Two weekends ago several guys travelled up to the middle of Wyoming for our now annual Antelope hunt. There were four of us on that trip. Two of us had buck and doe tags (Virgil and I), two had doe tags (Justin and Nick). Within our first hour of getting to our area Virgil had his buck and he filled his doe tag the next day.

This was Nick’s first hunt and he filled his doe tag on the second day of the hunt (after having a shot at 150 yards he didn’t take because he couldn’t settle down ). I wasn’t actually there (Virgil was his “guide”) but I hear it was a nice shot and it was a good-sized doe.

Justin wasn’t able to fill either of his doe tags (VERY unusual for this hunting area…just wasn’t his year I guess). I filled my doe tag on the second day. I had a shot on a buck the first day as well as the second day, but missed on both shots!! I could not believe it (and the first one was a very nice buck). We had to leave a little early because of some weather that was moving into the area (they actually got quite a bit of snow so it was a good decision).

However, that left me without a buck (since I couldn’t hit one to save my life). So, I went back this past Saturday to give it one more try. Another buddy of mine (Brett) was up there as well. I hunted alone in the morning with no luck and met up with Brett t about noon. I had one more stalk left so I headed out while Brett packed up his camp (he had shot his buck the morning prior).

Long story short…after a 2 hour stalk on a group of 75 antelope I finally got my first buck ever. The pack-out was brutal but in the end it’s always worth it. I didn’t have a camera with me in the field (couldn’t find it before I left) so here are some shots from home (not the greatest, but you get the idea):

He’s about a 12 inch buck (not great, but not bad either). I dropped him off at the taxidermist yesterday to get mounted (you gotta mount the first right?). The bad news? I get him back in about a YEAR! But the wait should be worth it. We (Justin, Nick and I) head out to Craig in two weeks for our deer hunt so hopefully there is a monster buck in my near future.  And if not, I’m sure there will be plenty of tales to tell.

One week from today I will be in the middle of Wyoming hunting antelope for 5 days (hopefully it will only take 1 or 2).  This is my second year hunting (you can see the results of last year’s hunt here) and my first year with a buck tag. There are five of us going on this particular hunt this year and I can’t wait to get up there and get started!

I officially have hunting fever…I am so ready to hit the road and get started. Hopefully I come home with some meat for the fridge and something like this to hang on the wall (in the garage of course):

I will have all the details (along with pictures) when I get back. Until then I’ll have to live with my fever…the anticipation is killing me!

Denver Broncos Training Camp 2008 officially start today!! I heard yesterday that this is the last weekend of the year without a broadcast football game (I know, it’s preseason, but it’s something!).  I love this time of year because the season is full of just one thing…PROMISE. I plan on making it to at least one training camp session this year and am excited about the Bronco’s possibilities. Am I expecting the Super Bowl? Uh…no. Am I expecting the playoffs? Yes. I am also expecting a lot of young players to start making some contributions on both sides of the ball. I am expecting Mr. Cutler to make some significant strides in his game. My biggest question mark…the defensive line of course?!?!? Win or lose…the season is upon us!

BTW, my preseason prediction? 10-6

In addition to training camp starting, fantasy football is coming too! Our draft starts on August 16th and I am looking forward to a much better year than last year (3-10! ). We have some new teams in the league which is always fun and we expanded it from 10 to 12 players. We are also turning it into a Keeper League which should add a little more interest.

Sigh…football is here…all seems right with the world!

P.S.: Heading to Jackson Lake for the weekend with family and friends so no posts for the next couple of days (sorry Nick). Will have pics and stories to share when I get back. Peace out!

Confession is good for the soul…right? Well,here is my confession for the day…

I am addicted to Bibles!

There…I said it. Now, I know what you may be thinking: “What? Addicted to Bibles?” You heard me right, I’m officially addicted to Bibles. Taking me anywhere near a Bible bookstore is just plain dangerous. At last count I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 20+ Bibles. Sure, I have different versions and many of them have a different purpose (study, etc). But deep down that’s not the real reason I like buying Bibles…no matter how “holy” it might sound.

I even got a new one that ”I just had to have” today. This despite the fact that I got the “perfect” Bible for Christmas (and I do still love that Bible…by far my favorite!). Why did I get this new Bible? Ready for it? Because it looked cool!  On the practical side (a.k.a.: my justification) it is smaller than my good Bible and I can take it places I wouldn’t take my good one (like hunting and camping). Never mind the fact that I certainly have other Bibles that fit that same bill.

What’s worse is that I also think I’m becoming a Bible snoob!  It has to be cool, or have good leather, be a good version, et al. Use a pulpit Bible?? Who would even suggest such a thing! I know there are MUCH worse addictions in life (and I have one or two of those as well), but I just had to let someone know. So now you know…I’ll see you at the bookstore…you can probably find me in the Bible section (or looking for the latest Nooma video).

Thanks to my buddy Paul (who says I am now out of touch) I learned yesterday that Battlestar Galactica is starts back up this Friday, April 4th (I wouldn’t have missed it thanks to Tivo, but how did I not know this???) Now if you don’t watch much television…good for you!

If you do, but you haven’t watched this show…shame on you! It is only the best show on TV. Period. This is the last season for the show and it has been looooooong anticipated (it’s been almost a year since the last season ended).

Why do we (yes, Anita too) love this show? To quote Napoleon Dynamite: “Because it’s awesome!” The show has great character development (you love them and you hate them). It has theology (monotheism versus polytheism). It has great special effects (especially for a TV show). The storyline is fantastic…keeps you guessing and coming back for more.

Both Anita and I are looking forward to this last season. If you are a fan…leave a comment sharing why you like (or dislike) the show. If you’re not…run, don’t walk, to your nearest video rental store and get the first season. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Today was the day I took the plunge on upgrading my blog. I did two major upgrades:

1. Upgraded to WordPress 2.5 (just released this weekend). For those of you who don’t blog this might not mean much. WordPress is the software that makes this website possible. This latest upgrade has been in the works for awhile and so far I love it!! I was surprised how easy it was to complete the upgrade. I did it manually in under an hour and most of that time was deleting and uploading files. If you’re curious about this please let me know…would be happy to help anyone out looking to do the same.
2. Upgrade my blog theme. This one you can see for yourself and it took much longer than the software upgrade. I was going to wait until Journeyman Journal was a year old (coming up), but I just couldn’t wait. Let me know what you think of the new look. I still have plenty of tweaking to do, but so far I am pleased with this change as well.

I’m sure this is only the start…again, let me know what you think!

On my way into work I typically listen to talk radio. It’s usually either Laura Ingram or a local sport’s station. This morning I just wasn’t into it the talk so I turned on some tunes. I have Sirius radio so I have lots of options, but that doesn’t always mean you’re going to get good music when you want it (although it does increase the odds).

Have you ever had one of those days when you just can’t find anything you want to listen to? Or one of those days when you’re just not in the mood for music? I’m no audiophile so those days come fairly often. I’m kind of picky and have three main categories for my music interests:

1. Contemporary Christian (and I do mean contemporary)
2. The 80’s (it is my generation) 
3. Classic Rock (especially the later stuff)

This morning I could NOT go wrong. I was either really in the mood or the stations were hitting on all cylinders this morning. For 30+ minutes I was rocking and rolling to some good stuff! Everything from Lynard Skynard to Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joan Jett. There were some good 80’s tunes in the mix too.

It certainly set the tone (pun intended) for the rest of my day. I may be back to talk radio tomorrow morning…or I might just see if this morning was a fluke or not…rock on!!

 I actually read Your God Is Too Safe book last year before I started blogging, but have picked it up again as I am using it as a sort of “textbook” for my next Faith Basics series on “Holy Habits”. The title alone got me to buy and read the book, but I got more than I bargained for! Mark Buchanan has a fresh writing style unlike anything I have read in secular or Christian works. He has a way of making the mundane come alive and getting his reader to see things from a new perspective. This book is all but guaranteed to change your spiritual journey…at worst it will get you thinking about things differently.

I have read one other book by Buchanan (The Rest of God), but Your God Is Too Safe is the better of the two. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to grow in their walk and read a new author with fresh ideas and a new style. I look forward to reading some of Buchanan’s other works as well.

Here is the excerpt from his website summarizing what Your God Is Too Safe is all about:

Here’s a thoughtful, probing exploration of why Christians get stuck in the place of complacency, dryness, and tedium — and how to move on to new levels of spiritual passion! Buchanan shows how the majority of Christians begin their spiritual journey with excitement and enthusiasm — only to get bogged down in a “borderland” — an in-between space beyond the “old life” but short of the abundant, adventurous existence promised by Jesus. Citing Jonah, he examines the problem of “borderland living” — where doubt, disappointment, guilt, and wonderlessness keep people in a quagmire of mediocrity — then offers solutions … effective ways to get unstuck and move into a bold, unpredictable, exhilarating walk with Christ. Inspired writing!

Happy reading!

This past Saturday was Logan and Kyle’s Pinewood Derby race. Last year we didn’t do so well (dead last I believe it was) so this year we put a little more effort into it. Instead of crayon coloring a pre-cut block of wood and doing as little as we could, we went nearly all-out this year in an effort to at least get a respectable showing.

We did buy a pre-cut car, but we bought one that looked like it could perform…not just look good. I also decided we would spend time on the most important part of the car…the wheels and axles. We bought some nail axles (I hate the straight models) and all the stuff we needed to grind, sand, and polish them to a perfect set of axles. We even went to far as to make sure one axle wasn’t touching the track (legal and makes for less friction…which is the name of the game).

It took a considerable amount of time, but we got that car and it’s axles as perfect as we could. No burs, shined to perfection, and lubed up and ready to run. On race day we got the weight at a perfect 5.0 ounces and watched as the competition rolled in…about 20 cars in total. I know this sounds smug, but I thought we had a good chance to at least make the top 3 (at least I was hoping for it…Logan needed it!)

And boy did that car of his perform! We watched a few races until it was our turn and most of the cars were turning in track times around 3.5 seconds. The fastest cars were getting close to 3 seconds, but nobody had broken the 3 second barrier (including Kyle’s car, which we hadn’t spent quite as much elbow grease on). Then it was Logan’s turn…

He was matched up against the car I thought had a good chance of being the fastest car there. You run against each car twice…but it’s the track time that really counts. Not only did Logan’s car win a VERY close race, but he posted a time of 2.918 seconds (the fastest track time for the entire day)!! He also won the second race (again, very close) with a sub-3 second time.

His last two races where slower: 3.000 and 3.400 seconds (the last one was due to running off the track). They throw out the highest and lowest times and Logan’s car came in second place for the entire Troop/Pack…losing by only 0.08 seconds (that last run killed his total time) to the car he first raced and beat.

It was a fun day for Logan, Kyle and the rest of the family. Logan won first place in his Den, First place in the Pack for a Pre-Cut Car, and Second Place Overall…I loved seeing that smile on his face when he knew how well he had done!! He didn’t win a trophy (don’t get me started), but we went out and bought him the trophy he’s holding in the picture above…he had earned it.

Kyle also won first place in his division. So it was a good day on the track for the Baumgartners. I must admit that I’m glad the next race is a year away…it’s a lot of work…but it was worth it this year!!   =0)