Wyoming Two Year Ago Today

Well, two years ago this morning Papaw Dennis was in Saratoga, Wyoming, looking for pronghorn antelope. It was cold and snowing! The mountains are beautiful when it is snowing. Papaw Dennis had spent the night in a tent in the mountains. The tent's wood burning stove burned out of wood right after he went to sleep, and it got cold inside the tent! The temperature went down to 20 degrees. Papaw Dennis had his insulated underwear on, and socks, and was sleeping in a sleeping bag he bought at Walmart for $14, with a blanket on top, but it was still freezing. The outfitter said to bring a sleeping bag that was rated for zero degrees, and next time Papw Dennis will believe him. At 4:30 in the morning, the outfitter's helper came to the tent and built a fire in the stove, and about 30 minutes later it was warm enough to get up and get dressed for the day. Papaw Dennis saw lots and lots of pronghorn antelope racing across the hills in the snow. He even saw some elk, and heard them bugling from a mile away. He saw coyotes, too, and lots of mule deer with big ears that stick out like a mule's ears do. Being in the wilderness is fun, but it sure can get cold!

The Coyote

Hi Owen and Jack, this weekend Papaw Dennis went to his friend Ricky's corn field to look for doves. But there were not any doves! Hurricane Gustav came through north Louisiana last week, and it must have blown all the doves away toward fields that weren't flooded by the rainwater. It was still a fun day, because around 3 in the afternoon, Papaw Dennis was sitting in his camouflage camp chair on the edge of the corn field when suddenly he could hear something coming through the corn straight toward him. What could it be? Was it a bear? A camel? A llama? No, it was a coyote! The coyote came out of the corn field only a few feet from where Papaw Dennis was sitting.

Coyotes look a little like dogs, but they are not friendly like dogs. They are wild, and when they see people, they turn and run back in to the woods. This was the closest Papaw Dennis had ever been to a coyote. He had seen coyotes a long ways off in Wyoming and in Louisiana, but never this near.

At night, coyotes howl at the moon, kind of like wolves do, but it is more of a spooky sound, like "Yip, yip, yippeee!" It reminds me of the wilderness, the way this land was before the settlers came, back when only Indians lived here. The wild howling will make shivers go up the back of your neck. Papaw Dennis loves to hear coyotes howl!

Be good in school! See you soon!

Owen and Jack Go On Safari

Owen and Jack went on safari with Mom and Dad and Papaw Dennis at Delta Safari near Delhi, Louisiana, in August of 2008. They enjoyed feeding the llamas, ducks, deer, turkeys, goats, and antelope. Owen did not like feeding the camels Elvis and Priscilla because they were too greedy and they kept trying to lick everyone! Guess what Jack found when he went exploring at Papaw Dennis's house? A mouse trap! You never know what you will find when you go adventuring with Papaw Dennis!