The Next Leg of the Journey Home - December 2010

Now that we got beyond the neck twisting deer stand watch, I was continually scouring the countryside for wildlife. It seemed at least the beasts of the timber and field were smarter than the humans in staying put during the cold.

A stray deer was not to be seen ,but I did happen to find a solitary elk grazing through the snow cover at a commercial elk farm next to the interstate.

In the distance I found a shooting club that provided fuel for my imagination - seeing the shooting lanes busy with hunters practicing in spring ,summertime and fall weather for the upcoming seasons.

This lake had two visible huts from my vantage point on the run. The ice fishing huts were starting to take their places on the lakes. I was entertained by seeing  some very nice - palatial palaces to spend hours participating in the long winter activity - ice fishing, passing us going the opposite direction.

In fact on a trailer following one of the huts there was a full sized sofa  and ice grinding paraphernalia that I assumed was accompanying this one particular hut I felt might be something I wouldn't mind using. As we passed one exit there was a huge sign advertising an upcoming ice fishing tournament with a top prize of $50,000.00. I see that as a great way  to to make some money doing the things you are passionate about.

Whoops! I guess there was one more deer stand on our route just west of Avon,MN...definitely in a spot where a lot of traffic is constantly moving. You wonder how things go for the hunters during the hunting seasons? I bet the deer are so used to extra activity, alarms may not often be apart of their behavior.

I would like to conclude today's post with a picture of the Red River Trails 3-D Archery Club woods by Avon,MN. My early fall travels have brought me past during some of their busy club activities, but the winter weather during this trip made the trails peacefully silent...