Winter Range, Wild Bunch 1

Today opened overcast with occasional sprinkles.  I had heard rain overnight so this was an improvement over that.  By 8 AM when we had the safety meeting before the shoot I left my raincoat in the camper, confident that it would not rain.  Too much.  I brought an umbrella just in case.  It did drop a few raindrops on us just to prove it could.
Wild Bunch is an event based on the movie of the same name, set in Mexico in 1913 and involving guys masquerading as US military troops.  Some of us dress the part of US Military as a result.  It also uses a 1911 45 auto pistol and 1897 pump shotgun.So I normally shoot the 1911 one handed, but since I can't lift it high enough to see the sights I shot it 2 handed.  I have  not shot Wild Bunch 2 handed in many years, so it was interesting to adapt.  Since we shoot a more stout ammo in this game and a lot more of it I did find it a bit more stressing on the shoulder.  Not too much though, going to do it all over again tomorrow for the second half of the match.

At one time we could see and hear the wild donkeys on the hillside way out in front of us.  I just heard another one as I am writing this, in fact that donkey reminded me to comment on them.

Carlene went out ... somewhere and did something. My plan for today was to explore a 36 mile gravel road in the Hells Canyon Wilderness and hike for several miles.  I drove to Morristown, found my turn and had driven ten miles when I came to a road closed sign.  Okay, so I turned around and decided to come in from the other end near the Lake Pleasant Recreation Area and drive to the closed area.  I drove to the other end, but I didn't get far when I noticed a few cars parked along side the road.  I pulled over to ponder my next move.  As I sat there eating my lunch, I noticed vehicle after vehicle passing by,  covered in red mud.  Then a motorcyclist decided to go through. A few minutes later he was back.  I didn't have a mud bog in mind so I found a trail at Lake Pleasant where Callahan and I could hike.  Perhaps another time.

Near Morristown start of a scenic drive

more great scenery

hiking the  Cottonwood Trail

Exserted Indian Paintbrush