows up even better than the orange. The photo is out of focus but that front sight will gain you at least an hour of shooting time, especially if it is also narrowed to 1/10".

Jeff, wish you were here, the county fair starts tomorrow & me & you could have a Navajo Taco eating contest, Callshot could hold the guns!
A Navajo Taco is a large scone, smothered with beans & taco seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream & salsa. One of them covers the entire plate. I'm guessing it would be a draw (one each) then it would be on to the cheesey fries & then peaches & cream. If the ambulance was there we could have huckleberry pie & then a milkshake for a belly wash as they hauled us away!
Callshot would have icewater!

Dick

 

[don44]

Real nice post and thanks for it.

 

[Jeff Hoover]

Heck, Dick it was your description of hitting the food booths on the midway of your county fair that drew attention to me a couple of years ago. You described in great detail, the food booths you knocked down, like the many badgers, rock chucks, and ground squirrels in your stories, as you traversed the gauntlet of delectable fair food. I thought, a man after my own heart ! I still remember your description of those Teton fries ! And then wacking a badger on the way home with your snubbie .38 !

Believe me, this summer seems empty without heading to Idaho. Even Samantha said the other night she wished we were at the Artic Zone for cheeseburgers and huckleberry shakes. You gotta post a picture of that Navajo taco for us !

 

[M'BOGO]

Jeff brings up a good point about the little details you weave into your "prose" Sixshot. During the winter, you and Callshot, ought to lay in a supply of Huckleberry shakes and magick beans and write your epic, great American story. Sorta Huck Finn meets the Odyssey.

 

[jgt]

Hey Dick,
Do you know of a place where the Bear River crosses hwy 34 south of Grace? Maybe south of Thatcher? The place I am thinking of use to have a cheese factory on the banks of the river and a house to the north and east of the factory. It had about a five stall garage by the house? If you were going south the place was to your left or the east side of the road. Is that place still there? I can't seem to find it on google maps.

 

[sixshot]

jgt, I don't know of an old cheese factory south of Grace, there was one west of Grace on the Bear River, its still there although its been closed down for years.

Dick

 

[twobisquit]

Boy, there's all sorts of great stuff here. I once heard that those yellow prickly pear flowers were God's definition of the color yellow. I think I have a picture somewhere of the little barrel cactus flowers too.

I love it when I see a badger kicking up dirt 15 feet in the air. often you can see them from a half mile away. But like Sixshot says, it's a shame to see so many dead ones alongside the road. I have actually seen a few badgers attack a car going by them and get hit when they tried to bite the tire. They are fearless critters at times.

Indian Tacos! Man I love 'em. There is usually someone selling them on the reservation during the powwows. It's hard to find them otherwise. I wish I could get my squaw to make them.

 

[jgt]

You are right I found it a little south of where Neider road connects to River road south west of Grace. The place still looks the same and the original house is still there. It looks like someone bought the cheese factory and built living quarters onto the front of the factory. That garage looks to be missing though.
I worked with a guy named Milton H. that bought the house for six thousand dollars when it was first offered and he wanted me to buy the factory and turn it into my house. I visited there on Memorial Day weekend in 1978 to look it over but could not see a way to do it without a lot of roof work and other expensive improvements. Who ever built there was smarter then I because it looks like they just use the factory like an old barn and built a new part to live in. There was a ton of stainless steel on the inside if a person had a market for the piping, tables, and vats. There was a spring on the other side of the river on BLM land that they had filed on the water right to and ran a four inch line from it under the river to the factory and the house. At the time with the house the only thing on that water line it had boo coo pressure. With the valve barely cracked open to let enough water go to the house it would blow three quarter inch pvc joints apart after the glue had set in the sprinkler lines that irrigated his garden. I always remembered that area and would have lived there had I found something else on the market at the time.
My mind played tricks with my memory and I would never have found it because I thought it was south of Thatcher on 34, thanks for the help.

 

[jgt]

You are right I found it a little south of where Neider road connects to River road south west of Grace. The place still looks the same and the original house is still there. It looks like someone bought the cheese factory and built living quarters onto the front of the factory. That garage looks to be missing though.
I worked with a guy named Milton H. that bought the house for six thousand dollars when it was first offered and he wanted me to buy the factory and turn it into my house. I visited there on Memorial Day weekend in 1978 to look it over but could not see a way to do it without a lot of roof work and other expensive improvements. Who ever built there was smarter then I because it looks like they just use the factory like an old barn and built a new part to live in. There was a ton of stainless steel on the inside if a person had a market for the piping, tables, and vats. There was a spring on the other side of the river on BLM land that they had filed on the water right to and ran a four inch line from it under the river to the factory and the house. At the time with the house the only thing on that water line it had boo coo pressure. With the valve barely cracked open to let enough water go to the house it would blow three quarter inch pvc joints apart after the glue had set in the sprinkler lines that irrigated his garden. I always remembered that area and would have lived there had I found something else on the market at the time.
My mind played tricks with my memory and I would never have found it because I thought it was south of Thatcher on 34, thanks for the help.

 

[wildcatter]

Sorry to hear things are slowin down there Dick, it's been like that here for 2 or 3 weeks know, and so dry your liable to read about wildfires here soon! Like I said the other day it is really gettin worse, dryer than a popcorn fart, no ambush points, I don't know if the vermin are hibernatin early or just know it aint gonna do em any good to look for a drink, hell if they come out to eat thayd strangle from lack of being able to find anything to wash it down with! Well anyway thanks for the read and as always ENJOY!!

 

[Arnold Stuart]

Hi Dick: it's been awhile since I posted, the Doctor had to redo my shoulder and its been awhile since I been on the forum, Certainly enjoyed catching up on your post, always enjoy your pic's and sense of humor. We have had lots of rain down here too, really don't mind it as it is keeping the summer much cooler.

Arnold

 

[sixshot]

foxtrapper, sorry for the late reply. There are a lot of badgers in this part of the state because we have lots of ground squirrels, find squirrels & you'll find badgers. You don't see them real often but they leave lots sign.
They are notorius diggers & so you see lots of holes although you don't actually see a lot of badgers. Then all of a sudden you'll have a little run where you will see several of them in one month, maybe even 3-4 in a week.

Hey Bisquit, you're right about badgers throwing those rooster tails (dirt) in the air, you can see it from a long way sometimes. To me they are one of the neatest animals on the planet, I love to tangle with them, sometimes I win...sometimes they win
A game warden friend from Wyoming told me once that he cut one off that was headed for its den hole. The badger got pretty upset & closed to within 15 feet, my buddy threw his hat at it & the badger grabbed the hat & tore it to pieces, true story! I'd pay good money to see Callshot arm wrestle one!

Arnold, glad to hear you're doing OK, I was wondering what you were up to. Hope to see you one of these days.

Dick

 

[callshot]

I will arm wrestle one, but you can NOT be the referee :!: