GONNA BE GONE TILL LABOR DAY

[Suzuki Johnny]

Now I know some of you aren't interested but for the others that do care.....
We leave first thing in the morning....takes about 10 hours ( 545 miles ) total travel time with one stop for fuel and lunch and a few other rest room stops [emoji106] We have made it in 8 hours and 45 minutes but that was a special occasion..we had to get back pronto because of an approaching hurricane.....it missed us but we were not taking any chances...we don't bring all our pets with us on those west Texas trips and they needed taking care of in the interim. [emoji106]

My Sweet Wife and I are headed to Rule, Texas...some 50 some odd miles northwest of Abilene, Texas......for our annual opening day of dove season..
north section opens up on Thursday September 1....and if the Good Lord is willing to see fit.............I'm gonna be there
limit is 15 doves per day and there hasn't been one day that I haven't filled my limit and then some [emoji106] ..
No I'm not an outlaw,,,,,at times there are 5 to 10 hunters... and about an hour before sunset we get together and count how many we need to fill all the limits..........and then we go get some more... [emoji106] And even if we don't get them all there's plenty flying around the truck when we are leaving...many a time we have knocked down the last of 150 birds in one days hunt.
I remember one year when we had 21 licensed hunters in the field and we filled every limit....over 300 doves fell that day
we was cleaning doves till 11 pm that night....we'd take turns at the cleaning table...as soon as you finished your turn we'd drink a cold one
One thing about those Texans is that they , like coonasses, can drink....More cans of beer were consumed than doves killed in the field....
best thing about hunting doves in that particular part of the country is we can stay at my FIL's homestead and kill 6 to 10 doves every morning..
But getting ready for the hunt is just as exciting as the hunt itself...you should see those Texans getting ready.....looks like Sam Houston's regulars getting ready for the Battle at San Jacinto Everything from side arms and look alike Bowie knifes...But it's all good preparation...along with those items are plenty of snake bite kits just in case.....that part of the country ( The Great Plains ) is known for a healthy population of diamondback rattlers. I've had a few encounters with them but luckily for me they all gave advanced warnings when I got too close..
Last year the cost of an out of state special 5 day migratory bird hunt permit was $54.00 but for all the non stop action..it's well worth it.
Last year was rather slim pickins but we somehow managed to fill our limits all five days......this year I'm just gonna hunt 4 days as we will be returning on Monday Labor Day
Wife has to return to work that week....so she's gonna have one days recoup time.

So I hope you guys play nice
and we ll see you'll on the flip side..
And please keep the rubber side down [emoji106]

[Suzuki Johnny]

ON THE ROAD AGAIN [emoji106]


SIGNING OFF TILL NEXT MONDAY NIGHT

[BlacktopTravelr]

I take it you are on your way so I'll just say good luck... see you when you get back. [emoji106] [space]

[HARRIS]

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU, ON YOUR NEW TIRES TOO ...

[MadCow]

Hope you have a great time!

[Spyder]

Strange, I thought you'd be celebrating "ALBOR DAY" with Designer.

[NE_FL]

Whatcha gonna do with all them snakeskins?

[Suzuki Johnny]

I'M BACK......and none the less of it, although it was a strange trip going...there....and coming back........ to say the least




The metropolis if Rule, Texas...pop 437 (as of 2010 ) one caution light, one gas stop ( Allsups ) one operating bank and one antique shop ( open on request, otherwise mostly on the weekends )




The hill....tallest point in Haskell county...My FIL's grand parents built a home on the hill top in the early 1900's, he was a true "Cowboy".
We now take taget practice with the hill has a back stop


FIL's property at his old homestead comprises of 99 acres including a pond ( they call 'em tanks )..this is the road leading up to his pond.
His home is at the end of the county road so anything after that is just a trail...


Here's is the country we hunt in ...looks more like a desert than anything else...several hundred cattle occupy the landscape when we aren't there


One of two ponds connected to each other...this is where the morning doves congregate about an hour before sunset..they gotta have their daily dosage of water ....we have two bird dogs for retrieval ....saves a lot of swimming on our part [emoji2]


My hunting spot.....we all have a favorite spot to hunt....when we first got permission to hunt on this property I choose this spot because of the shade it provided on them sunny 103 degree afternoons [emoji106]




View from my stand....although I don't get as many shooting opportunities as others that are scattered around the pond during the early afternoon... it's the ideal place come sunset....50% of the birds coming in cross right in front of my view.


It's 5 o clock somewhere .......My sweet wife Cindy starting off the afternoon
She is the head Chef while we are there....we had BBQ doves and quail.....hamburgers......pork loin.....10 bean soup.....pecan and peach pies
potato salad.....and plenty of Miller Lites [emoji106]




Now getting back to the weird trip...going we lost our air conditioning on our truck in Centerville, Tx on I-45, rather we lost an actuator that controls the heat / cooling..and it was stuck on heat.........lots of heat, what was worst to me that is ....was the constant clicking that accompanied the loss of A/C
On Friday morning we took the truck to the closest Ford dealership in Anson some 35 miles away and they informed us what the problem was, how long it was going to take and how much it was going to cost (ouch)..... we left it there Friday night and they called Saturday morning to inform us that it was ready ....wife and a cousin left to go and get it and the wife calls from the dealership and informs me that we will have to make an additional trip back to the dealership......to retrieve her brand new Ford Mustang......I say WHAT??????? [emoji2]
Sure enough while she was there she found the car she's been wanting for a long time.....
It's a left over 2015 with 22 miles on the odo....and at the price they had reduced it to..she just couldn't pass the deal up



Oh and the return trip.....we had to take a detour on hwy 164...just a few miles from I-45 and detour to Normangee and then back on Hwy 79 to 45
Then to top it all off traffic on I-45 south was a total nightmare...bumper to bumper for 80 miles....and one accident where a pick up and run off the road and did a roll over down an embankment...
All in all a good trip besides the do overs [emoji106]


TOTAL MILEAGE

[Spitfire]

Wow Johnny sound like you had an interesting trip alright. Reminds me of a time I went to go get lawn mower gas and the wife talked me into stopping to look at cars and we bought one. Heck, you was only an hour and a half from my house. We pass through Anson whenever we go to Oklahoma.

[BlacktopTravelr]

hmm, went dove hunting and got a Mustang? Sounds like something a coonass would do. Nice looking car. [emoji106] Glad to hear the trip wasn't any worse than it was.

[old time rider]

My grandson that works for CSX travels a lot and last week of last month was in a pile up on 75.He got over and would have been ok but then got rear ended and totaled his little toyota he had got just for work as his big block crew cab chevy used about ten times as much.He replaced it next week end with a one owner like new 40,000 mile Mustang.011 I think and would call it lip stick red.Six speed and only a v-six but 300+ hp so feels nice when foot in it.
How many times has Cindy been called Sally now? Bet you have played the song a few times since. Nice car.

[Suzuki Johnny]

No rattle snakes this trip....it's been raining quite a bit in that part of the country, which is very unusual to say the least....everything is green [emoji106]

[dm1400]

we had BBQ doves and quail.....hamburgers......pork loin.....

You had me at BBQ... [emoji106]

Thanks for the write up & especially the pics. Looks like a good time.

Nice ride!

[Suzuki Johnny]

We usually bring some shrimp to fry but the crew was to big and we would have had to catch another 50 pounds to feed that bunch...
Fresh shrimp is hard to find in west Texas, at least of any size fit to fry.....but the dove and quail were the main entree this go around
My sweet wife cooks a breakfast fit for a king and queen on the first morning of the season..we brought some fig preserves and it made a big hit.