Hunting Trip

Don and Phillip made the long drive out from Tennessee last week for the first week of rifle season. Hunting was good. They each got a bull. Don also got a deer.

Here is the homemade wall tent we camped in:

I got this Whitetail deer today near our place.

Bannack Ghost Town

This weekend we visited Bannack, the first Territorial Capital of Montana. It was also the site of the first gold strike in MT and led to a big gold rush in 1863. Mining continued up until around the 1950s. The state then bought out the remaining residents and preserved it as a State Park.

It looks pretty much as it would have in the 1800s, with fewer buildings.





Here are the old jails and one of the local cowboys "whooping it up"

8th of October - Overcast and chilly

Fred and Brandon got up at 5:00 this morning to go hunting. They saw nothing but goats on the way back home. Here is Brandon sneaking up to them.

Here is Brandon and me standing on the bridge on Sunday after church.

Autumn Day

Today was a beautiful fall day. The aspen and cottonwood leaves are nearing their peak colors.
Brandon's first horse ride.

First Snow

I found this 5 point elk horn shed while hunting Friday. Saw lots of elk including three bulls again. I had one within 25 yards at one time but I still didn't get a shot. Hunting with a bow is not easy!

This is the area I have been going to:
We got a little snow in the mountains and rain at the lower elevations.
Here is a goat standing behind an old flume that was once used for gold mining there in Avalanche Creek where I have been hunting.
Brandon will be here on Saturday. He is excited about that and is already planning what we will have for lunch when he gets off the plane!

We are still planning on doing the house addition. Hopefully we'll get started in the spring.

We changed the house plan a little:

Here is a blow-up of the addition (Thats the washer and dryer in a closet, shown beneath the tub):