Slinging Shit Again

This letter went out today...

G*vernor $chweitzer:

I write to you today as a citizen of Montana and an actively voting Democrat who continues to feel excessive pains at the fuel pump. Typically, I try not to get overly upset by the cost of fueling my truck; however, last night I was watching the local evening news and photographs were shown of a couple different gas stations that indicate the price of unleaded premium gasoline in Des Moines, Iowa is currently $2.54/gallon. I paid $3.30 for a gallon of diesel last Friday.

I realize that you are actively pursuing technologies and the economic development of coal gasification, and I have read your April 2006 letter to Mike McGrath to look into unfair trade practices with the oil companies. I am also aware that a while back you asked the local refineries to give Montanans a break at the pump, which they refused. I hope that in the 2007 Legislative Session you will use your influence to have bills introduced that would defray the cost of state fuel taxes away from Montanans and place them onto the refineries who continue to emit pollutants into Montana’s air and water at a considerable profit.

Montana is ranked 48th in median household income, with only Mississippi and West Virginia trailing behind (US Census Bureau). Montana is tied with Wisconsin for the highest state fuel tax. Montana has a higher tax on diesel and Wisconsin has a higher tax on gasoline (Montanagasprices.com). Certainly, the companies who continue to post record quarterly profits in the billions could pay a per gallon tax for refining petroleum products in the great state of Montana. I would appreciate a response to this letter explaining why there are such significant inequities in the price of fuel between states, and what short term actions the state of Montana will be taking to reduce the financial burden of excessive fuel costs on its citizens in the upcoming Legislative Session.

Sincerely,

Groover

Almost here.....

A little over a week to go and I'm sitting on the edge of my seat. My bow is sighted in, I got a fresh batch of elk piss, and there is gas in the truck. I'm ready!

Wedding season is over! For those of you who just got hitched there is one more ring left. You see, there is the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the sufferRING!!!! Good luck!

Fatty

Nope....not gonna tell you.
Crazy may fly hatch.

 

Cheating?

Spinning ain't cheating, Walt. It is fun and productive!



Okay, here is one on the fly.

What's the big deal...

We charged the Flathead in smaller crafts, sea kayaks to be exact. ;-)
Fishing was good. Mikey caught the biggest fish and Jason caught the most. He, however, was cheating using a spin rod. Nice float, just a long drive with the road construction. 

The pile

I wish I had a pic of Mikey's arm, but here is one of the pile empty cans. Jesse, you wanted a pic of fish. Well I was rather tuned up everytime I fell into my float tube to fish and I almost always left my camera on shore. Do heads count?
 

Buffaloed

From Kerr Damn to Buffalo Bridge is a sweet stretch of water folks. If you're not a SKIRTING BITCH.....ahem, there's some good whitewater, and compared to the Gorge, there was no one on it.




Cheers to warm Flathead Lake water and the smallies that love it. The bright green bath water coming out of the dam was beautiful, and clear enough to sight fish.



We hammered the bass. That's all I'll say Groover.



Plenty of water for some hucking. How high y'all think that is?



It's a beautiful gorge with the feel of a desert river. High walls topped with sage and dust.
The whitewater was a blast. At 8000 cfs, there is some big shit, but we took the the toughest lines we could find and didn't see the wrongside of anyone's boat.

"I WANT MORE MEAT!" said Holly....
after crashing the nastiest line Buffalo Rapid had to throw at her. Zach raised an eyebrow.

As a heads up, locals said 10,000 cfs is the best level for this one.



This is the "Ledge" it was by far the biggest at that level with two good drops and a hole that would swallow a Hyside no problem. It's center right of the frame.

Float Tubin

I put my pack on and start walking. We are not really sure where the road ends and the trail starts. I'm ahead of Mikey and Hefe. I hear a distant hum of an engine and the "god damn" echoing in the canyon confirms it. I push ahead wanting to get to the lake first. It was one of the easiest hikes I have ever done. I get to the lake look for a decent camp and start unpacking, I'm thinking "where the hell are those guys?". No worries, I'll start blowing up my float tube. What seemed like a half hour, I see Mikey walking into camp with a scared up face and arm, guarding his right side. I wish I would have seen him go ass over tea kettle carrying 20 beers and a bottle of vodka on the top of his pack.


If any of you were planning on hiking into Ivanhoe for some fishing, I'd suggest going somewhere else. We caught some fish but it wasn't on fire like a high country lake should be. I hope they keep the woods open for one more weekend........I need redemption.

Get Down & Cover Up

This post may be a little premature since waterfowl opener still hasn’t been determined and is most likely at least two months away, but hey, I am not feeling entirely spring fresh this morning and can write about whatever I want so fuck you! Spring runoff is long since gone and I tend to drift a little. Every year, I seem to buy some gimmicky decoy type thing and the decoy propeller (as shown above) will be the piece-de-resistance at only $10. I’ll of course need at least two or more depending on whether I am going for the j-hook spread, the inverted V or just clumping. Ducks and geese will see the movement, drop their wings and lock into the spread. Then I will shoot, they will all fly away and Miles will squeak at me with utter disappointment as only an epileptic, blind, deaf dog can do.

Ya know, in truth, when you figure the cost per pound of duck and goose meat especially considering by waterfowl season it may be $5/gallon (thanks W), it would be considerably more cost effective to go out and buy the most expensive jerky there is. Then give it away to your friends and coworkers. Where is the fun in that though? Arnold once responded when asked what is best in life, “To crush your enemies and see them driven before you and feel the lamentation of the women.” He has obviously never gotten up at the ass crack of dark, frozen his nuts off, and called/flagged/decoyed geese and ducks into a spread to blast away and smell the wonderful aroma of gun powder in the morning. It smells like victory…