Gun Blogger Rendezvous fund raiser

As usual, we all had a grand time at the annual GBR, but just having fun is not all there is to the GBR.  The event is also a fundraiser with all we manage to raise being given to Soldier's Angels/Project Valour IT to purchase voice activated computers for military personnel who have injuries which no longer able them to physically use a computer keyboard. . Even though we did not raise as much as we did last year, we did raise enough for about 10 voice activated laptop computers to be given to injured military personnel.

Miss Molly 'sweet talking' cash out of the guys for raffle tickets.

"that's it Mr C , buy a couple more" says Liz

Just a fraction of the wonderful prizes donated for our fundraiser raffle.

Bretton, Molly, Mr C

And...The next winner is!

A whole lotta holster and gun for a petite young lady.

A big Thank you to all who participated, all who donated prizes for our raffle, all who sponsored some of our meals. We had a grand time and can hardly wait to do it all over again next year.

Second day of GBR

On the second day of the Gun Blogger Rendezvous, we woke up to a gorgeous sunny day, with the incredible view from our hotel window, of hot air balloons floating lazily against a perfect blue sky.

After enjoying a breakfast sponsored by the NRA, it was scheduled  that all who wanted too, could load up their "toys" and drive out to the Washoe Shooting Facility for a few hours of fun, shooting all kinds of different firearms. I elected to stay behind this time, instead taking a bus and doing a little exploring of a local mall. I also needed to get in a little exercise and walking the large mall was one way of doing so. During the time we at the Rendezvous I always manage to eat way more than I do at home, so getting in a little extra exercise doesn't hurt.

Gun Blogger Rendezvous, Reno, Nevada 2012

We have been back from the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous for almost a week and I am still trying to catch up on all the chores which were pushed onto a 'back burner' to be done on our return.

On Thursday, the first full day in Reno, a group of us visited Cabela's. This store is a wonderland for anyone into any of the shooting sports, camping, fishing etc. I like to compete in pistol matches, but am not into all kinds of firearms, so I went wandering around the store looking at all manner of other things while the guys shopped around for ammunition for the upcoming 'range day'
Cabela's has a fabulous display of taxidermy, and as you stand within a couple of feet of the display, you feel as though you have stepped into an exotic country.

Stay tuned for more on 2012 GBR to come in the next few days.

No words needed

Small plot produces a lot

My garden space measures 20 x 20 feet and produces abundance.

Blue Lake and scarlet runner beans, Bloody butcher tomatoes and sweet blueberries

Whidbey Island through the camera lens

Farm at Ebey's landing

Wordless Wednesday

Friday humor

TWO  DIFFERENT DOCTORS' OFFICES ....
    
    Boy, if  this doesn't hit the nail on the head, I don't know what  does!
    
    
    
    Two  patients limp into two different medical clinics with the same  complaint.  Both have trouble walking and appear to require a  hip replacement. 

    The FIRST patient is  examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time  booked for surgery the following week. 

    The SECOND sees his family  doctor after waiting 3 weeks for an appointment, then waits 8 weeks  to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for  another week and finally has his surgery scheduled for 6 months from  then.
    Why the different treatment for the two patients?









    The  FIRST is a Golden Retriever.
    The  SECOND is a Senior  Citizen.
    
    Next time  take me to a vet!

Our weekend at Abbotsford Canada

This past weekend we shot the Steel Challenge pistol match at Abbotsford BC Canada.Although I did not do well, I had a grand time and made new friends. We will be going back to this range in the future.

Club house

Upstairs in the club house

Museum quality taxidermy on the walls of the club house

One of the covered shooting areas

Looking from the backside of one of the stages towards the shooting station.

Add caption

Not every range has it's own water feature, see the small waterfall in the background.

Setting up one of the stages of steel challenge

Our youngest competitor, 7 year old Chris and his Dad

'Cute as a bug's ear'

This stage is called 'outer limits'

Mike M

Brennan

Small plane crash

Looking over the neighbors rooftop at the overturned plane on the left.

 This afternoon we heard a commotion on the road outside our house, and when we went out to investigate we saw firetrucks and aid vehicles parked in the pasture alongside the road. We asked what was going on and were told there was a small plane upside down in the wetlands down below our house.
The story goes, a homebuilt aircraft ran out of fuel and attempted to put down in the pasture, but must have flipped when coming up against the tall grass. Fortunately the pilot was unhurt.

A couple of local television station helicopters flew around the scene taking footage for a newscast.

Wordless Wednesday

Eddy Brown Memorial Metal Match trip 2012

Thursday afternoon we left Whidbey Island in our RV for Smelterville Idaho, to compete in the Eddy Brown Memorial Metal Match. On December 28, 2000 the man responsible for bringing the Steel Challenge Shooting event to Canada and the Northwest died of a massive heart attack at the age of 37 in his home in Cranbrook, BC. His name was Eddy Brown.
The drive was long but uneventful, and around 9:30 pm we finally pulled into a place beside the river near our destination, to catch a few hours sleep before driving out to the range in the morning.We thought there would be guys at the range, who would need some help sometime on Friday to set up the steel targets for the match to held on Saturday, but later on we learned the targets would be set early in the morning.

This interesting old mine is located in the valley,down the road from the range.

We decided to hang out at the range for a while on Friday, and the only cool spot we could find, was up in the covered shooting area for the rifle range. Every so often a cooler breeze would find us, giving us a little relief but it was still uncomfortable, especially as there were also pesky, annoying flies buzzing around. As we rested, we noticed the clouds rolling up over the hills in the distance, and knew an electrical storm was in the making. We decided a nap was in order so we went back to the RV, opened all the windows and settled in for a nap. Pretty soon the wind was gusting, and thunder rumbled in the distance. A few drops of rain pattered on the RV roof so I closed all the windows and settled back down to listen to the thunder and lightening storm which surrounded us. All of a sudden there was what I thought to be very heavy raindrops pounding us, but looking out the window we saw dime sized hail coming down. Wow! what a storm, with wind, thunder, lightening, large hail, then it all passed over us, the sun came out,and finally we had humidity. Gasp!

The morning of the match dawned cooler with fog drifting down over the hills, and those pesky flies were not around to torment us, although we do carry bug spray to protect ourselves.

It wasn't long before the fog dispersed and it became quite hot. We were thankful for the canopies which were placed for our comfort. This photo is taken from the uppermost stages, and I can tell you it is quite a walk up the hill in the heat carrying heavy equipment.

As you can see, the range is located in a valley surrounded by very high hills, but the photo does not really show just how high those hills are.
We had a great time shooting the match, and as usual we met some new people who also enjoy the sport as much as we do, and we hope to meet up with them again next year.

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You ask, how did you do?

A picture or two speaks a thousand words

Yes indeed, we brought home five trophies

These are mine

These are Mike's