Log Cabin Life

 I don't know for sure how many different individuals have fired a gun at our place over the last 16 years or so, but I'd venture a guess it would be well in excess of 100.

~Fellow Rollaboy and former "Nearly All-American" running back, Victor DaVolt, in the Fall of 2003 at our Pioneer Log Cabin

~Cousin David watches from the log bench as cousin James shoots a Ruger .357 Single Six last Summer

~Long time friend "Smurph" shooting a Ruger 10-22

We've had a lot of folks who for the very first time in their life shot a .22 rifle or pistol off our cabin deck or at our shooting range. And not just youngsters under the supervision of a qualified adult: our California friend, Dot Murphy, shot a gun for her first time ever at our place when she was about 76!

~Tony very thoughtfully instructs wife Diane on the finer points of shooting the venerable 1911 .45 ACP

There's a number of memorable stories from our numerous shooting extravaganzas at "The Ranch". The picture above reminds me of one such occasion: Tony was hoping to acquire permission from Diane that would allow him to enter into the realm of handgun ownership. One stage of his "well thought out plan" was to have Diane shoot a pistol, thinking she'd then be hooked and more than likely beg him to buy one. After shooting a Dan Wesson 1911 .45, Diane was more committed than ever to not allow her husband the joy of owning his own pistol. She later acquiesced and permitted Tony to purchase the pistol you see in the picture. A few years later he sold the gun back to me and has since been in the market for a Smith and Wesson Model 66 .357--a gun I believe belongs in the collection of all certified gun enthusiast. Tony has only been looking around a couple years for his 66: he's a planner and likes to "Do things right". Personally, I hope he gets one before he's too old to shoot it, but I guess there's no need to rush into things.

~Max on a bolt action Ruger M77 .223 with a Swarovski 3x9 variable. The author special ordered the Ruger from Walmart and acquired the scope from Academy on a nearly unbelievable close-out deal!

~Son-in-law Casey with his Dad Mike target shooting from the deck of our Pioneer Log Cabin

~Mike came all the way from Bayonne New Jersey to shoot his son's new Marlin .30-.30 off the deck of our Pioneer Log Cabin, which by the way, was erected in 2003 by the now stars of HGTV's TIMBER KINGS

~Rollaboys Kevin and Steve shooting at long range targets with .22's while Craig (in the middle) fires a Henry lever .22 Mag

~Doubtful Klietus is going to run out of ammo anytime soon

~Casey shoots the M77 while Max locates hits 120 yards out with a Simmons spotting scope from Cabelas

~Casey utilizes the handcrafted coyote "Whacking Station" on the back of the cabin deck to steady his aim 

~Son Tyler checks the long range target during shooting practice

~Friends and proud to be called RollaBoys, Craig and Kevin, hoping for a nearby naive crow landing. You always want to keep an eye out for crows--they're pesky!

~Missouri State Trooper Tim T. (L) holds a Henry bolt action .44 mag while Kevin's gun of choice that day was a Uberti .45LC--a nearly exact replica of the original Winchester model 1866 they say won the west.

~Author instructs daughter Britt on proper shooting form with an Ithica .22 he purchased new in 1979 from Walmart in Eldon, Missouri

Our daughter Britt shot a gun for her first time out here as well as several members of the Murphy and Duhamel families and extended families.

~While a student at St. Louis University, Matt became a first time shooter with an old Marlin bolt action .22 the author purchased used at a drive-by pawn shop several years ago.

~RollaBoys Larry, Rick, Vic, Craig and Kevin target shooting with a Glock Model 23 .40 cal

~Vic D from Brighton, Colorada shoots at clay pigeons with a Banelli Super Black Eagle .12 gauge

~Craig throws clay pigeons for Vic and Kevin

~Steve "The Beave" cuts loose on a clay pigeon

~Author instructs Karen A. from St. Louis, a first time pistol shooter

~Son Tyler with his Ruger 10-22; a Sport shooting veteran since the age of 5 (I would have started him earlier but he would have just been around 3 or 4).

~Friend "Klietus" with an old Smith .38 Police Special, a gun his wife Julie received from a friend a few years ago when she was in her early 20's

~Gun enthusiast Grant, Klietus, "Z-Dawg" and Coleman 

~Author instructs wife "Sweet Baby" on shooting an old Harrington and Richardson .22 revolver he's owned since 1983

~ Friend Chris from St. Louis firing a Ruger Single Six .357

~Our friend Pam (Chris's wife) fires a Ruger Mini-14 .223 for the very first time in her life (she loved it!)

~Friend Craig "Doogie" hands off a Remington 1187 "Sam Walton Commemorative" 20 gauge to Chris after busting a few clays

~Luuuuuke, "I'm not your Faaaathore" L. shoots an Ithica lever action .22 for one of his first times ever

There's something satisfying in the sound of a rifle's report and the ping or thud that results from the hit on your inanimate target. I also like the smooth sound of a lever or blot action rifle as you cycle a new round: a sound I've enjoyed countless times since I was a youngster hunting squirrels and rabbits in the Missouri hardwoods behind our rural Rolla home.

~Mark S. instructs his son's Luke and Michael on proper use of their new Daisy BB guns

~Friend "Scottic" tosses clay pigeons with a hand thrower for his son "Maximus" who's on the end of a Mossberg Model 500 pump .12 gauge

~Nephew and Special Olympics "NATIONAL RECORD HOLDER" in the 50 meter back stroke, Jordon, with his then new Daisy BB gun

If you're not a sport shooting enthusiast but are potentially interested in taking it up as a hobby, I'd recommend you start by going to a gun range and running at least a box of shells through a .22 rifle or pistol. Most ranges have demo or rental guns available for use. Or, if you have at least some target shooting experience and feel you're ready to purchase your first firearm, I'd suggest going to Cabela's, Sheels, Academy or any reputable sporting goods store or gun shop to find out more about the wide range of available makes and models. If you know you're ready to buy, I'd just stop off at your local Walmart store and see what they have in stock. Keep this in mind as you look around: in the author's opinion, you simply can't go wrong with a Henry lever action .22 or a Remington bolt action .22 as your first gun. In my personal opinion, you shouldn't start out with a semi-automatic rifle and definitely not a semi-auto pistol; I'l explain why in a future post.

~Steve M, Kevin C, and Craig F target whacking with either a .270 or a .30-.06 at a Rollaboy event a few years ago

Note: Dad taught us about gun safety and how to shoot when we were kids. We received our first BB guns shortly after Mom taught us to not go to the bathroom in our pants. That might be a slight stretch, but I know I had a BB gun when we still lived on the farm-before I started the 1st grade. Simply put, firearms are a part of my family's heritage.

Rocky Mountain High

I took my first vacation as a an "adult" in the early Summer of 1980. I was living on my own, supporting myself, and fully off my parents payroll. I'd never flown in an airplane and found it somewhat intimidating to be flying off so far from my life in Central Missouri. My brother Larry had invited me to come out and visit him and his then wife Victoria. I remember being scared about the thought of flying in a "Big Ol' jet airliner", but I was excited about going on an out of state solo-adventure.

We had a great time and I was blown away by the Rocky Mountains. I recall the moment when I realized why John Denver sang about them in so many of his songs-or at least in that one song.

Among other activities like eating at my first big city Mexican restaurant (we had a Mexican restaurant in my hometown of Rolla, Missouri called Casa Bonita, but I don't recall eating there much), we drove through the mountains, went on day hikes and did some crawling around on the rocks. We fished for Brook Trout and caught several in a nice little secluded spot; so long ago now I don't recall where. 

I was in awe of the beauty of the mountains and became a fan of the Broncos on that trip, just because they were there. Before I headed back to Missouri, I decided I'd come back some day for another mountain visit. 

I stayed true to myself and have been back numerous times over the past 30 some odd years; hiking, camping, skiing, bow hunting for Elk, visiting family and friends and sometimes just passing through on our way back from other trips west. Shortly after returning home from this trip I met a girl named Sue, and a little over a year or so later we spent our honeymoon in Aspen. We revisited Aspen on a recent anniversary and were surprised at how much it had changed, however, the mountains had not and we were glad for that.

I don' think I'll ever get tired of seeing the Rocky Mountains or the sunrises and sunsets that accompany them. I know now why Uncle Pat and Aunt Katherine visited the Mountains of Wyoming for 2 weeks every year of their 60 plus year marriage. I suppose they'd still be going out there if time hadn't caught up with them; like it will all of us if we live long enough. 

  Some day I suppose I'll just have memories of my mountain visits. I'd better plan a trip out soon, to make a few more deposits in the aging memory bank. After-all, if it weren't for memories and dreams, all we'd have is right now. 

~Brother Larry "Ace" fishing for Brook Trout in a Colorado stream during my first visit

~Author somewhere in the Mountains outside Denver-Summer 1980

Outdoor Gems

Our world is full of beauty. To enjoy it, all you have to do is make the effort to look around. It's easy to go through life hoping for something spectacular to happen, when in reality we're surrounded nearly every day by-as one of our former Presidents might say-"spectacularity".

I'm betting that no matter where you live, whether in Arkansas, Colorado, downtown Chicago, or British Columbia, Canada, there's beauty all around you. So much so that if your intention was to see just a small fraction of it, you'd spend a lifetime trying and not even scratch the surface.

~My bride behind Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

A couple of weeks ago, Sue and I spent an hour or so walking through the grounds of Crystal Bridges. At a glance, the 100 plus acres surrounding the museum isn't what I'd call breathtaking. But if you're intentional about making an effort to see what's there, the overall beauty of the place is worth your time in my opinion.   

~A pavilion sits unobtrusively on the museum grounds a few yards off a walking path

It'd be easy to walk past this pavilion and not give it a second thought. It may not ever win the award for "best design of an outdoor structure", but I thought it was deserving of a few seconds of my time to admire.

I noticed several large rocks lying around that were pretty cool in and of themselves. After taking a picture of the one below, I thought to myself that on one of my next trips to the cabin, I'm going to make a point to walk down along the creek just to look at the rocks. One pretty cool sidebar about rocks: every rock you've ever seen has been on the earth since the beginning of time. And as far as I know, "they're" not making any new rocks.

The next time you're walking through your neighborhood, driving down the street, or hurrying into the grocery store, look around as you go: you might notice one of life's previously obscure little gems, for the very first time-and it might just make your day!

~A moss covered rock lies alongside one of the many museum trails

Timber Reclaimed & Fully Purposed

Last Fall I hired my friend and longtime professional dirt man, Alan Lawrence, to finish clearing a few acres on our place in an effort to improve the wildlife habitat as well as the view in back of the cabin. Before Alan began work, he asked what I wanted done with the trees. I had given thought to cutting the trees into log sections and saving them for future projects: projects I might never actually start much less finish. Having done this numerous times before-logging trees into sections and saving them for future projects, only to end up using a small portion for my intended purposes and cutting the rest into firewood or in some cases, letting the wood rot to the point it was only good for brush pile burning or fire pit wood-I decided to have Alan just push the trees into brush piles. Brush piles make great habitat and cover for critters and birds of all kinds and in general are good for nature. Alan did as I'd asked.

~Brush-pile in back of the cabin

After a couple days knocking down trees and putting the ground back together, I ended up with 3 areas nicely opened up and 3 pretty good sized brush piles. Alan's dad, Hugh, stopped by and commented that if he'd known I was going to push the trees into piles, he would have liked to purchase the timber from me. Hugh's comments were confirmation that I'd made a mistake by not logging the trees. I decided to reclaim as much of the timber as feasible and soon started the project by spending an afternoon working the the biggest pile first; limbing trees and sawing them to usable lengths. As a result of having sold my dozer a few months earlier, I realized I'd have to use my 45 horse New Holland farm tractor to skid the logs out of the ravine and up the hill. Not the ideal equipment situation, but sometimes you just have to make due with what you have available.  

~One of three newly cleared areas, late October 2013

~Newly cleared area in back of cabin Mid November 2013

For some time I'd been planning to build a lean-to onto the north side of the barn to match the one on the south side. I thought it'd be fun and rewarding to build it from timber harvested exclusively from the property. I told Klietus what I was doing and he volunteered to help, agreeing that it would be a worthy and fun project. As a result, we worked a few hours one afternoon in October and began hauling logs up the relatively steep hill. This past weekend was the first time we'd had a chance to work on pulling out more logs, harvesting another 8 or so. The plan is to reclaim enough timber to complete the project without having to purchase any lumber. Once we have enough logs and they've had time to dry out sufficiently for milling, we'll have some of the logs sawn into 8' lengths with a thickness of 1 1/4" and of varying widths. These boards should do nicely for the lean-to roof. I plan to saw the rafters with my Stihl 361 at a dimension of about 3"x10"x10'. Those will be some fairly substantial solid oak rafters and I'm hoping Klietus won't have any trouble getting them up there all by himself.

~Klietus making an equipment check 

I have to laugh when I think about how many times I told our son Tyler when he was growing up that "You can never have too much equipment." A few years ago I made an adjustment to my old saying and shared it with him. The updated "Ranch Mantra" is: "You can never have too much of the RIGHT equipment."  

~Klietus takes a respite while pondering future log related activities, which I'm confident include the use of his new Jonsered 2250 saw

I figure when Klietus's wife Julie sees this picture of him and for perhaps the first time in their married life realizes she's married to an actual timber-man, it will probably get him at least a few points in the manliness department: I figure he'll owe me a beer for that one!

~Maxie Pad inspects a large timber I sawed out of a recently re-claimed log

A few years ago our daughter Britt gave me a North Face fleece pullover for Christmas. I've worn it so much it's close to needing an update. It's been on numerous outdoor excursions and last Saturday was no exception. I find it's good to have a few favorite pullovers you can layer on when you're bucking timber, hunting Moose, or locked out of the house because you spend too much time in the woods instead of taking your bride to the show or maybe tagging along while she shops at Ann Taylor Loft or Banana Republic.

NOTE: In the interest of full discloser, I've never been Moose hunting, but they say it taste a lot like Squirrel...only different.

~Author posing with the afternoon's log harvest in his favorite fleece pullover by North Face

I'll keep you updated as Kliet and I move forward with the Barn lean-to project. Maybe I'll inspire my "Almost Uncle" Tom to finish his barn. That way, he can start filling it up with stuff he currently doesn't even realize he needs.

~Klietus waters "Maxie Pad" after a long afternoon up and down the hill

An Axe To Grind

Every true woodsman has at least one good Axe. Although the one in this picture isn't one of 'em, it did work nicely for my purpose: to have an old axe in a stump for atmosphere at the cabin.
A good axe is of course made from good steal that will hold an edge and has a stout hickory handle professionally fixed to the axe head. Few things are more frustrating to a woodsman than an axe handle that won't hold the head on.

The truth is, I don't use an axe very often. I much prefer a splitting maul for splitting rounds into firewood and of course a chainsaw is always my first choice for cutting down a tree or sawing a log into sections. I do make use of a hatchet quite often for small jobs and have found it's always a good idea to keep a sharp one around: I always have one in the back of my Ranger, ready when I need it.

There was a time, however, in our nations history where a good axe would have been an indispensable part of every rural persons assortment of tools. Today, an axe is a handy tool to have around, if only to help you more fully appreciate your chainsaw. I like looking at my axe just before I pick up my Stihl 361 and go to work--gives me an appreciation for my saw. Swinging an axe now and then for old time's sake also makes me appreciate the guys and gals who cleared land to grow food, back when my great-great grandparents were toddling around the hills and woodlands of Central Missouri.

By the way, the axe in this picture has a red plastic handle and was Made in China. Don't get me wrong; I don't have anything against an axe Made in China, just like I don't have anything against a steak made in Waffle Hut: it's just a matter of taste.

Barn Notions

Here's a few things I've heard said about barns:

~You can't build a barn too big
 ~Every outdoorsman should have a barn
~Your barn says a lot about who you are
~A barn is one of the most under-rated of all rural structures
~A barn gives you a back up place to sleep when you're in the doghouse
~When your man hangs out in his barn, he's not out bar-hopping and chasing women
~Like a good woman, a barn gets better with age
~If you want to offend a man who has a barn, refer to his barn as a shed or garage
~Even a 100 year old barn is a work in progress
~A barn is a good place to keep all the stuff you wouldn't need if you didn't have a barn

I actually made most of these up, but find them to be true.

Silver Fishing off the Yakobi

NOTE: Continuation of our Alaska adventures from several months ago...

~The Johnson's boat, Yakobi

After supper, a good nights sleep and breakfast the next morning, we all climbed on board Paul's big boat, the Yakobi. It was a nice craft, well equipped and ready for business. The cabin was large enough for the five of us to spread out and enjoy the ride. We untied from the dock and were soon on our way.

~Eddie and Matt

The morning was overcast and chilly, but we were nice and toasty inside the spacious and heated cabin. The weather was much the same the entire time we were there-luck of the draw I suppose. Paul told us to help ourselves to the beverages and snacks. As we settled in and motored across the water, it wasn't long before the lodge was out of view. Other than an occasional boat at a distance, we didn't see another sole the entire day.




After an hour or so we came to a secluded spot. Paul and Yard showed us the preferred way to rig our lines and in no time at all we had caught several fish. It was the first time any of us had fished for Salmon and I know I was surprised at how hard they fought.

~Ty, Matt and "Yard"

Paul suggested we try another spot after we'd hauled in a good number of fish. Aside from the great time we all had fishing, it was fun to just ride around in the boat and see the sites. I don't recall how many whales we saw but it was a pretty common occurrence. None of us ever got tired of seeing these awesome beast break the surface of the water and splash around in clear view of our crew.

~Humpback Whale-one of the many we saw on our trip

We saw Eagles nearly too numerous to mention, often times perched in a tree every few hundred yards or so. On more than one occasion we saw Eagles swoop down over the water with their claws extended, grab their unsuspecting prey and fly off, sometimes to a nearby tree or rock to enjoy their catch.

As we cruised from one great fishing spot to the next, Paul served up lunch which consisted of steaming crab soup and salmon salad sandwiches. If you've never had fresh crab soup made from "just caught" crab meat, you should try it sometime!

We fished a couple of other spots and after a few hours of fishing and occasionally relaxing on deck with a cold beverage, we stowed the gear and headed back to the lodge. Although we had fun on each of our day adventures, it was always nice to get back to the lodge and relax. In the entire time we were there we saw almost no signs of civilization outside of the Johnson camp at Gull Cove. For Eddie and myself it was a nice break from the corporate world at the Walmart and Sam's Club home offices.

~That's a huge Brown Bear in the middle left of the picture at the water's edge