Outdoor Writer

Dandy buck. Good job. -TONY

Most definitely! Anything sort of vintage would be great. Mike, That's nor'easter speak. -TONY

Nope, left that business way back in 1979 when some CA guy offered me twice what I had paid for lodge. Today, it's worth $1 million. Actually, the scouts were better than most of the adults I took on pack trips. There was very little complaining, and they behaved fairly well. Rodeos with pack animals are a blast. I lost count of them after a while. On one hunting trip, we headed into our camp. When we got to the campsite, I handed the lead rope for a skittish mule to one guy and asked him to tie it to a sturdy tree. He led the mule to a 6' tall skinny fir and tied a knot about 2' down from the top, then walked away. The mule pulled once, jerked the tree right out of the ground and took off on a dead run, headed back down the trail for home with the tree in tow. We had packed it with two ice chests filled with food. One had a few dozen burritos in it. The packs eventually got lopsided and came undone. The lid of the one ice chest opened, and burritos were flying everywhere. We had to chase that dang mule a good two miles before we got around in front of it enough to grab the lead rope and slow it to a walk. Of course, the worst rodeos are the costly ones. We had two horses on two different occasions go over the side of steep cliffs because of backpackers scaring the dickens out of them. -TONY

Aaaa, yuppers. That's me. I owned a resort at Vallecito Lake about 20 miles from Durango and spent my summers and falls guiding fishermen and hunters. The photo was taken on a fishing trip into the Weminuche Wilderness. I had about 10 Boy Scouts and two leaders in tow on that one. I had just saddled Chiquita and was fastening her hobbles around her neck for safekeeping. Ronaldo, Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. -TONY

This is a shot circa 1975 of a long-haired, hippie cowboy in the Colorado high country with his trusty Appaloosa mare, Chiquita.

Bill, Yup. Crosby Acres it is. I couldn't remember the name. Mike is an electrician and he spends many hours in the bar at Molly's! He's also an avid fisherman, spending most of his time fishing the Little Colorado for brown trout. He's been up there a long time, too, so I'd bet you have crossed paths a few times. -TONY

I'll start it in the Non-hunting trip reports since there's no other appropriate section. Look for the thread title, "The Good 'Ol Days." -TONY

Wanna camp together??? -TONY

Jeff, Okay, I got the photo to open. I had to DL it first rather than just view it by clicking the file name. Great nostalgic shot. I have tons of old pix like that around that were taken with instamatic type cameras. Quality stinks, but they're always fun to look at again. -TONY

Save it as a JPG first, then use the Browse/Upload function below the message box. Once you have it uploaded, click on the file name in the Manage Current Attachments dealie and it will insert the image into your message wherever the cursor was in your reply. -TONY

Thanks, Darren. Glad you enjoyed it. I wish everyone shot photos as well as Josh, Scott Adams and a couple others here. -TONY

Jeff For some reason, I couldn't open the BMP you attached. Dave, Yup, elk were a lot scarcer in the 60s. I killed a small raghorn, but a friend of mine who was a Maricopa County deputy killed a dandy 6x6. Unit 1 is also where one of the more humorous things that has ever happened to me took place on a deer hunt. If we ever get together, remind me to tell you about it. Bill, I have a friend who owns a cabin in Greer. His name is Mike McCormick. His cabin is in that development to the right on the main road coming into town. If I recall the turnoff is just before the campground. Do you know him? -TONY

I think the reel on my son's pole was a 202. And yes, we all slept in that 8x10 Camel tent back then. He'll turn 43 next month. The one in the boat with me will be 46 next May. This is the younger of the two about two years ago. -TONY This one was on the beach at Point Lobos, Mex. His mother told him not to get too close to the water.

I spent a lot of time up in that area in the 1960s and early 1970s. My first AZ elk permit in the late 1960s was in unit 1. I haven't been around Alpine or Hannagan's Meadow in many, many years. Closest I've been is Big Lake a few years ago, but we got there from the other road off the reservation. These are three pix from Big Lake, circa 1968-69. -TONY

Nah. No need. I already spoke to him this morning. He'll be up in Unit 1 guiding elk hunters during the rifle hunt and then he also has a couple bowhunters. -TONY

So far, YOU are the only RSVP. So we can enjoy some shrimp, wings and other goodies while downing a few brews together. -TONY

Aaa, OK. I thought that was the case, but your comment almost made it sound as if it still existed. So it got me to wondering. Thanks. -TONY

Is that lodge still operating?? -TONY

And don't let him mess with your putter either! -TONY

Doug, One thing I forgot to mention: I'll try to get Corky Richardson and Duwane to attend if they aren't guiding hunters on the early bull hunt that weekend. I had mentioned it to Corky a week or two go before we had finalized the date. Duwane has been guiding bowhunters all week, so I haven't talked to him yet. -TONY

Jim, Have a good hunt and be sure to get lots of good photos if you kill any decent bulls. I'll have several article openings for 2008 for Coues, mulies and elk. -TONY

Do you work at night?? If the positive replies don't pick up within the next few days, I might cancel it due to the lack of interest and reschedule it sometime next year. -TONY

Nice buck! -TONY

Yup, got it and just replied. You probably didn't check the box to save a copy. Anyway, thanks for the great offer. For everyone, Dave will be contributing a first-edition copy of the 1980 Bowhunting In Arizona book -- a worthwhile collector's item -- to the auction. He has already bid $100 for it, so any bids will have to top his generous one. Amanda, you might get enough for a trip to Cancun. -TONY

Marshall, I don't get over that way to often, but I'll be at Bass Pro in Mesa this Thurs. (13th) for a meeting. Will be in the Islamorada Seafood restaurant from about 11:30 to 2 or so. -TONY