Monday, February 21, 2011

Bird dogs, Gentleman Bob and the Quitaque Trail.


Buckwheat

Jack the Dog and Mrs.and Mr Bob

Bobby

Hazel
things that stick
Caprock Canyons
Red River
Quitaque Bison
Tur-duc-in
More Caprock
Susan and I were greeted by a beautiful Comanche Moon at our motel a few miles west of the Okie border after driving most of Thursday night. Our bill of lading included five English Setters of different abilities, two Boykins, two different type sixers of Shiner Bock, a Collings Guitar,a couple of bottles of Chile's best grape and the attitude to do bodily harm to Gentleman Bob. At first light we put the paws on the ground with my three easiest dogs to handle with Jack the dog the leader. I know the Texas Panhandle is arid country, but this was pretty damn dry even in their book. We felt like  Bedouin Shepherds after a few hours of following Jack and his band of rouges. Gentleman Bob once again proved to be pretty elusive, but we did locate a few. The dogs worked hard, its tough country and we spent a lot of time picking out some sort of thorn or sticker.  They sure liked it when you pulled the cholla cactus out for them. Eighty degrees and few birds meant it was soon time for a game plan change. After driving by some of the historic ranches, rich with Texas history, (the Mill Iron, Matador, and Antelope among others) we set our new destination for the Caprock State Park. What a beautiful place!  The rock colors and multi layered sediment was stunning. There are several day and overnight backpacking trails available for every age and fitness level. We were invited by a local rancher to come look for arrowheads at a campsite so we will probably combine that with a backpacking trip later this year. Taking the ancient Quitaque Trail through its namesake town a couple of things caught our eye in a closed dry goods store window. A really old Golden Eagle mount caught my eye but Susan had made her way across the street to a really creepy mounted two-headed calf, also done many years ago. She was finally talked out of taking a picture and hexing our trip and camera! We left the Cap and headed to a friends bird  hunting ranch for dinner. We enjoyed a Turducin cooked by his Cajun guest.  It was great, the wine was great and the songs we listened to were a lot of fun.  I can truly say" Susan, why don't you run to the store for a Turducin" has never been in my vocabulary. The greatest thing about upland hunting is to be with family and friends enjoying places off the beaten path. You see places and meet people that don't deal with the typical tourist everyday. Hell some don't see many people in a month! We look forward,  not backwards. Dove season in a Delta sunflower field, North Dakota and Montana endless horizons, Texas and Kansas in the dead of winter.Got to get my fly fishing up to par now!

No comments:

Post a Comment