Dubois, your fun little town

Well, one thing is for sure, Dubois may be small, but there is always something going on! One of the highlights for us so far was the Packhorse Race. Now, I'm sure there aren't too many of this type event around. There were 5 teams in this years contest. It is held in the park just East of the National Bighorn Sheep Center. Here is a condensed version of the rules for this competition.

1. Each team consists of 2 people, 1 pack animal and 2 saddle horses.

2. Each team will compete with the following equipment. 2 western saddles for the riding horses. 1 pack saddle on the pack horse.

3. 1 canvas wall tent at least 8x10, equiped with at least 2 front ties, and 4 side ropes.

4. Minimum 6 tent stakes

5. 1 camp stove

6 1 axe

7. 1 shovel

8. 2 sleeping bags or bed rolls, each at least 20"x60"

9. 1 pack cover

10. Tent ropes and 1 lash ropeand cinch

Tent poles will be furnished. The race is a timed

event with all teams starting at the same time. Each team must take down their tent, gather their gear and load it on their pack horse. If anything falls off during the race, the team will be penalized, so securing the load is imparative. After the pack is set, the team starts on the predetermined route. The route is a 7 mile loop, and the saddle horses must not go faster than a trot, or they will be penalized. There are judges, along the route making sure that each team stays on the route. When the teams complete the 7 mile route, they return to the starting gate, unload their packs and unsaddle their horses. Time is called and a vet is available to check any horse that may be having problems.

After 10 minutes, each team is allowed to resaddle and pack their animal and run the 7 mile route once more. After returning the second time to the starting gate, they must unpack and unsaddle their horses and pitch their tent and put out all of their equipment. At this point their time is called. Both members of each team wore matching shirts, so it was easy to differenciate the red team, blue, yellow, etc. (The red team won!)

The team that won it this year won by a substantial margin, and we were told they were returning champs from last year.

There is a $100.00 entry fee for each open class team, $65.00 for each womens and old timers team. The women and old timers run on Sunday and the Open class is on Saturday.

It was a very fun event to witness. All of the participants were very adept at the task at hand and you could tell had practiced many hours. Ah, only in Dubois!!

Dubois, Our Summer Home

We got to Dubois, the Wednesday before Memorial day, as we had to start work the holiday weekend. The Big Horn Sheep Center is very nice, quite a nice place to spend a few hours. We have quite a few tourists that stop in. We are located right by the city park, so it is nice for folks to stop in and visit. This bronze stands outside the center.

We work 3 days a week. Barry is the "yard boy," he says he has to be the yard boy as he doesn't have the body to be the "pool boy!" He mows, sprays weeds, keeps the sprinkler system up to snuff, and just generally does all the outdoor stuff. I work inside in the gift shop and the center itself. It is kind of nice, as they use the same computer program as the Bosque used, so not much to learn, although I think this may be a newer version, as it is much, much easier!

The Whiskey Mountains near Dubois have the biggest herd of Big Horn Sheep found in the US.

The center is owned and operated by a private non-profit organization that supports the well being of the herd. There are many bighorn sheep mounts in the center like the one to the right. There are also heads from the 16 different sheep that comprize the world grand slam.

We live in the Dubois KOA. It is right in down town Dubois. Dubois has a population of about 952. There is a pretty nice grocery store, 4 or 5 restaurants and two bars and an active VFW. If an of you saw the movie Taking Chance, it was about a young marine from Dubois that was killed in Iraq. I was here in Dubois on the day they buried him in 2006. It is a great movie, although it wasn't filmed here, it was filmed in MT. The Rustic Pine bar is our favorite, I don't think it has changed an iota for the last 30 years. The VFW is quite active which is nice to see since most VFWs have fallen by the wayside in the last few years.

The Wind River, as well as Horse Creek run through Dubois. As you can see, the Wind is running pretty high. It is now much redder that when I took this photo last week, as there are red cliffs, rocks and soil near here. I think the river will run high for some time yet, as there is still a lot of snow up on top of the Wind River Mountains.

So, that is where we are this summer. We wish all of you could come see us!

Spring time in WY

Well, we made it to WY. We didn't break any time records because we were afraid we would get there before winter had gone. Of course, you never know it WY. It has been known to snow every month of the year!

We got into Casper and spent several weeks there, betting Dr., dentist and other appointments accomplished. The highlight of our stay in Casper was attending our grandson Jevin's piano recital. What fun that was! He plays really well for only having been taking lessons for 5 months.

We fished the Platte River some while we were in

Casper. We went out to the "Rattle Snake Hole", a favorite of our families to fish. Well, we didn't see any rattle snakes but we saw 6 bull snakes, among them, these two mating! First for us, we had never seen snakes mate before. You can see, the female is not as bright colored as the male. For sure it was spring time in WY!

I did manage to catch a nice 18 inch rainbow that day. It was a really beautiful day, nice and sunny and hardly any wind, which is so rare in WY. While Barry was fishing, I sit down and scribbled down my sentiments.

Spring Time on The Platte

When the morning brings the sunrise, and I stand to face the day,

I realize my "should dos", all seem to fade away.

With the wind only a murmur, my heart reacts with glee,

The river calls me softly, I know where I need to be.

I grab my gear and ponder, what those pesky boys might take,

My arsenal is ready, with flies of every make.

I don my waders, string my rod, and feel the quiver in my soul,

Now I'm only minutes from my long awaited goal.

The wild flowers nod and wave to me, and I smell their spicy scent,

When they speak of paradise, this is what they meant.

I gaze upon the water,oh could there maybe be,

a trout nose on the surface, rising up to feed?

A butterfly flits by me, he's a marvel to see,

A meadow lark sings sweetly, songs meant only just for me.

The trees have ceased their winter sleep, and take on their summer dress,

A black bird calls out to her mate, "Lets hurry, build a nest".

The sound of moving water, gently settles on my ear,

The sun's warmth softly tells me, spring is finally here.

I came to catch a brown trout, or a rainbow maybe two,

When finally I realize, its the whole experience I pursue.

This ol pelican was cruising down

the river, I think he was fishin' too.

So, we finished up all of stuff in Casper, and made our way up north to Dubois, where we will spend the summer.