Flying Xtra

The ranch partners’ metal storage shed looked like it had been ripped open with a giant can opener. That huge building housing motor homes was shaking, shuddering, and being lifted up into the air by the ferocious, howling winds….

It is late autumn. We drive west on H34 towards the Flying X Ranch. I barely catch a glimpse of Blue Grass Creek. It is a trickle of its former summertime self. The wind does a body block as we turn onto Halleck Canyon Road and head toward the ranch house. Summer’s vibrant greens, multi-hued mountains, purple and yellow wildflowers have all quieted into shades of tans and browns.

Antelope are everywhere, their bouncing white rumps dot the grasslands as large herds migrate to lower elevations for their primary winter refuge. Up ahead and behind us, no dust trails from other partner’s trucks. At the ranch, the RV park is dotted with only a few remaining vehicles. The water faucets are dry. Deer are grazing in the mobile home yards. Last winter, these almost empty neighborhoods were hunting grounds for some young mountain lions.

It is amazingly silent. We sit outside our camper realizing we can hear our heart beat. Even the resident meadowlark is missing from his rock perch. After we go inside, the deer wander and munch around our camper. We appreciate the company. As night closes in, the wind takes control of every loose thing.

Autumn and winter create a different life at the ranch. But even as partners pack up and head out with school years starting and forecasts of cold and snow, there is the ever-present need to maintain, repair, and protect the ranch grounds, buildings, equipment, horses, and human life present. Feeling the chill creep over me, I wonder what it is like for staff members who are here keeping the ranch going when the rest of us are gone. So, of course, I ask them. Each one tells me about their life during the winter and their constant companion—the wind!

Tag along with two old friends, Bud Giguere and Kirk Grable, as they pursue an elk on the ranch. Bud and Kirk wrote their stories of the hunt without peeking at each other’s account. The product is a delightful double-tale of a fantastic time on the Flying X.

The Partner’s Elk Hunt

by Bud Giguere

I’ve been hunting on the Flying X for seven or eight years now.  I started hunting as an adult when a friend in Georgia took me turkey hunting about 10 years ago.  I had forgotten how much joy there was in just “Playing in the woods”.   I spent a great deal of my childhood doing just that.  A couple of 12 year-old boys in the ‘60’s could entertain themselves all day just exploring the outdoors without a cell phone, ipod, or any other of today’s “necessities”.

It’s always great to be successful in getting an animal while hunting, but the real enjoyment for me is being out there and taking it all in.  I’ve found that my best memories of hunting are days when I never even squeezed a trigger or let an arrow fly.

I extended an invitation for some friends in Indiana to come visit us in Wyoming.  We agreed that elk season would offer an opportunity to show them some things unique to this area.  I had my vacation scheduled for late October through early November and Kirk blocked five days out of his schedule for him and his wife Lori to come visit.  “Perfect”, I thought... we can get out to the “X” for a few days and maybe, just maybe we’d see one of the big herds of elk.  One of the things I enjoy most about being a partner is sharing our ranch experience with good friends.

By all accounts the recently FXR sponsored hunt for our Wounded Warriors was a resounding success. Two GI's were invited to the Ranch to hunt for antelope. Each of our guests was treated to food, drink, lodging, guide service, game retrieval and preparation. In addition, a small stipend to cover travel costs and license fees was provided and several garments with the FXR logo were given to each of the participants. Donations received from various sources covered all of the associated costs.

Special recognition should be give to partner Steve Kosier. Steve was the catalyst that generated the majority of the donations that in turn insured a first class hunt for our guests.

The FXR provided a steak dinner, masterfully prepared by Ray Parker, on the eve of the hunt. Each of the guests, Josh Black and George Bodnar, accompanied by friend and caregiver Wesley Felice, were introduced. While at the Ranch various partners invited our guests for dinner, several provided lunches and others cooked and served breakfast at the Ranch house. Ammunition was provided by Parker Arms of Wheat Ridge and used to sight in the rifles prior to the hunt. It was no surprise that each of the veterans were excellent shots.

Josh had drawn a buck antelope permit and George had a doe permit donated and transferred to him via a new Wyoming program that allows licenses to be given to disabled veterans. Josh was guided by Gene Titzel and Len Verrelli and Josh was successful in tagging a 14 1/2" buck. A nice shot at approximately 400 yards. George was guided by John Kelly. George shot his doe early on the first day. Both hunters returned to the Ranch and the meat was cut, vacuum packed and ready for the freezer and subsequent transportation.

Stoll Taxidermy of Wheatland gave us a very generous discount off his usual fee and will mount Josh's antelope for him. Mrs. Stoll even provided six loaves of homemade bread for us to use preparing lunches for the hunters.

Both Josh and George gratefully expressed their thanks for our hospitality and the opportunity to participate in a great hunt - a hunt they called "a once in a lifetime opportunity". All-in-all the program was well received and enjoyed not only by the guests but also the participating partners.

It is anticipated that the program will continue and possibly be expanded to include children in the Make-a-Wish program.

-- Gene Titzel

A special thanks to Gene Titzel for his efforts to make this program possible and such a great success. Partners can find more in the October President's report.
-- John Parker

The sun plays peek-a-boo as it awakes from behind Gold Hill.

Its light beams through the camper window and dances on my eyelids. I turn away underneath my down comforter, but to no avail. It’s time to get up. The air inside the camper is nippy and the wind outside holds up its hand to a meadowlark’s flight to the rock. But, with a flick of the thermostat, the heater whirls on and soon I am toasty warm.

There are many opinions about hunting; some for, some against, and those opinions are usually formed early in life. Sometimes an emotional objection to hunting is based on personal exposure to poor hunting practices or no exposure at all. Gene Titzel has offered up a letter he wrote to his granddaughter in October 2010, where he shares his hunting philosophy and the anticipated enjoyment of spending quality time together.

Dear Megan,

Wed, 8-31-11, 8AM, Ranch House. The business of the ranch day was just getting started. Eric came through, and his ranch radio crackled, "We need food, water and coffee". It was Ray. He and Wrangler Chuck and the Palmer Canyon pump truck stationed at the ranch had been on the Poe Mountain fire all night with several volunteers from the Palmer Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. We could tell by the tone in Ray's voice, it was a tight situation they were in up there, and they needed food supplies.

On August 31 a wildfire started burning on the Small Ranch near the Flying X. It has been named the Poe Mountain fire. Watch this article for updates on the fire and progress fighting it as information becomes available. We will try to give daily updates in this article.

As with other local fires you can find periodic updates on the Wheatland radio station KZEW Blog.

Update September 2: The fire is contained at approximately 5000 acres. (This is an early estimate and will be revised when known). The fire blew up from 150 acres to a couple thousand very quickly. Ray and Michelle were prepared to evacuate, but fortunately did not have to.

The Flying X and our partners were once again crucial in fighting this fire and feeding the fire crews. Thom Yaras cooked any food he could find to feed the firefighters and Jim and Joyce Bradney delivered food and water to the crews. Eric worked the fire, Tom kept communications up and timely among the volunteers, Gina and her crew kept ready to move our horse herd as needed. In times like these everyone needs to step up to help or to do the work of two since others are on the fire in some way and our staff was great.

Thanks to all who volunteered!

Dan is the horseshoe man.

Dan prefers this title over “farrier” because his purpose is to create a balanced shoe and healthy foot condition for each horse, rather than to do specialty and corrective work for leg and foot problems. He is the “preventive-medicine” man, the “well-being” man.

I doubt there is a single person walking around who doesn’t appreciate the value of a properly fitted pair of shoes or boots. Well, horses feel the same way. And Dan believes that a proper, balanced trim for good shoe fit is the #1 consideration for the horse’s foot health.

For many years we have dealt with several springs popping up in the middle of Cottonwood Road and the drainage along the roadside flowing over the road. The road is typically closed due to the resulting boggy spots and washouts for May and part of June. Last year the road washed out in April for large portions along its entire length and was closed to vehicle traffic for most of the summer due to continued rainfall that prevented necessary roadwork. The road finally opened Labor Day weekend. This was an inconvenience to all, but instead of making excuses, we made repairs. The ranch invested in what we hoped to be long-term improvements to the road which would prevent or at least mitigate future damage and lengthy closures. We published an article regarding the weather conditions contributing to the problem (From Drought to Wash-Out) and weekly updates on the progress of repairs (Cottonwood Road Repairs 2010). I thought it would be appropriate to revisit the road and the weather data a year later to see if our investment was proving to have been a wise one.

On August 21 a wildfire started burning east of the ranch near Tunnel Road. Watch this article for updates on the fire and progress fighting it as information becomes available. The fire has been named the "Squaw Mountain" fire. Regular incident reports are posted on the National Interagency Fire Center (scroll to the bottom of the page) and we will try to give you daily updates in this article. You may also find reporting and photographs posted on the blog of neighbor, Leah Yetter. You can also find periodic updates on the Wheatland radio station KZEW Blog. The Wheatland Country Store is accepting donations of food and water to support the firefighters. You can drop off items at the store.

August 27, 2011: This fire was contained at 14,485 acres. All FXR personnel and their families are off the fire.

-- Thanks to all our reporters: Tom Massie, Michelle and Ray Parker, Cindy Schultz, Carolyn Thomas, and Thom Yaras and the good folks at KZEW and the Wheatland Country Store.

Special thanks to all those who are fighting this fire! (which includes FXR's Ray Parker and Chuck Schneck and Ray and Michelle's two sons)