nascar hunters

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had to spend the past 4 days in "noth keh-a-lina" (north carolina for those from rio linda). had a free day wed. so travelled down charlotte way and toured a buncha the nascar shops. DEI, RCR, Roush, Petty, Yates. was quite surpised how much these guys are into hunting and conservation. i knew a lot of em hunted and stuff, but some of the stuff that i saw sorta made me feel good. first thing you see at DEI, before you see car or a trophy, is 2 bulls that Dale Earnhardt shot. one from the gila range in new mex and one from the white mt. rez. both were high 300 grossing or maybe even low 400 bulls. big and gnarly. Richard Childress has a big wildlife display. polar bear, several grizzlies and browns and blacks. some really big elk, muleys, and whitetail. a lion. and even one really nice coues from mexico. there were a lot of different plaques with a lot of things written on them, but there were several with his views on hunting and conservation that really made me think. he really has a true respect for the animals he pursues and it really made me feel good to read what he had written about his love of hunting and fishing and his love of pursuing it with family and friends. you could tell a real sadness in his words about missing his friend, Dale Earnhardt and how he missed being in the woods with him. sorta hit me hard, knowing that my ol' man don't have near as many moons after now as he's had before and knowing that one o' these seasons, i'm gonna hafta do it without him. sure made me think and appreciate what i've got to do with that ol' codger. Earnhardt supports quite a few conservation efforts and even has one of his own. he is also a big supporter of the boy scouts, as am i, and made no apologies for it. anyway, i've always been a big fan o' the good ol' boys from nascar and now i'm even a bigger one. made me feel good to see and read the things i did. just thought i'd pass it along. later, Lark.