Water Garden Park in Fort Worth

Charlene holding up the old guy (as usual)

We had a super trip as we visited Dallin and Paula and kids in Fort Worth over the weekend. We visited the Kennedy museum in Dallas and the old time stockyards in Fort Worth. It was a great trip for all of us.

2009 Deer Hunt Trophies

Colten with his 32" 3X4, Megan with her 26" 4X5 and Lee with his 26" 4X4. All nice trophy bucks from the October hunt in southwest Utah. Rand got a nice buck in Nevada, Lee got a nice Elk at Indian Peak, and Ian got a nice big horn in Oregon. Overall the family confirmed that we are expert hunters.

Deer Hunt

This was definitely a team effort as Charlene and I got this nice 26" 4 pt buck this morning. We took the gun, license, ammo, and knives as an after thought as we were headed to Hamblin Valley, but not really to hunt. When the deer appeared along the fence and roadway near the farm on our property, Charlene scrambled over the seat to get the gun from the zippered case and the bullets from the back pack while I tried to keep him from crossing the road. Forward - backward - fast - slow - for at least 5 minutes and more than a half mile before we were ready and let him jump the fence less than 50 ft away. I shot him with one shot at less than 50 yrds. It was a hilarious memorable experience.

Elk Hunt

This picture represents the conclusion to weeks of planning, scouting, and lots of hard work. The bull is a 7X10 with some unusual characteristics on his right beam and scores about 350. He was taken near Jackson Wash on the Indian Peak limited entry elk hunt which is a "once in a lifetime" hunt.

This is a picture of the family members who were present for the kill. It was a vigorous and demanding hunt that left us all pretty elated but exhausted. Rand's friend Dave Heath from Mesquite was a valuable resource and contributed greatly to the success of our hunt. Someone told me "the success of your hunt is not measured by the points your bull scores". I found this to be very true. Having family around me during one of the most exciting experiences of my life made it that much more special.

John Deere 8410T

IMG00039.jpg, originally uploaded by Lee Bracken.

I thought all of you tractor buffs would enjoy this picture. This big 230HP John Deere is currently in use at the farm as a rental / demo. It is huge and powerful and is used to prepare a field for new hay.

Beaver Mountain ATV Ride

On Saturday Rulon and Shirley Jones, Ron and Elaine Terry, Howard and Rose Alen Bracken, joined Charlene and I on an all day ATV ride over the Beaver mountains to Big Rock Candy Mountain, Marysvale, and back to Beaver. We saw some beautiful country, nearly 100 mountain goats, and a small herd of deer that have apparently become rather domestic. Enjoy the pictures.

Our four wheelers on the summit looking south towards Mt Delano. This is the home and habitat for a large herd of Rocky Mountain Goats. They could be seen on several different mountains from here.
A rest stop at the Big Rock Candy Mountain resort on Hwy 89.

This is and old mining cabin on the top of the mountain. Near this spot we ran into a group of hunters with their dogs who were hunting bear.

This is a shot of about 50 goats grazing on a hillside. They were quite an attraction and we were not alone in watching and photographing them.

When we learned of a herd of deer that had come into a neighborhood in Beaver, we decided to check it out. I am trying to take a photo and lure a big buck in for a closeup. It wasn't hard.

They liked apples, but they loved eating grain from your hand. I think I will try this during the upcoming deer hunt. I never knew it could be so easy. We have always made it so hard.

Charlene had this big 3 point eating from her hand.