Arrived in Montana

We have arrived in Montana and the reason for the trip has begun. Our timing was perfect weather wise; it has cooled down nicely,in fact our first night here it dropped to 17 degrees. The Open Range passed its first cold test with flying colors, keeping us warm and comfortable. We are dry camping in a small town, parked in a quiet grassy lot that conveniently is 300 yards from a craft Brewery with most excellent beer. Bird hunters: No worries about hot spotting here, this is big country.


Sitting at the bar there we befriended a young man whose bicycle was leaning against the building by the front door. He was from NJ but had been working in Oregon and is presently riding his bike to Chicago to visit his grandmother. We invited him to join us for dinner as Mike grilled the sharptail grouse that I had shot that day and were a first for me. They were delicious! Unfortunately I missed getting a photo of his custom helmet that included a bison head with horns. Really nice, intelligent guy, we wish him the best.
Jacob


Sharptails


Birds we are seeing include sharptails, pheasant and Huns. My setters are enjoying the freedom of stretching out on the open prairie on their first experience out here. In contrast, this is the 6th trip for Mike's Jack and I have been very impressed with him out in the grasses, that dog is a machine. I carried a camera only briefly so far but plan to have more photos once the novelty wears off a bit. Here are a few random shots.











We are easing into a nice routine of hunting until later in the afternoon and then heading back to camp to relax and cook dinner.






Worf the Sheriff doesn't like the chill but doesn't let that keep him from joining in on the party


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