Out hunting

I did make it out for a evening hunt on Tuesday. It was wonderful ... the first snow locally of the winter blowing sideways so I could no longer glass the opposing canyon hills for deer, then sun and some powerful winds. Typical Idaho fall time backcountry weather, although I wasn't real far off the road. I did see four does about a thousand yards off, and just like usual, one of them busted me before I saw them. Another case of moving to fast and not using the binoculars enough. That far away I could tell they weren't too concerned with me, so I dipped into the bottom of the draw I was headed up and crested the ridge, then began to contour my way to where the deer were last seen. That's when it really began to snow, so I hunkered up and used a big old sage as a windbreak. There's an old saying in Idaho (and elsewhere) that goes something like "if you don't like the weather in Idaho, wait fifteen minutes and it'll change." I have never seen it be so litterally true, as it went from three hundred yard visability to blue skies and sunny in fifteen minutes. The hunt was back on, unfortunately, the deer did not get that message and in typical mule deeg- grey ghost fashion, simply disapeared.

I have done some birdhunting in this partcular little valley in the past and ran across a really old homestead. Here's a couple cell phone pictures, one from the hillside above and one along one of the walls. To me it looks like a home foundation and a root cellar, but there is absolutley no wood left, so either it is REALLY old or the wood was removed years ago for some other project. Cool non the less, and there is also an old mine a ways further up, more fun places to explore in Idaho.