I received the call from Officer Ken Clay from the Arizona Game & Fish Department at about 3:00 pm on Labor Day. Something strange had happened and he was requesting that I immediately travel up to a remote location just east of Chevlon Butte for a meeting. Ken was a little vague about the particulars but he did say it was regarding my old friend “BB”. Since it was a holiday weekend and since traffic was coming back into town rather than headed to the mountains, I was able to make record time. I was a little concerned that “BB” himself had not called and when Ken had mentioned “BB”, I immediately began to worry. I knew that hunting season was still 2 weeks away and therefore he was not in any danger that way. I thought about those pesky Mexican gray wolves but knew they were not supposed to be in Unit 4A, but hey, those wolves have been known to wander a lot further than that. So with the hamsters being driven to maximum overdrive (amazing what those bottles of 5 hour energy drinks can do to hamsters), the Prius and I arrived at the meeting spot in less than 3 hours. Continue reading →

Through the years “BB” has occasionally been in a reflective mood. Just this week he had sent me a Tine Mail message requesting a meeting. Since our last conversation he had continually Tine Mailed me tidbits of information regarding a whole myriad of thoughts and ideas. With the summer heat boiling those who live in the Valley of the Sun, I took full advantage of his request and headed for the appointed spot. True to his word, “BB” had traversed a lot of the Rim country and our meeting took place outside of
Winslow over to the Chevlon Butte area. The new moon brightened up the sky and I found him fairly easily grazing in a small opening just a mile south of the large water tank that hovers over the 99 road south of Winslow. I pulled off the main road and picked him up immediately in my high beams. For as old as he is getting, “BB” looked really marvelous. The spread on his rack was well over 45 inches and his beams were thick and growing into a massive set that would make most hunters drool come the September hunts. I shut down the Prius and headed out to talk. Continue reading →

As the sun began to set over the Four Peaks Wilderness area I wolfed down a great steak that was served up from the Arizona Deer Association. They had sponsored a work project in unit 23 called the Twin Buttes catchment. The labor had certainly kept me busy and I really did not feel like doing anything but relaxing after that, but I had my commitment to “BB” to meet him on the west side of the Picture Mountain area. I borrowed a truck (Okay, maybe commandeered is a better term) and headed out to meet up with “BB”. Continue reading →