Bronco Classic Cross Country Race Aug. 26, 2021

 

Quinn ran his first cross country race of the season  today at Blackfoot.

https://www.facebook.com/drchad480/videos/621464415489940

Two Hunting Stories... Multi Challis Mega Bucks and Rockland Big Buck

 

Sam Crane and I think Frank Garner

Lewis, Rebel the horse and Sam Crane

Sam and Dean

Fall 1979

Dean Shaw, Ron Crane, Sam Crane, Lew Roberts, Frank Garner and Blaine Shaw planned a deer hunting trip up Challis, Morgan Creek in the late eighties.

Equipment consisted of one cattle truck, 7 head of horses, (I took two, Rebel being one of them) one pickup mounted camper, one empty pickup with a shell and feed and lots of excited anticipation.

Frank and I drove the cattle truck loaded with horses.  Dean drove his pickup with camper and Ron and Sam were in the pickup with supplies and feed. 

It took us pretty well the whole day to get to Challis and up Morgan creek where we decided to camp,

We stopped and talked to a range rider about deer and he informed us he didn’t think there was very many around because he didn’t see very many on his trips taking care of cattle.

We settled in a canyon that went up past his line cabin and found a fairly flat camping place with lots of quakes’ and pines.  Very pretty place.  The canyon was steep and had snow on the lee sides showing there had been a storm through there recently.

We had some late sandwiches and decided to hunt the canyon we were camped in for the couple of hours we had left before the sun went down.

We all spread out with Frank and me hiking up towards the top of the ridge.  We hunted down hill towards Morgan Creek in somewhat of a line moving slowly through the brush, quakes and pines.

We immediately started to see deer tracks in the snow where there was some.  As Frank and I worked our way down the ridge, we could see through openings below us the rest of the party walking slowly through the foliage.   

As we approached the end of the ridge, it put us above the line cabin way below us.  It opened up with a lot of buck brush and grass.  As we slowly came out into the opening, a big buck jumped up between Frank and me and ran back the way we had come on Frank’s side.  He was shooting a 32 special.  He started shooting and probably shot about three rounds.  I ran over to where he was standing and it was just starting to get dark.  I ask if he connected and he said he thought he did but it didn’t stop.  We started tracking him back up the ridge and found him about 50 yards or so piled up dead.  He was a very pretty 4x4 with a measurement of 32 inches.  By the time we got him cleaned out it was dark.  We drug him straight down the ridge towards the bottom until we came to a fence and propped him open so he could cool him down and left him for the night.  The next morning we took the horses in there and loaded him on one of Ron’s horses and took him back to camp and hung it up.

We decided to ride the horses straight up a trail to the ridge and Frank and I stopped and the rest turned right and rode up the ridge higher.  We figured we could catch deer coming up from below from water so we prepared for that.

In a little while we heard a shot above us and figured they had got one.  We waited a while to make sure we didn’t miss any coming up and then rode up where we could see them.  Rather than leave one horse in camp which would have been Rebel we had saddle him and brought him with us.  As we approached them they were hiking up the real steep side that was fairly open and they had shot a nice two point about half way down the ridge.  

They were debating how to get a horse down there and were a little spooky about their horses on the steep side and loading a deer on one of them.  They ask about Rebel since he was a good ole docile and I said o.k.   

We worked out way down the side on an angle and it was steep enough that we could load the deer straight across into the saddle.   Dean started to get out all this rope out of his saddle bags and I said what you going to do with all that.  He said tie the deer on the saddle.  I said no, I’ll do it and do it my way since it was my horse.  I took some baling twine out of the bags and tied him down like we have always done it and led him on an angle up to the ridge.  It worked very well.  

When we got to the ridge, the party decided that they wanted to hunt down another canyon to camp and could Frank and I take the horses and deer down the ridge on the trail so they could hunt.  Frank was anxious to get back to camp anyway because his deer was down there hung up and he didn’t want someone to steal it.  We start to lead the five horses, we were on two, down the trail and those bitties of Ron wouldn’t trail,  they wanted to get ahead, go behind and it was terribly frustrating and both Frank and I was ready to shoot them.  Finally I said Frank let me send Rebel down ahead of his then we can handle these broncos with just two apiece.  He agreed.  I took Rebel up ahead, threw the rope over his neck and kicked him in the butt down the trail towards camp.  He started down and I knew we’d find him in camp ok.  We then took two apiece and wrangled the others down the trail back to camp.  When we got there, Rebel was eating grass and the deer was just fine. 

Day three we decided to drive down the canyon and go up another canyon and work up to the top of the ridge and hike down it to drive any deer out.  Ron said he would wait up with the pickup until just before dark and if we weren’t back we would have to hike all the way out and down to the main rode of Morgan creek to meet him.( The road was not a very good one, steep, rocky  narrow and scary).   On the way on our drive, Dean shot a five point that was 28 inch spread and he cleaned it and knew we would have to come back the next day with the horses to get it out.  Needless to say, it got dark on us and so we ended up having to hike all the way down to Morgan creek road where Ron met us with the pickup.  It was a long hike and lucky we had a full moon.  It took us until 10 that night to get to the road.  I was really tired.  

Day four, Dean and I decided we would ride the horses straight across the bottom of the two canyons and get his deer and take it to the top of the ridge that we previously hunted the night before.  Consequently I was riding Rebel.  It took a long time.  

About noon we stopped to have a lunch and it was warm and pleasant and it was really pretty.  As we laid there eating and talking, we spotted a bunch of does with a big buck chasing them They were about half way up the canyon where it started to get really steep and lots of pines.  We figured we could stalk them and maybe get close enough for a shot.  Dean crossed over to the side where the deer were and I went straight up the side we were on.  When I got almost where they disappeared in the pines, I got off the horse and kept hiking up the side across from them hoping to get a shot at the buck.  I found a good spot and settled down to see if I could get a glimpse and a shot.  I saw them in the pines and the buck walked into a clearing,  I took a steady aim and shot,  He disappeared and then I heard Dean shoot,  Just then the buck came out of the pines dragging his hindquarters and I leveled down to finish him off and Dean yelled don’t shoot”.  I looked up just as he shot and it dropped dead.  I went back to the horse and rode over to it and Dean was there and I said thanks for finishing him for me.  He said well I think I’ll give him to Blame, I was a little stunned and I said what for, he didn’t shoot it and he was not there.  You have your deer already tagged and I figured I hit it the first shot.   I said I would have finished him if you hadn’t yelled don’t shoot.  The deer is mine and I’m going to claim him.  He said we’ll see. We cleaned it and started up the steep climb to the top of the ridge where Ron would be with the pickup.  

When we got there, Sam, who was just twelve or thirteen at the time had shot a two point.  Dean called Blaine over and said theirs your deer and I said you know that’s not true Dean.  Blaine said I didn’t shoot him, he not my deer.  I had already tagged him but it caused some feelings between Dean and me.  

We unloaded the buck which measure 30 inches. And He and Ron went down the canyon and brought Deans Five point up to the pickup.  It was so late we left the horses tied up at the bottom of the canyon and we went to camp and we brought back feed for them for the night. The next morning we were back over with the horses and went back up to the top of that ridge.  Blaine was the only one left having not filled his tag.  Dean, Blaine and I kind of stayed fairly close together but Dean stayed on his horse above us.  

Blaine and I was slipping quietly along  the steep side when someone above us spooked a three point out and it came straight down the side in front of us through the pines,   He was trotting and Blaine got hasty and started shooting,  He hit the deer but it didn’t stop it but slowed it up considerably.  As it ran past us and Blaine was shooting, Dean yelled from above, Blaine run down the hill and get in front of that deer and shoot it.   Blaine took off running down that steep side and I could see him when he got in front of it but he didn’t shoot.  Dean yelled, Louie shoot that deer.  So I quickly found an opening as he went through it and dropped him.  When I got to Blaine, he said he had run out of bullets and didn’t realize it until he was trying to stop it.  We quickly cleaned it and Dean brought Rebel down and we tied him on and took him back up the ridge to the rest of the party and Ron with his pickup.  

We were done so decided to head for back and prepare to go home.  I rode and lead Dean’s horse back to camp up Morgan creek.  It took a while.

The next day we loaded up all the deer in the back of Ron’s pickup and broke camp.  We had to take the horses down to the main road to find a place to back the cattle truck up to, to load the horses.  It was quite a sight to see all of those bucks with three really big ones and three good average sizes.

As we traveled down the main road, we came to a checking station and stopped to be checked.  The fish and game boys were quite impressed with what we had.  There formed somewhat a line behind us waiting their turn; consequently, back a ways people couldn’t see the bucks because the cattle truck was blocking their view.  When the personnel started to check out one of the outfits, the hunters started to complain to the fish and game that there wasn’t any deer in the country and they were disappointed in their managing of the herds.  The officer ask them to get out of their pickup and come up and see what we had.  They were quite taken back when they seen our deer and especially the size of most of them.  They said they had driven about every canyon and road they could and didn’t see hardly anything.  We said they need to get out of your pickups and do some serious hunting on foot if you wanted any game.

When we got to Challis we stopped at a local café to get some lunch.  As we were eating, a fellow came in and loudly asked whose pickup and deer were out there parked and we said ours.  He offered to buy the horns and pay us a pretty good price for them.  We of course declined his offer. 

We arrived home safely that evening and gathered our gear to await another year. 

Rockland Buck

Is that the one where dad was sitting on a hillside in rockland and saw it trotting up the canyon below him? Shot it with his 7mm Rem Mag. Not a whole lot of interesting info if this is the same one. I remembered he recovered the bullet. That looks like Mitsy there next to him so the timeframe should be about right.

Best Regards,

Morgan Roberts

That buck is the four five point that I shot off of the peak in Rockland.  Took me twenty minutes to hike up to him;  I think David was with me.  That is when the fellow came up from the backside of our mountain, lost.  He saw us when he got to the summit and plowed right up through the brush and steep side to us.   He had missed a canyon and ended up down towards the ranch to the east.  he shot a two point and was dragging it down toward the bottom east when he ran into another hunter, who told him he was in the wrong canyon and pointed him back west our way. He was Drenched in sweat and beside himself with relief he had found someone. To help him. I took him up to the top of the ridge and showed him Stewart canyon and a s we talked a jeep came up the road below us in Stewart looking for him.  I showed him the way down and he shot down that canyon like a bullet.  It turned out to be a relative of ken Anderson who was up there hunting.  Don’t know what happened to his two point.  But he sure was happy to see us.  Dad

Sent from my iPad

Hunting Trip Albion and Three Nice Bucks, around 2006

Me in the pickup with my two-point, Dad with his 4 point and Hal with mom's 2x3.

I believe this was the year 2006, but it might have been 2005 or 2007.  I will eventually have to figure out this date.  Me, Mom and Dad had drawn a tag for Albion area which is the area where Mom and Dad live.  I don't believe Hal was with us the first section of the hunt.  We had left the house early in the morning and walked west up the ridge, which is a pretty gradual slope, toward the Independence mountains (what I call them).  Mom usually hikes around up here for exercise and she said she had seen some bucks this way, which is why we decided to do what we did.   After awhile me and mom followed one ridge to the left and Dad went to the right.  Then a little further mom went even further left and I was on a ridge in between mom and dad.  When I came to the point of the ridge I could see around three deer straight west but they were quite a way off.  I could see mom to the left and she was pointing at them but she would have been about twice as far away from them as me.  I believe they were a couple of does and a small buck.  I debated, but I decided to try a shot.  I shot and hit below them and it spooked them off.  Afterwards,  mom came toward me and we started toward Dad who was on the other side of the small spring.  As I approached the spring I saw the same deer on the hillside a little lower than where I had first seen him and I took another shot and  brought him down.   This is the small two point that I'm holding in the truck in the picture above.  Apparently, my first shot had not spooked them too bad.  I cleaned him out and either while I was doing that or shortly after, I heard a shot, and lo and behold, Dad had shot a nice 4x4 that was laying in the brush trying not to be seen.  It wasn't very far, maybe a  hundred to hundred fifty yards or so.  Dad is holding that buck in the picture above.

At some point we had decided to go down and get the horses so we could pack the deer out.  Dad might have been leaving to get the horses when he shot his buck.  It seems to me that we both ended up going down and getting horses and then riding them back up.  It was an easy pack down and out since Dad knows the ranchers and where all the gates are.  

Four sets of deer antlers.  These are deer that I got between probably 2007-2013.  There should be one more set in there, which was the two-point in this story, but some creature ran off with the head.  I had left it by the shed overnight and it was gone the next day.  Mom felt sorry for me and gave me her 2x3 which is the second from the bottom.  That was the one she got in this story.  The first set was a deer I got in Sublette, it is a tiny two-point, almost just a 1x2.  The third one I got in Sublette as well, which will be featured in another story later as that one is very interesting.  The bigger one I got in Albion on the other side of the mountain from where this story took place and that was in 2013.  That story is featured in this blog already in January of 2014..  I also got a nice 4 point in 2016 (along with Hugh and Dad) very close to the same place as this story and that I wrote about in February of 2017.  

I think it was later that week, somebody told us they had seen some deer down by the highway near an intersection with a dirt road.  We all drove down there and saw a small herd.  At this point we had Hal with us.  Mom still needed to fill her tag and so Dad and Hal stayed in the truck and drove off out of sight while I went with mom and snuck through the sagebrush and junipers until we saw the deer.  They were in a little ravine and the first one was a nice 2x3 buck just walking toward us.  There was also a smaller two point behind it and possibly another small buck and some does.  We shot the 2x3 and it dropped dead.  This is the deer that Hal is holding in the picture above.  Fortunately it was not too far from the road and we were able to drag it to the truck and take it home and clean it up.  

Dad's Version:

The year that these three buck were taken, blanked out but here is the story.

Harriet had been walking up through the back sagebrush to the forest line across north to Lloyds and down to highway and back home.  Several times while hiking west, she would jump deer out feeding in the sagebrush.

So when we drew out we decided to hike up through there on opening morning and see if we could get one.  

Myself, chad and mom left at daybreak and hiked up through the sagebrush towards the mountain and forest ground.  As it started getting light we were at the base of the forest ground and hadn’t seen any deer.  

We decided to split up so Harriet and Chad went left up a deep gully towards the mountain and Lloyd’s spring.  I went to the right up the bottom gully of the springs.  As it got light enough to see well, I counted 73 head of deer feeding in the bottom of the gully and up the Rocky side.  All does No bucks. As I worked up the gully, I spotted Chad getting to the top of a hill looking into the steep side of the mountain above the springs.  Harriet was up further south on the steep side.  We were all conversing to the center point above the springs.   

As I watched through the Binoculars I could see some deer feeding along the side right next to the tree line above the springs.   There was a two point in the bunch.  It was a long shot but Chad knelt down and shot at the buck.  It hunched but kept walking towards the south into some brush.  I never seen it come out of the brush so I decided it was down. 

I hiked up the side and followed the path that the deer was on and Chad was working his way up there.  Harriet was above coming down.  I found the deer and it was dead.  Chad said that was a longer shot than he anticipated.  We cleaned it and we decided to go back home and saddle the horses and bring them back up to carry the deer out.  

As I made my way down past the springs,( Chad and Harriet were still tidying up the deer), I looked back up towards the mountain next to a rockslide inside some brush there was a four point kind  of hiding watching me.  It was probably 200 yards.   I yelled to Harriet that if she could somehow sneak down towards me she could get a shot at this buck.  She hesitated so I crouched down and snuck, crawled up a few yards, and took a steady aim and shot.  The four point buckled and now we had two.  

We cleaned the deer and Chad decided to go with me and we would hike back to the house and get two horses and the pickup and come back up.  Harriet was going to stay up there and hunt.  We hiked down to the house, saddled up and Chad led one horse and rode the other and I took the pickup up through Jay Blacks land and stopped at the forest Service gate line.  We took the horses up to the deer, Chads first, and then mine, loaded then up and took them down to the pickup for the trip home. 

During that week of the hunt, we decided to slow cruise the roads around close to home.  As we came down the lane next to the Lloyds over in a juniper covered ravine, we saw a small group of deer; I saw horns but didn’t know how big.  We didn’t stop the pickup, we just went real slow and Chad and Harriet quietly and quickly slipped out of the pickup and we kept driving very slowly.  They snuck over towards the ravine to see if they could get a shot.  Hal was with me and as we got to the bottom of the lane and turning around, we heard a shot.  We drove back up and he got out and went over to see what happened.  They were able to get a decent shot and they dropped it at the edge of the ravine.  We didn’t feel right about cleaning it on private property, so they drug it over to the road and we muscled it into the back and took it home were we cleaned it out and hung it up with the other two.  So we all filled our tags that year. 

Roberts Family Reunion 2019 Fish Creek Reservoir

Sunrise Fish Creek Reservoir

June 27-29, 2019

This year the reunion was put on by Jennifer at Fish Creek Reservoir.  Fish Creek Reservoir is a lake where we frequently used to go camping and fishing when we were kids.  It usually grows fish pretty fast once they are planted there.  The last several years there has not been enough water in it to do much and recently they have made it so it could hold water again.  The level of the reservoir is still lower than what it was when we were kids but you can put a small boat on it now.  

Morning Reflection on Fish Creek Reservoir, taken with Iphone

Click this link for:    Fishing Video

My family did not arrive until Thursday afternoon on the 27th.  It is about 3.5 hours to drive there.  Those that came were myself, Katy and Quinn.  Teresa had to stay home because we have too many employees that are too new and she didn't want a wreck when we came back.  Macey had some other commitment as well. We left kind of late in the morning as we still had to pack up a lot of stuff.  I decided not to take the Wildcat since the roads around there are so dusty, and to take the pontoon boat instead.  The kids wanted to take their home-made kayaks too.  It was a little difficult in getting them and the pontoon boat all in one load since they are so awkward in shape.  I ended up using the Wildcat trailer to put the pontoon boat on and all the camping gear and then the kayaks in the back of the truck.  I had to tie everything in weird places because the trailer has lots of gaps where things could slide out.  Plus I had to have the tailgate down to fit the kayaks.  

We got it all loaded and then headed out.  It was a nice day of driving and we made it all the way across the desert to Arco without hitting a deer.  We fueled up in Arco and headed across the next stretch past Craters of the Moon, and about 5 miles before Carey turned off the highway north, onto a dirt road.  Its only a few miles to the reservoir from there.  I was really surprised to see a whole bunch of campers and tents already in the spot we were going to camp and at first thought I was in the wrong place.  Usually we are one of the first to show up.  Then I realized we usually would show up on Wednesday and this was Thursday so, yes, everybody should be there.  We drove through the gate  on the dusty road to the campsite and then kind of went around and to the south side of the main group.  There were some really nice flat areas that we could set our tents up.  You could tell the water used to come up that high because of the scarcity of vegetation and the flatness of the soil.

We set up a small tent for each of us, since there were only three of us.  It was more compact to load the truck with three small backpacking tents than to bring the big family sized tent.  We set up the canopy and the kitchen.  It only took a few minutes but since we were out in the open and the wind could blow really hard I went around and asked for some big stakes to borrow to hold the canopy down.  Jennifer had some and they were stout so I pounded them in the ground.  

We cooked hamburgers that night and realized we had forgotten all seasonings.  We did have a bag of really salty sour cream and onion Lay's brand potato chips so I crunched them up into the hamburgers.  Quinn was supposed to cook since he had a rank advancement he was working on, but it ended up being more me and Katy doing it.  He did help clean a little though.  The hamburgers turned out to be pretty decent with the chips in them.  

Sunset with the Roberts' family reunion

Dad came over sometime after we ate and we rode with him over to some small cliffs overlooking the reservoir.  We climbed down to them and fished there for a little while but the wind started blowing obnoxiously and we decided to quit.  A lot of other family members had come over as well and I don't think anybody caught any fish but a rattle snake did show up.  Dad told me that earlier they had found one or two rattlesnakes down by the beach area and Morgan had shot one.  There is a photo of it in his set.

We talked to a few people after supper and by then David had showed up.  He was the last one to get here after me.  All family member siblings were present but we were missing a few people here and there from each family that had to work or had other commitments.

There was a pretty good sunset so I set up the tripod and took a few pictures with my 5D Mark IV camera.  I went to bed after that as Katy and Quinn were already snoring.  I slept really good on my new Thermarest pad which is mainly for backpacking but it inflates higher than my standard pad.  Quite amazing technology and it's supposed to have a high R value for winter camping.  

Sunrise

I woke up before 6 am the next morning and looked out.  It had the makings of a really good sunrise which stinks because if that happens I can never go back to sleep in case of a good photo opportunity.   Of course it just fizzled and there was no really good sunrise but I got out and took some photos anyway.  I got some shots with my phone looking out my tent door and they are the crooked ones.  I then got my Canon and the tripod and got some nice shots as well.  I would say they are not spectacular but I do like them.

Phone pic sunrise from tent

Phone pic out of tent door while I'm lying there.

The rest are morning pics from the DSLR

All of my camp.  My tent on left, canopy, truck then Katy and Quinn's tent.  All the campers and other tents belong to the rest of the family

My camp

One of my favorites

One of my other favorites.  Quinn's tent in foreground and David's camp in background

Katy and Quinn's tents

Dust from a leaving vehicle

Add caption

Currant bush

 After breakfast we went out walking and looking for somewhere to put in the kayaks and the pontoon boat.  Dad drove over and told us there was  a spot over by the dam where we could get it in.  He was headed over there with his and Jennifer was with him.  We hopped in the truck and pulled the trailer over where he was and was able to get the pontoon and kayaks in with minimal effort.  The mud was pretty gooey though but we got through it ok.

The kids scooted out in their kayaks and as kayaks are so fast they were out there a long ways before I was.  Dad also was out there a long ways and so I paddled across the water before getting out my fly rod.  I put on a dry fly that looked kind of like a mayfly but after awhile had no success.  I noticed the wind was moving us pretty fast along the shoreline so decided to try trolling with a fly.  I found a really big heavy black bead-headed stonefly and put it on.  It sank probably 5 or 6 feet down since I only have regular fly line on.  It was low enough though and before long I had a hit.  The difficult thing in those pontoon boats is you can't row and fish at the same time (which really is in any boat).  I had my rod in a holder that is rubberized and sticky and so when you go to grab it, it takes a sec to get it out.  By then the fish is off.  So I missed a couple good hits before hooking my first fish.

Dad on his pontoon

Quinn and Katy in their home-made kayaks

Jennifer after we put dad in

My trailer and pontoon boat

Finally, on one of the next good hits, I set the hook properly and fought with a nice brook trout for awhile.  It was pretty good sized and unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of it.  I kept it to eat later as it was obviously not a planter.  It later turned out to be a very tasty fat hunk of meat.  I do have it in my video but you cannot see it very good.  It had bright colors and I'm guessing was around 13-14 maybe 15 inches.  It was heavy and strong.  We had a hard time getting it in as I had forgotten my net.  (Seems like I forget a lot of things these days).  Dad paddled over to me and was able to net it.  It was kind of hard catching a fish while trying to keep my pontoon in the right spot so he could get close enough to net it.  But in reality, it turned out to be easier for the other guy to net the fish than to net it yourself in the pontoon boat.  We ended up teaming up like that on the next few fish.

After putting the brookie on the stringer I started fishing again.  Dad was asking me what I was using and so I told him.  I did not have another and he did not have one he could get to easy enough and so he started paddling ashore so he could dig into his boxes of flies and find one.  I kept fishing and the same thing would happen and I would get a hit and then not be able to grab the pole fast enough.  It was still fun and its always a good feeling when you find a fly that will work well.  

Tragedy soon struck however, when something huge hit my fly and before I could even grab the pole the line was hitting me in the face.  Something had grabbed my fly and had snapped it off with so much force that it had bent my pole like a bow and shot the line toward me like an arrow.  I was quite sad to lose that fly.  It had caught me a lot of fish over the years, especially in high mountain lakes.  In my bag in the truck I knew I had another but it was a long paddle back to the truck.  I went over to where dad was and found he had a whole box of big black similar flies, both with bead heads and without.  He had tied one on without a bead head.  I grabbed a more showy one with a bead head about the same size as the one I lost.  It was probably an inch and a quarter in length.  We started out fishing again and before long I had another hit.  Dad  had gotten out sooner but had not gotten any bites so he switched to a bead head.  Not long after he got a strike but had the same problem of getting to the pole fast enough.  

Bam!!  Suddenly I had a huge hit and my fly came out of the water.  I flipped it back immediately, and BAM!  The same fish hit it again and with my pole in hand hooked him easily.  It turned out to be a rainbow a little bit bigger than the brookie but also heavy and fat.  Dad netted him for me again.   We started rowing up-wind back toward the dam which was a long ways away.  I decided since we had been out on the water a long time I wanted to get closer to the truck.  I had a few more hits but was unable to hook another.  We had paddled quite a ways toward the dam when dad finally hooked into one.  I ended up netting him.  I wish we had the kids around and they could have video'd our teamwork but they had left long ago and had taken the video camera with them.  This turned out to be the biggest fish of the day, about an inch bigger than my rainbow, and it was also a rainbow.  

We ended up going back to the beach and loading up after dad caught his fish.  We'd been on the water quite awhile and my legs were getting pretty sunburned.  The wind was also kicking up.  We got our stuff out of the water and some other people in a big fifth-wheel camper had showed up on the beach and were waiting for us to move so they could camp there.  They had also parked another vehicle right in the road that lead back to our camp.  Not too big of a deal, there weren't too many rocks so I started going around in the sage brush.  All of a sudden I heard honking and thought maybe somebody was trying to tell me I was headed for disaster.  It turned out to be a mad guy coming from the other way also wanting to go the way I was.  He started honking and yelling.  I had made Katy get out and check for rocks or holes but once I heard him yelling I just told her to get back in and went on my way.  Pretty soon that guy came up behind me and was tailgating me as I slowly made my way down the bumpy road.  He soon pulled off at a spot that looked camp-worthy though, and we forgot about him.  I'm amazed at how intolerant people can be sometimes.  

My camp

We went back to camp and rested until dinner which was going to be combined with the whole camp.  We took over our potatoes, chicken and salad for the people preparing it.  Most of the dinner was cooked on dutch ovens and turned out to be pretty good.  There was cobbler and ice-cream for dessert.  

Quinn wanted to be a cyclops

After dinner we had a program where Dad conducted and then Katy told a story about William Butler who was an ancestor of ours and an early convert to the church.  Rather than re-tell that story I will try to put her notes in this blog at the end.  Katy did a good job and spent about 20 minutes telling the story of this pioneer and missionary.  After Katy's story Dad had asked James to sing us primary songs, but instead of singing us songs he tried to make us sing them instead.  It was good, however and we had fun.  Unfortunately, I have no photos of the group or food.  I'm slipping.

Night photos.  My tent on left then Katy's is the whitish dome and Quinn's is the yellowish greenish tent

My tent on left and then Katy and Quinns

One of Hugh's tents in background and then Katy and Quinn

David's camp

My tent all by itself on a starry night

Again, I stayed up to photograph the camp at night.  There was no sunset but I decided to photograph our glowing tents with the campers in the background.  I had each of the kids and myself hang a flashlight in the tents so they glowed.  I got some neat photos that way.

We packed up most of camp that evening and by morning we only had a few things to put away and tie down.  We woke up and did our few things to pack up and suddenly were ready to go.  I think we left before 9 am.  We had packed light with only a few things and were still comfortable and had a good time.  In the past, we brought so much stuff that it was quite a chore to go camping.  I've never had much desire to buy a camper, as a tent and outdoor stove has always been fine.  Now I might even go lighter than before from now on.

Hugh's Photos:

Hugh and Morgan sent me some very similar photos.  They must have had two people, one from each family, standing side by side taking the same photo on a couple of these.  Thanks Hugh.

Abigail, Kirsten, Evelyn and Troy in the background

Logan, Meghan and Chloe

Chloe and Meghan

Zoey and Jaden

Holly

Kirsten

Morgan's Photos

The next series is Morgan's photos.   Thank you Morgan.   Unfortunately, I did not take many photos of people and so he has lots of his own family's photos and a few others.  I'd like to have at least a couple pics from each family.  If anybody else would like to send photos I can always add them later.  Also I am not sure of the order for Morgan's photos but they can be arranged later if necessary

Logan fishing

Logan, Jennifer and dad in his pontoon.  Looks kind of heavy on the back.  This might be when he was trying to mount an electric motor on it.

Evelyn, Grace, Logan, Jennifer

A rattlesnake curled up in the bush

You can see it better

You can see  it a lot better but its dead

Grace and some of the other families in the back.  James is in the Yellow

Meghan, Chloe and Jaden

Chad, Quinn, Katy, Dad

Logan

Grace and Jaden

Adam, James, and I believe Alex, Toby, Gavin, Jeremy and Seth

Grace

Grace, Zoey, Jaden

Alvin and the chipmunks

Zoey

Abigail, Kirsten, Evelyn

Morgan and Chloe

Logan, Meghan, Chloe

Morgan and Chloe

Grace

Zoey, Logan, Meghan, Chloe

Chloe

Logan and Dustin

Jaden and Grace

Chloe and Meghan

Gavin

Chloe

Morgan, Chloe and Grace in their camper

Zoey

Zoey

Abigail, Evelyn and Zoey

Chloe, Mom and Grace

Mom, Grace and Morgan

Logan

Chloe

Evelyn

Leigh's Photos:

Toby and his trident-tailed fish

Excited dad

Leigh and Jennifer

Jackson and Alex

Sunset

The gang

Logan, Dustin, Gavin

Holly and Liza

Jon and Sherry

Jon's rig and a bunch of kids

Katy's story: 
This is how she wrote it.  There is a huge story written about him if you would like to read all of it.  You can contact Katy or Dad.

William George Butler

Relation: Grandpas grandmas (Vincey Miriam Butler)- Vincey’s father (Jonathan Harvey Butler)- Jonathan’s father William George Butler.

Grandpas 2 great grandfather

Background: William was born on August 15, 1825 in Gorey Ireland. When he was 15 his father died, then five years later is mom died. His father’s business was raising racing horses. One-year William bet all the money he could borrow into one horse. Unfortunately, the week that horse was to race it got sick and died. Because of this misfortune William lost all the money he bet on and was not happy about it. So, on his 21^st birthday he decided to leave and go to Canada. But, if he would have stayed in Ireland, he would have inherited 118 acers of land with nice horse stables on it. So, he gave the estate to his little brother and left.

“I got a job on a river boat and worked as a stevedore to a town by the name of Richmond, Canada. From here I went on foot, working my way, until I came to the Saint Lawrence River. Here again I worked my way to pay my passage to Toronto, Canada. Here I found my uncles, Henry and Robert Colburne, and we all journeyed to DuPage Co., Illinois. When I last heard from them, they were still there. Not being satisfied to stay here – the spirt of travel being so strong on me, I went still further west till I came to St. Louis. From thence I took passage on a steamboat for Council Bluffs.”

“We traveled on to Council Bluffs. Here I found Orson Hyde organizing companies for the Salt Lake Valley. He being the first Mormon I had heard preach, I noticed particularly what he said to the people – the promises he made that they would proceed in safety on their journey to the end. I also noticed that those who disobeyed his council brought sickness and death upon themselves.”

So, this when the gospel first sparked his interest. William then travelled with the saints and tended to the sick. When they came upon Platte River, they were so worn out that they decided to rest for 12 days. He decided that this was too long of a wait, so William and another man left and started on foot.

Bad Water and Milk

·       Pretends they are William

·       Really thirsty would they drink the bad water?

·       Yes, they get sick and lay in the hot sun

·       Travelers come and give them milk and take care of them

Bear: “We traveled on till we came to two men travelling alone. We traveled in company with them until night and then camped in a low place in the brush. One of the men, and Irishman, got up at midnight to light his pipe. His comrade woke me and exclaimed, “There is a bear!” Whereupon I called my comrade. We got a pistol and a knife with the intention of going for the bear, as we supposed, when to our surprise we found it to be the Irishman, who, seeing the danger he was in, Exclaimed, “I am not a bear!” Where at we had a good laugh. 

Next Day/After Bear: “I kept gaining strength daily, so that I was enabled to travel with ease. My companion kept getting worse all the time. With great difficulty I got him along as far as Green Rover, when we began to get short of provisions. Here we found a cow that had been left by a company on account of it lameness. We drove it about a mile to a camp and sold it for five pounds of bacon and fifty cents in money, which enabled me to get to my journey’s end. A the Green Rover crossing the ferry man had been murdered for his money, and the ferry boat sunk by some fasten together with willows. Previous to this we tried to ford the stream but found it impartible. I took a pole and ferried ourselves a crossed. The logs sunk under the water up to our knees and in this plight, we got across. Our p[provisions also got wet and we had to dry them as best we could.”

More Background: “We traveled on till we came to the head of Echo Canyon. Here I left my companion, he being sick, with a company we had overtook. I then took my knife and pistol, tightened my belt, my provisions being about gave out, and started out on a trot, realizing the importance of getting to the valley as soon as possible. The last day of my journey I had but an ounce of pork. On this I made my way to the first house in the valley, where I was treated to a good supper and bed – the first bed I had slept on since the first of April, 1850 till I landed in the valley on the 16^th of August in 1850. It was just 16 days since I left Deer Creek on the Platte, a distance of four hundred and twenty miles, making twenty miles a day. The company I left at Deer Creek did not arrive until about the last of September. It was Saturday when I arrived. The next morning I went to a meeting in the Old Bowery on temple Block where I heard the Elders speaking upon the very things I had passed through and seen on the plains, especially in regard to those who had persecuted the saints from the states of Missouri and Illinois.”

“I commenced on the Monday following to work for Brother Van Cott who lived close by the Temple Block and who proved to be an honorable man. The next man I worked for was Chauncey Webb. About the middle of the fist month (September) I was with this same Brother Webb. I called on him to baptize me in City Creek, Salt Lake City. I was confirmed under the hands of Bishop Taft Webb.”

“About a month later the Spirit manifested to me that I had to go back to my native country and the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel. My answer was, “Oh, Lord, why has thou called me, for I am uneducated and unqualified.” But the answer was, “The blood of that people will be required of you if you disobey.” Thereupon I said, “I am in your hands and will do the best I can.”

On the dedication for the old tabernacle in Salt Lake City William was able to take the sacrament for the first time. Before he left on his mission, he needed to earn some money. He worked in digging drainage and irrigation ditches.

Shipwreck

Now William is on a ship heading to Ireland. They have been through a couple of storms but, they’ve had sunny skies for the past couple of days. Until they are almost there and their shipwrecks on some rocks.

·       Hold your wrecked ship (Sticks)

·       Sit on your rocks

·       Get sprays by the ocean

·       You have to stay there for 3 weeks until someone can help you

Siblings: When William arrived in Ireland the first thing, he did was visit his brother Henry. Henry was on his death bed and would not except the gospel. Henry and William’s friends told William that he was wrong and a madman. After Henry died William had a dream that his older brother George was going to pass away. So, William went to visit him. George also did not listen to William and begged him to stay home and not go back to the Mormons. William did not back down to his brothers wishes. Soon George passed away.

England: After serving some time in Ireland William was then transferred to England. Here he met his wife Emma. After Emma excepted the gospel they got married, Emma’s mother did not agree so, they sailed to Boston.

Back to the Valley: Emma and William left from Iowa City with the handcart companies. William was appointed to driving the milk cows and the beef cattle. On the trail William got sick. He told Emma to go on and leave him. So, Emma drove the cattle for William. A couple of days later William was better and could catch up with the others. Emma and William safely to Salt Lake Valley. Then later moved to Ogden.

Rainbow: Although it is impossible to reach the end of the rainbow, the rainbow has since become an Irish symbol of hope. As most people hope to one day find the riches in the pot, others use the rainbow to signify fulfillment, desire and purpose. They use this imagery as a way to reach the land beyond, and the land that holds all of their hopes and dreams.

There are hundreds of symbols in Ireland, but one of the most important images in the Irish culture is the rainbow. Although largely associated with the Leprechaun, they also stand on their own two feet as symbols in themselves…