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February 27, 2007 - Will Morgan - "I went back to the dairy farm/trout river today with the vet from Vermont (see the "kiwi hospitality" blog at www.themorgan.vox.com I had a WONDERFUL day of fishing. Three of the trout that I caught were over 20 inches. The 2 biggest were rainbows that jumped many times. There are no photos as I was by myself without a net. I was so in awe that I quit fishing an hour early. It just couldn't get any better. I think the fishing is only going to get better as summer fades into fall. " January - December, 2007 - Will Morgan - Will, Susan, Margaret and Cat are taking a year off exploring New Zealand. The girls are in school. Susan and Will are finding other venues. Here's a sample:
Follow their exploits via www.themorgans.vox.com
Double click on the pictures for a slightly larger version. October 26 - 28, 2006 - Cannonball Company (Pat @ (701) 209-0214) of Regent, ND did it again! For the last few years, Michael Zanolli has organized a pheasant hunting trip and included Carl Johnson, Nate Greene and Nat Harris. We limited every day and even had a short upland game hunt for Sharptail Grouse. The results speak for themselves:
Here's what Nate looked like in 2004 (Click to enlarge):
Here's what the group looked like in 2003 (Click to enlarge):
October, 2006 - Doug Hardcastle takes a very nick elk in New Mexico. See Foster Butt for hunting details (615) 865-9323 (or to arrange a hunt for next year).
August 12, 2006 - Robert Alexander and Nat Harris - If Robert ever asks you to go fishing with him, drop whatever you're doing and go. Here are the results of a recent trip he orchestrated in Destin, FL.
February, 2006 - Will
Morgan and Jimmy Barnes.
We should all do more of this. Remember how much fun it was? October 28, 2005 - Eric Fontenot - with bow - For some reason, I cannot get the picture to load. Maybe some day.... Late October, 2003 - North Dakota Pheasant Hunting. Nate Greene, Nat Harris, Carl Johnson and Michael Zanolli ventured near the badlands of North Dakota in pursuit of pheasant and whatever other upland game we could find. The Cannonball Company of Regent, North Dakota were our hosts. It would have been difficult to have planned a better trip - weather wise, bird wise and people wise. Each day we limited (3) on pheasant. Then, on a couple of days, a sharptail grouse or two were thrown in as bonuses. Then, with three meals a day, including a 12 oz. rib-eye each night, perhaps an occasional extra scoop of ice cream on our fresh baked pies, we all managed to gain a pound or two, even though we probably walked over 5 miles a day. It turns out that the good Dr. Zanolli had never shot a sharptail prior to the last day. He managed to claim a sick grouse fresh from having absorbed a dog thrashing from "Cody" (our German Short Haired friend), two 20 gauge # 6 hits at 40 yards each from Nate and Nat... and then he finally claimed him with a 12 gauge direct hit at 20 feet - on a blind, crazed, hovering defenseless bird. By this time, he was down to two shells, having shot an entire box at other sharptails. And, Michael is a AA Champion in sporting clays! In lieu of the snipe hunt that evening, Michael chose to investigate the unusual termite mounds in the vicinity.
Here is our group at 200 pixels horizontal. Let me know how it projects when you double click it. From left to right, we have Michael Zanolli, Nat Harris, Nate Greene and Carl Johnson.
And, to the right is the photo of the two Heart's Desire members with their grouse. This was a tandem effort as Nate blasted one and was about to get a double when the Benelli god chose to jam his 391 auto and Nat finished the job. All in all...a great trip! Nate and I have all the details, but are a little reluctant to share unless you are really serious about going. October, 2003 - New Mexico Elk Hunting. Robert Alexander, Billy Coble, Larry Elchesen, Doug Hardcastle, Nat Harris, Steve Lee, and Tommy Hawkins enjoyed several days in the northern New Mexico mountains near Chama, just north of Santa Fe.
Five of the seven hunters were successful - from left to right, Robert Alexander, Steve "7-shot" Lee, Doug Hardcastle and Nat Harris with Nat's bull elk, Tommy Hawkins and Billy Coble with the only elk Tommy saw, and Larry Elchesen.
Billy Coble is shown here from Tommy's Elk's perspective. (Note - please advise if you are unable to acquire (double click) the larger photo.) The picture on the right is a panorama of the view in the northern part of the Peterson's ranch, where we hunted. This particular scene was taken from the side of the hill where Larry had taken his bull.
In the background is our leader - Tennessee resident guide and taxidermist, Foster Butt - with a proud Tommy in the foreground - smiling and still shaking from the thrill of taking such a magnificent bull elk. When you see Tommy, ask how much he enjoyed his Breakfast Burrito that morning. September, 2003 - Saskatchewan Goose, Duck and Upland Game Hunting. Robert Alexander, Billy Coble, Cameron Coble, Nat Harris, John Myhr and Frank Stephens ventured to the tiny town of Hebert, Saskatchewan for a "go" at Canadian wild fowl.
Here is the home of Austin Tide which served as our headquarters in Herbert. From the new deck, Robert served grilled delicacies of geese, sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge. Austin added his locally famous crock pot rendition of goose (or, whatever) stew.
At the left, the group proudly shows off the morning limit of Canadas and a few speckle bellies. On the right, Cameron Coble is standing in the goose pit.
In the afternoons, Frank and Cameron hunted ducks. The rest of us walked the prairies in search of coveys of sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge (blue grouse). John Myhr is holding a single "Hun" and Nat Harris is holding the two side by side to illustrate the size and color differences. (The sharptail is in the right hand.) Click on the photos for a better size view. July, 2003 - Bolivia Dove Hunting. Billy Coble, Cameron Coble, Frank Stephens and Nat Harris joined seven others with whom we had previously hunted in Argentina, flew to Santa Cruz in central Bolivia and thoroughly enjoyed several days of extraordinary dove hunting. A brief trip summary follows: Day 1 - Departed Nashville at 3 PM, changed planes in Charlotte (forced to use US Airways) and arrived in Miami at 8:15 PM. Departed Miami for Santa Cruz at 11:30 PM and arrived about 6 AM. There we were greeted by Jorge Molinas, who greased our paths through customs and into an awaiting van for a short trip to a 5 star hotel and a 3 hour or so nap, shower, clean up or what have you. At 11-ish, we left for a 25 minute flight from the domestic airport to a dirt strip about 100 yards from the Lodge. We were greeted by the other partner and his wife, Carlos and Olga Olano, quickly settled in to our rooms, ate a little lunch and left for the sunflower field. Some of these pictures are thumb nailed, others are not....
The first afternoon, most of us shot about a 20 box case, with Cameron, Billy and Frank pounding away for over 30 boxes apiece. Our guns were completely broken down and cleaned that night by "Archie", a pseudo gunsmith from Columbia. Some had not seen any oil for a long time. It was very easy for all to fall asleep early. Day 2 - Up at 6:30...breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, papaya juice, sliced pineapple and papaya, vine ripened bananas and plantain, eggs served to order, white and wheat toast, bacon, etc...off to the sorghum fields by 7:30 or so...another 20 boxes by lunch...lunch enjoyed under a tent with iced down towels to greet us...Argentina beef, salad, vegetables, Chilean, Bolivian and Argentinean wine, etc...tough life...then, on to the afternoon session...another 20 plus boxes...hour drive back to the lodge, greeted with fried palomas (doves), banana chips, peanuts, and all the wine and whiskey you would want...then, steak, potatoes, salad, vegetables, etc...crashed by 9:30 at the latest...guns broken down and cleaned every night...
Day 3 - Again, up at 6:30, but a lot slower...Frank sick by now, having been chilled the first night and without Tina for the first time in 6 to 7 months...love sick, home sick, or what-have-you sick...same drill for breakfast, lunch and dinner... This day our outfitter, Jorge, shot a wild ostrich...had him for lunch on Day 4...
Day 4 - This is the day no one should miss...up at 5 or so, quick breakfast, out to the feeding doves...all relatively close IC type shots...however, most hunters were either sore, sick, sleepless for having slept in the same room as a sick one, had open shoulder wounds, or one of many other very real excuses. Those who went experienced the best hunting and the highest percentages of the trip - over 60 % kill for most. The plane, a WWII German-made twin prop jet Dornier 228, arrived with a new energetic group of hunters at noon and we made the return trip. Again we were met with a van, taken to the 5 star hotel, deposited for a 3 hour nap and rest, and ate an excellent meal in their restaurant. After a short drive to the International Airport and the handholding of Jorge through customs with guns and about 400 frozen bird breasts, we were on our way by 10:30 PM...back in Nashville by 11:30 AM.
...more as someone reminds me of an event which needs to be added... To view their website - www.bolivianadventures.com To e-mail for info -
To book a trip - Trek International - www.treksafaris.com ph. 1-800-654-9915 |
