Miles & Mountains
Join Nick, a social worker and coach by day, as he unravels the inspiring stories of athletes and the public, uncovering the motivations behind their actions, from conquering mountains to participating in ultra-endurance races and competing in rodeos. Get ready for heartwarming tales of community support, acts of kindness, and the revelation that everyone has a deeper story to tell. Whether it's running, climbing, or participating in rodeos, these stories will inspire and uplift. #Running, #Climbing, #EverydayAthletes, #Rodeo
Miles & Mountains
Vegas Ventures & Multi-Sport Mastery with Brock Betzler
Brock Betzler is back to talk about Nick's 24-hour trip to Las Vegas. From the thrill of a live concert to the unexpected encounters with famous personalities, we've got stories that will make you laugh and maybe crave a trip to Sin City. Hear our take on the optimal duration for a Vegas getaway, the stylish chaos of Cowboy Christmas, and the surprising networking opportunities that prove it’s a small world after all. We share our insights and future plans, ensuring you get all the details you need for your own whirlwind Vegas adventure.
Lastly, we finally get to know how athletic Brock really is, shifting from the diamond to the rodeo arena and competitive shooting ranges. Discover how familial support evolved and the sheer determination required to excel in multiple sports. Listen in as we recount his early baseball success, high school shooting triumphs, and the strenuous yet rewarding demands of saddle bronc riding. This athlete’s journey is a testament to the power of adaptability, dedication, and the unwavering support of loved ones.
*Disclaimer. This episode was recorded on April 1. I lost my father a few days afterwards. I apologize for the delay. Brock is an incredible friend and athlete. Give this episode a listen and the young man a follow. He will be back on as usual. Until then....Enjoy!
Instagram:
@brockbetzler
https://www.instagram.com/brockbetzler?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Shoutout to:
Brock Betzler
The Betzler Family
Mr. Betzler… Aka Pops
Elaine Kimball
Kash Colby
Alter Ego Ambassador: https://alteregorunning.com/
Miles & Mountains Promo Code: MMyr2
Brock Betzler. How are you, man? I'm doing good, how are you? Pretty good man. It's been a while. Yeah, it has been. It's been a while on the podcast, been a while on podcasts and in life and dude, we haven't seen each other for how long?
Speaker 2:Probably about three months, now Three months yeah about Vegas. Maybe a little over three months, I guess.
Speaker 1:That was just a blur, though. I remember the concert. But, man, last time I'll spend 24 hours in vegas, or 24 hours traveling to and from vegas to port, from portland to vegas, in 24 hours, there's no way yeah, yeah, there's no way to do that one again but, it was fun, it was a blast.
Speaker 2:We had an awesome time didn't we?
Speaker 1:and here we are, man, I thought like I was just going to be there by myself, but then come to find out you had your friends and then they had to go and we hung out all night long, and then some, and then hung out with Pops, yep, yep. Okay, how did you like the concert? Man it was great.
Speaker 2:I had a blast there. I know we had a couple drinks yeah yeah, all of our pictures. You could tell we were a little too dumb.
Speaker 1:That's why I didn't have, I didn't take pictures with you know, or didn't share pictures with alcohol in our hands, so I was trying to keep it clean. But yeah man, good times, times. Good times Met some famous people you know and got to see some things that normal people don't see. You know, the Vegas, the Vegas life, yeah it's different, it's different.
Speaker 2:You only got about five days worth in. You too, I found out. Yeah, yeah, five days is basically the magic number. Is that your magic number?
Speaker 1:Yeah, five days is basically the magic number. Is that your magic number?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, there's people out there that I'm sure can do a lot more, but five days that fifth day rolled around and I was beat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I couldn't imagine. So I think what I'm going to do. I'm going to add an extra day, just one day.
Speaker 2:Travel, one day there one day travel one day there. You know, I think I think the way to do it because we do it um when schedule everything it's five days um, try and fly in about mid-afternoon so you can check into your hotel right away, and then you fly home the sixth day early in the morning or fifth day late at night, type of deal. Um, and we've been airing on the early morning um type of flights, but that's just kind of the magic number where you're burnt out from Vegas.
Speaker 1:But I don't think I'll do five days, I think I'll just going to do two, just travel and back and just be able to get some good night rest or try to anyway.
Speaker 2:At least do three and then that way you get a full, full day and a half there, yeah, and then you get to go see some of the the events a little bit more. You can go true, there's more nfr stuff, because I don't remember. Oh yeah, you did come to cowboy christmas for a little bit, that was fun. Cowboy, christmas was cool.
Speaker 1:Wish I had a ton of money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I spent too much there. Yeah, you did that nice hat though, man. Yeah, that nice hat, it's still fresh.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, still clean? Yep, it sure is. So that's my dress hat yeah the grizzly.
Speaker 2:Yep, that's nice. Yeah, what did Colby say? Cash, oh he goes. Oh, copying me Figures, because he got a silver belly, grizzly, from Greeley over the summer before that and then he had already had the black cherry hat.
Speaker 1:Gotcha. Yeah, him and his lady man. They go out styling in there. Yeah, it's crazy, the outfits, the outfits at Cowboy Christmas around the NFR, but then you get the outfits that are on the street.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a little bit different Night and day guys, night and day To some, to some.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those NFR girls like they, they belong on the streets, but that's, that's just me, yeah there's some wild get-ups.
Speaker 2:I saw a guy in a full cactus um suit. Yeah, yeah, it was like a neon yellow with green cactuses on it matching tie suit, pants and jacket. And yeah it was pretty sweet, but it's just one of those Vegas only outfits.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, probably Probably. Like you know, I'm going to go every year. I'm going to wear it on this day, so do you have your days lined up already for next year?
Speaker 2:No, not yet. We're waiting for my union class schedule to come out. Okay, and then that way we can try and plan around the dates a little bit more. If I miss a day with the rest of them, so be it, but we don't want to this year. It was hi guys.
Speaker 1:Bye guys type of deal for me.
Speaker 2:So I spent one night with them and it it wasn't wasn't the experience I had the previous year with them, because I had a fairly early morning flight out and it just I didn't want to go partying.
Speaker 1:I was already burnt out by that right and it looked like your dad was doing some recruiting for you too. What, what are the chances, man? What are the chances of you know, being in a concert hall, you know the Brooklyn Bowl and basically dad hooking you up with some guys in Colorado, right, or Texas, texas, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Some pipeline guys, yeah, yeah, what are the chances. Yeah, crazy, yeah, just crazy, how small of a world it is and how much influence the two industries in a way have on each other.
Speaker 1:Right, crazy, crazy man. So yeah, that whole Vegas trip was crazy. Going to do it again. Just let me know what days and I'll do my best to be there. And, uh, next time, next time I get there when you do you know, say hey, nick, let's go round two. I'm getting off the plane, going to the nearest walgreens or liquor store and buying a pendleton or something, because I am not buying drinks there anymore, I spent like 400 on drinks.
Speaker 1:Man, yeah, drinks, that up. It's been 400. Man, I was just like dang, okay, yeah, but but to like be at cowboy christmas and to be in the crowds, man, you'd like dude, I don't, I don't smoke, I drink. But, man, just to be on the same level as everybody and not care or just be at ease, dude, you got to drink.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you got to drink, because I know we're both crazy huge crowd people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hate crowds man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, crowds like that big of a crowd definitely ain't my deal. I'm a pretty social person at times but I I struggle with doing a lot of crowds that's crazy. Well, and that's nuts I mean, I walked through that cowboy christmas five days in a row and I found something new every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, see yeah, yeah, man, I don't. I so like. That's the one thing I came back. I'm like man, that 400-something, almost five on drinks in 24 hours, less than 24 hours, yeah, yeah, I'm going to buy a fifth. Buy a handle at that point. Half a gallon, yeah, a gallon, yeah, dude.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a gallon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dude, because there's no way I'm going to purchase almost $50 drinks there, dude. Yeah man, good times, good times. Definitely got to do it again. Whatever concert's going to happen, you know I'll buy, it's okay.
Speaker 2:But dad man, your dad.
Speaker 1:Shout out to dad, dude, dad's a great guy man. I'm glad I was able to run into that man because, you know, I learned a lot for what he does. It's almost like he's a salesman and man. He's my defined salesman, dude, but he's not. Yeah, I won't say what he does, but dude, it's just like all right. Well, he was, you know, he was saying this. He was saying that he always found the good in somebody, especially you know you, and he talked to me. He was talking to me about my podcast and how I can bring it to higher levels. I was just geez okay, you know, and he was shooting straight man, I was, I was like dang man. Way to make me feel like a little man.
Speaker 1:But hey dude, that's him. He's dad for a reason. He does what he does and he's good at it. He was there for a convention, not the NFR, just knowing what he's doing, but he's a straight shooter and, dude, he was shooting straight when it came to you man. Yeah, we won't go too far into detail, but there were some things he was saying that, dude, we didn't even touch on. Last time you were here, we talked about saddle Bronc, talked about saddle Bronc, talked about rodeo. But, dude, dad was mentioning everything of what you used to do, on how athletic you were or are. Yeah, I know, you know, people say saddle bronco, saddle bronc, dude, you guys are athletes, but I've been running into a few, you know, rodeo athletes that had, uh, athletic, I guess, capabilities outside of the ring, the rodeo world. So you dad said you're a badass baseball player.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was pretty good when I played, okay, and I pitched, I caught, for I loved catching, but I got tired of always being behind the plate, so I just picked up first base and I was one of those that was kind of always leading the team, especially when I was younger, and so I was always having to pitch and catch, cause that's where you put the guys when you're 12 years old that can actually play, to play. So and then gotten to first base, and I played first base for pretty much the rest of my career when I was doing that so okay, did you play baseball up until Saddle Broncan?
Speaker 2:No, so I, I quit playing in eighth grade, Okay. And then my they, we have a Babe Ruth League. I don't know if that's a nationwide thing or not, I couldn't tell you anymore. But me and my brother, we fall just right in the correct age range where my last year and his first year being in a league are the same. And my dad was going to try and get a team in the Babe Ruth League and he was trying to get me to come back and play and I told him the only way I'm going to play is if I'm on his team. And I got to play with my brother.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I came back I think it was my junior year of high school and I hardly touched baseball in two years and played again, which was it was a good time. Yeah, I really got really enjoyed getting to play again with my brother and play for my dad's team again.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, dad was hoping that you'd stay baseball though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, baseball was always one of his sports.
Speaker 1:yeah, that was.
Speaker 2:I felt that there was a little salt in the wound there, man and I was just like all right dad all right.
Speaker 1:So baseball, his love is baseball yeah, he, he really loves baseball, okay, so when you told him that you were a saddle bronc rider, what did he say?
Speaker 2:I he was, he was not too thrilled about it I kind of had to keep it from him for a little while.
Speaker 1:All right. And then he's supporting the cause by going to the NFR with you and having fun and shooting the shit and everything else yeah he shows up here and there and comes and supports.
Speaker 2:It's not his favorite thing to do. It it's not his favorite thing to do.
Speaker 1:It looked like it was his favorite thing to do. I don't think the walking was his favorite thing to do? I don't think none. Of the walking was our favorite thing to do.
Speaker 2:I'm saying watching me ride it ain't his most favorite thing to do, especially with his line of work. It's not something that he wants to see all of his, all of his patients doing, let alone his own kids.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, exactly so. So so baseball, there's competitive shooting. No, I don't want to get this wrong. So like tell, tell me, man, you, you were a high-end and shooter, yeah um, yeah, I, I did that.
Speaker 2:Picked up shooting in high school. Um, it was the choice between continue to play hockey or, um, pick up a gun, start shooting competitively. Yeah, and I chose to pick up a gun. It was something I'd always enjoyed and it was something new, and so I did that, picked up a shotgun, picked up an air rifle and shot shotguns. I was pretty competitive for being my first year, I'm the shotguns. I actually went to nationals with my team and I think there was only one event I didn't place top 10 that we were shooting in as a team First year and it was my first trip to nationals.
Speaker 1:It's that Washington hunting blood.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that was kind of my shotgun. And then I had to make a choice a little bit between air rifles and shotguns. My sophomore year of high school. My sophomore year of high school and I decided to stick with the air rifle route because it could have gotten me college opportunities if I wanted to go to college where the shotgun wasn't as prevalent. And so I stuck with the air rifles. And my high school we had an air rifle team. Actually it was an Olympic air rifle.
Speaker 2:My freshman year of high school we shot what was called the sporter class. So there's no fancy gear, anything involved it. I think the gun had to cost less than $500 or $550 and had to have a two pound trigger pull, which, to give you an idea on a two pound trigger pull, that's lighter than most hunting rifles. So, um, and that was a very, very heavy trigger for what we were doing, um, I think. And then after my freshman, end of my freshman year, I got moved on to the precision team, which is what you see in the Olympics, that style of gear with fancy rifles. The rifles cost north of $3,000. For kind of middle of the line, one is yours for it to be set up. You're looking anywhere from three to five grand and then your gears like another 2,500 bucks, bucks, and the school provided all of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so I moved on to the precision team and did that. I actually had my team. We qualified to go to the JROTC all service nationals that year, all-service Nationals that year, and I think there's five teams from Army, five teams from Navy, five teams from Air Force and I think three Marine Corps teams and you were one of them and my team was one of them that got to go to all service.
Speaker 2:And then so we were top five Army team in the nation and I think we were sitting around fifth or sixth, something like that that year at nationals and for all service and um for all service. And then we also qualified for the um, the high school um and club like so it's all high school um, age kids, but it's more of the club side. So we also qualified for uh nationals on the club side that year, um and uh we went and I can tell you where we were sitting.
Speaker 2:But, um, so, and then I had qualified also for junior Olympics. Um, my sophomore year of high school and then, uh, junior year of high school, uh, we qualified for everything but-service nationals. We missed it by. I think it was a handful of points, yeah, Qualifying for all-service, and then my senior year qualified for everything. Again, that was all-service. That was Junior Olympics and then the club nationals as well and all the regional matches going up to that and the club side of things. I think I was top 20 in the nation for the three-position air rifle and on the Army side I went into all-service, ranked number eight in the Army JROTC program, Okay. And then my team actually ended up winning the Army National Championship that year, Okay.
Speaker 1:So Then you got into something else. Yeah, what else?
Speaker 2:That was rodeo.
Speaker 1:Well, you're a soccer player. You said hockey, that's new.
Speaker 2:Hockey was before my shooting career. I had to make the choice between continuing to play hockey.
Speaker 1:Are you?
Speaker 2:glad you made that choice. Yeah, I'm happy with that, no regrets. No, I miss it. Made that choice. Yeah, I'm happy with that, no regrets. No, I miss it. Yeah, but it was a nice change. And playing hockey, we did pretty well as well.
Speaker 1:Well yeah, they love their hockey around here, man, yeah, they love their hockey.
Speaker 2:I had won three consecutive state championships playing hockey. See, I mean, who is this guy?
Speaker 1:man, here I am. I thought we had him dialed in that saddle bronc rider. You know part of the herd still congrats yeah, thank you lane. Shout out to elaine she's man, I haven't uh every now, and then I'll touch base with her. She'll ask me how I'm doing. But uh, yeah, shout out to her man, man and her herd and everything else but soccer, right, yep. And then what else? What other sport, what else have we not touched base on?
Speaker 2:I wrestled for a season. Okay, let's see. And there's.
Speaker 1:But baseball, baseball and shooting, hockey and shooting. Were your big ones. Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:Who would have known man? And then I guess I did 3D archery after I graduated high school, and how did that go?
Speaker 1:Did you qualify for national? No, no.
Speaker 2:I wasn't shooting on that side of things for it. It was more of like a regional, localized event. It was called the Northwest Mountain Challenge. They would throw three big shoots and then I think they now have four big ones Well, I guess they're big, but it's the only ones they put on and, um, you're basically hiking straight up a mountain and shooting a 3d animal, 3d foam animal, with your bow.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And you're getting scored on it. And then you hike straight down the mountain doing the same thing, okay, and um, we're doing In the blue somewhere. Um, so I did it in the uh, there was one in outside of sisters organ.
Speaker 2:Um, at hoodoo ski area okay, yep, yep then there was another one I did at um tamarack, okay uh, which is just outside of mccall, idaho, and then the other one I had done was in Stevens Pass, washington. So then they had one in Helena Montana. I never went to that one, but I don't know if they still do that one or not.
Speaker 1:All the things you do. I know you still hunt. You bow hunt too, don't you. Are you mostly bow hunting? Yeah, I'm mostly bow hunting anymore. What is your pride and joy now? Just looking back now, what is?
Speaker 2:your pride and joy, man. The one thing I'm most proud of looking back Overall, right now too, honestly'm most proud of looking back, or overall, right now too, you know, honestly, like out of everything looking back on it, it's just the ability to actually have the drive and go accomplish things Quite the feat, though, yeah. Like I'm I, each one holds a special place in my heart. It's, you know, I 12, 11 years old, 12 years old, something like that winning state championships at hockey Right.
Speaker 2:I mean that's, and we're very, very, very competitive. And you know I was playing pretty I wouldn't say super high-level baseball, but I was playing baseball on a fairly good level.
Speaker 1:To the point that you know dad got some you know salt in his wound.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I could have probably gone places with baseball if I stuck with it. Same with hockey, that's what I'm saying. A lot of my teammates that I had played with playing hockey they went like semi-pro and stuff like that Okay.
Speaker 1:All right. So that's where dad's feelings come from.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Shout out to Pops man. I was calling him Pops all night.
Speaker 2:It was pretty funny.
Speaker 1:It was pretty funny we had a blast man. So Saddle Bronc is here to stay, yeah and why?
Speaker 2:um, in a way, it's kind of like it's the new try the new try. Yeah, I mean you, you hear people say it's the new try at life or whatever. Yeah it, it's the new goal. It's like I enjoy it. I always wanted to do it as a kid um, not saddle bronc specifically. I just wanted to like be part of the rodeo lifestyle as a kid and um, and is it the camaraderie and part of it's the camaraderie. It's as much of an individual sport as it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is very much a team sport oh you're, you're riding buddy yep is he still gonna ride with you or is he riding with this lady now?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, I think both of us are. Are uh gonna have uh somebody riding in the back seat, so oh, god, you're gonna have your lady there too.
Speaker 1:Shout out to her forgot her name, or gayden, yeah, yeah, you guys are going. What? Three months strong, uh four. It's been since september oh, okay, yeah, yeah, all right she's.
Speaker 2:She's moved up here since then, so yeah, where was she? Living redmond, oregon that's right, okay.
Speaker 1:Is she taking up the sport as well, or just supporting you? What?
Speaker 2:uh, she wants to to start getting into rodeo it's just a matter of finding somebody with a horse that can break away rope and is willing to let her learn on the horse. She's thinking about just running barrels in the meantime, since Cash's family has a few horses that can run barrels and don't have to go very far for that, especially with their little barrel club organization that they do, and she's traveling to and from Cash's place.
Speaker 2:Well, she hasn't yet. We've gone there to ride, or no? I brought my sisters there to ride, but they've extended the invite out to come start riding on weekends and all that. Nice so get her back into it, because she dated a little when she was younger.
Speaker 1:Okay, so it's not just going to be fresh, she's going to know some things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How's Cash man? He's good yeah. Every now and then we'll, we'll chit chat. I think the last time I talked to him he would talk to him a little bit today if he found out. You know you're gonna be on. He's like yeah, hell, yeah, yeah. But the other last, the last one that um we talked on or about was that meme. You know, you really find your real friends when alcohol is not around.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He was like damn straight. I'm dealing with that right now. And it's true, man, it's true dude, you don't have alcohol on you or you don't want to associate yourself with that. Yeah, no one comes around. Yeah, no one comes around, man. But yeah, that's something that you know, hit a little home recently and everything else, and yeah, it's just something that we relayed on and, yeah, definitely touched.
Speaker 1:It touched some people by surprise and they didn't like it, but it wasn't directed towards anyone, you know. So whoever, whomever wanted to take offense to that, then so be it, but yeah it was. Yeah, it's good to touch base with people that you normally don't when alcohol is not around. Dude.
Speaker 2:It's different, it's different.
Speaker 1:It's different. It makes everything more, uh, sincere and yeah, so, speaking of alcohol today not april fools, it is april fools, but, dude, you said that you were our first day dry, yep taking a month off normally dry january, but you're doing it in april. Yep, and it's not april fools? No, but it is so why. Why do you dry in april?
Speaker 2:it was just after getting on and all that like and we um, we had some special guests at that clinic. I was just at getting on horses again and I've been just listening to a lot of health stuff wanting to clean up my diet, do everything, and after being sore for four full days hardly being able to move, I'm like, all right, I got to change something.
Speaker 1:After your practice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, able to move.
Speaker 1:I'm like, all right, I gotta change something after your practice. Yeah, yeah, that would hey, sober or not, that's going to like. Lay anybody out on how what happened to you?
Speaker 2:yeah yeah, it doesn't number on your body, but um but then I mean there's a lot of sugars, a lot of everything in it, and all that does is just keep the inflammation there. It feeds the inflammation, and I'm going to cut soda out, I'm trying to cut basically all the sugar out that I can.
Speaker 1:So what are you doing? For caffeine? Or in the mornings, what are you doing? Cup of coffee, cup of coffee, just black, straight black which is normally how I drink it anyways, so okay all right. So practice went when as planned not so much, but you felt good yeah, I felt good, I learned a lot doing it.
Speaker 2:Um, there was a bunch of colds getting bucked out and I mean, they got got to get bucked, they got to get riders put under on top of them, I guess. Um right, and so I like sign me up. Well, I didn't necessarily know it was going to be Colts when I put my name on the list, especially first trips.
Speaker 1:Now, when you, when you do the practice. You have to pay too, right yeah?
Speaker 2:that one was $150, which it's put on by our local PRCA circuit and all the rodeos, a couple of local stock contractors. They all donate for it, so that helps keep the cost lower for it.
Speaker 1:Well, they want to try out their new rides. Yeah, that too.
Speaker 2:But a lot of them really. They want to see the future of rodeo continue to grow Right, and so this opens up the doors for people that don't, so to speak, have the funding to be able to go to somewhere else, um, and go learn right, or you know, instead of just entering at some open rodeos going, oh, maybe, like I might have a shot, I might not, I don't know. Yeah, um, because they go through your gear, they go through, they help you with everything at this, and it's just a way to to keep people in the sport and continue to grow the sport.
Speaker 1:Okay, so All right, so you put in practice. Yeah, a lot of people don't. A lot of those kids get an earful from the vets. You've got to practice. A lot of people don't want to practice, right, yeah, you're putting that practice. You've got to practice. A lot of people don't want to practice. Right, you're putting that practice. When's your next practice?
Speaker 2:Yeah, when's the next practice? I don't know. It's hard to find bucking horses that can get bucked out around here. That's part of the biggest struggle with the Pacific Northwest and the rodeo scene, especially on the bucking horse side. Yeah, Almost every weekend bulls are getting bucked, but on the horse side there's very few, because it seriously takes an army to buck one horse out. I mean it's six, eight guys just to get one horse to leave that chute. It's crazy.
Speaker 1:All right, when's the next event or when's your first event this this season?
Speaker 2:uh, for sure, the last weekend of june last weekend guaranteed last weekend of june, last weekend of june and uh, we're at ukiah oregon okay um but uh, there going to be a couple of open shows between then that I might enter up in, just depending on what my schedule is looking like and how everything's going.
Speaker 1:How's how's work? It's going good. I don't know how you guys work like that though Travel, travel, travel. And then one day they can just say okay, adios, Yep, Yep, I can't believe it, man. And then one day they can just say okay adios, yep, yep I can't believe it, man you know, we, you know, we're hanging out in Vegas and that's the normal life and I'm like dude. I wouldn't know what to do if I was like.
Speaker 2:I mean I do, but I don't. I was before we went to Vegas. I got it was a call. I think it was like the Friday or no, it might have been like the day before I was leaving or something like that. We go back to work. And I was like, well, you guys got to push that back a week. I've already bought plane tickets to Vegas to go to NFR.
Speaker 1:And did they call you back? Yeah, are you there with them now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm with the same company.
Speaker 1:So they're a keeper.
Speaker 2:They're keeping me on, at least for now. But the season, I mean what I do, is very seasonal work, so to speak. It's very odd to still be working come beginning of December last year. Yeah, especially for an outside type of job, I mean there's going to be plants that shut down and that Right. But a lot of the work that I do and I try to stick to it's more on the outside side of things. So it gets harder to work outside when there's snow on the ground, it's icy, it's, you know, 10 degrees outside.
Speaker 1:Do you still live off of 12?
Speaker 2:Yeah, jeez, yeah, and you drive man, okay, yeah, that's two hours each way. I don't know how you do it.
Speaker 1:Every day. That's a lot of gas money. Yeah, work doesn't pay for that. No. You're like no, no, no, okay, no. So you're like living on the edge.
Speaker 2:Jeez, yeah, okay, it keeps you on your toes.
Speaker 1:As if the saddle bronc doesn't.
Speaker 2:Jeez.
Speaker 1:Everything you do, man. Yeah. So what's next with you, man, besides work and work, work and practice? What's new, what's next?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean, I've been flying by the seat of my pants for a long time now. You're still young, though.
Speaker 1:I mean you're been flying by the seat of my pants for a long time now.
Speaker 2:You're still young though.
Speaker 1:I mean, you're young man, You're so young. Yeah, Drives me nuts, man, just knowing what you've accomplished and then, just here you are, saddle bronc, and then knowing your age, I'm like dude, what the heck this guy's been there and done that and all the above man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's. It's just one of those things. To me it's like it's part of it's part of who, it's what's made me as a person, but it's no, it's one of the things in the past, in a way.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's. I mean I get me talking about it. I love to share, but Do you though? Because, man, if you did, we wouldn't have this discussion again, but you got to get me going on it, cause it's just it's. You know I I'm trying to stay pretty humble with it all.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I got you. I mean, it's yeah, it made me who I am, but there's other things that I'm doing in my life that are also going to make me who I am.
Speaker 1:But then there's Cash.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He speaks highly of you. There's me. I speak highly of you, dude, you know. But then you surround yourself by, like Cash and his gang. Dude, it's just, it's like hmm.
Speaker 2:How do you?
Speaker 1:fit in. Okay, all right, I got you. No, I'm not saying anything bad. I'm just like, yeah, man there, he has a crowd, he has a crowd and and it's quite, uh quite the crowd that he, you know, he's part of. And it's insane to even be part of that circle, you know of your guys. And then you're humble, you're you know not. Yeah, not cash. Yeah, shout out to cash, yeah I'm.
Speaker 2:A lot of people brag on me a lot more than I brag on myself yeah, dude, hey, it comes over, it comes time. Give it time.
Speaker 1:Give it time, man Give it time, but.
Speaker 2:Saddle.
Speaker 1:Bronc man Saddle. Bronc is here to stay until you retire.
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah, I thoroughly enjoy it Okay.
Speaker 1:What card do you have or are you going to be working on?
Speaker 2:I'm writing MPRA and ICA again this year. I think I might go down to California depending on work and all that again to go ride in the CCPRA for a show or two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in the Central Valley area, right, I believe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sacramento area Central.
Speaker 1:Valley, yeah, in Sacramento area.
Speaker 2:Yep, central Valley, yep. And then I met at the clinic I was just at for all those horses, met a kid that's out of Spokane and he rides a lot out of Montana and he told me about another circuit up there that I might go do. Just venture out a little. Yeah, okay dude, just you know, venture out a little yeah, so Okay.
Speaker 1:And then I think I'm going to Texas.
Speaker 2:go get on some horses in November. Okay, At another school.
Speaker 1:And so that would be a pretty cool event to get a go to. A lot of bull riders are from this area, are going down there too. Yeah, they're saying forget it, let's.
Speaker 2:Let's go big or go home nowadays, yeah and well, they got better weather all year round too, so they can, and there's a lot more people down there that do it. Yeah, oh yeah, but our stock up here is very, very highly thought of, and so there's a lot of NFR stock that comes out of the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 1:It's only a matter of time when you go to Texas, huh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of guys from up here go down there during the winter go to the south during the winter, and that's what you're going to do.
Speaker 1:For four days, days, five days something like that okay, but not like months and then come back, no, okay work.
Speaker 2:Wouldn't like that one too much, right? So yeah, we'll see, with all that and yeah well, the girls supported, right lady yeah, and then you got the gang with you.
Speaker 1:That circle is dude. Oh, that circle is a great circle, man, yeah, great circle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, been pretty fortunate with my support group Right, so they all root for me, no matter where I'm at, what I'm doing, if something happens, they're right there.
Speaker 1:So you got three more months, man, three more months until your first event.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's for for sure for sure. Yeah, you think elaine's gonna make it down uh, I don't know um, because that one is an ica, um, and I think she sticks the mpras yeah, but sometimes ica and mpra they go together, yeah, they co-sanction. I don't know for sure if that one's co-sanctioned or not.
Speaker 1:Okay, because I went to the one in gosh.
Speaker 2:John Day, I think, john Day, yeah, yeah, that's a co-sanction, yeah, that one's fun yeah. Okay, that one. I think we're going to go to that one this year. We're going to do John one this year we're gonna john day, yep, um, we're gonna do deschutes county again, um, and then I think, milton free water. And uh, let's see, uh, madras oregon, uh, st helens oregon, okay, um, I think there's one in Grandview that we might do, man, it's.
Speaker 2:All right, there's one in La Grande I want to do. There's Grangeville, idaho, vail, oregon. Let's see there's yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean dude have you had to sit down. Have you sat down and checked out your?
Speaker 2:schedule? Not really, that's a job in itself.
Speaker 2:Man, yeah, yeah, me and cash we were talking about it this last week and that we need to sit down and kind of make a tentative thing dude, that's a that's a full-time job, man, until you actually get it on the table and writing and say, hey, this is what I'm going to do, yeah last year it was like a three or four-hour process just to figure out which rodeos we would think about going to, and then the dates that they are, and then the entry dates that we have to enter by, and so we had all that written down and then, as the time came, all right, so these rodeos are the ones for the following week we need to enter on this day for this one and um, and then it's. You know, each rodeo, some, some organizations, um, like the npra, they're pretty good about. All entries are always on a Tuesday.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:ICAs and you have to call in for the NPRA Like old school, call somebody on the telephone Right.
Speaker 1:I got you.
Speaker 2:ICAs. I have an app on my phone and I can enter for me and Cash as a buddy system, and then Cash. All he has to do is go in and confirm it and he can do the same thing vice versa. So, um, we can do that straight from our phone two months ahead of the rodeo, as soon as the entry is open for that that rodeo, we can enter, um, but the mpra is, it's always, it's like just about two weeks before okay on a tuesday is when you got to call in all right.
Speaker 1:When's your next event that you will attend? Not not not go?
Speaker 2:spectate, yeah, spectate, have fun um, probably the ellensburg, um bears and bronx, bears and bron. Yeah, I think that's in May.
Speaker 1:In May All right.
Speaker 2:If I remember right, that's in May. There might be some stuff in between that I just can't think of off the top of my head right now.
Speaker 1:I don't remember all this man. The schedule alone is just too much, it's a lot.
Speaker 2:yeah, it's just too much, it's a lot, yeah, and one of the easiest ways. I mean, luckily, all the organizations that we ride in they do it by date, they organize it by date so you can go through the list and go okay, these rodeos are this weekend, so that makes makes going through and figuring out which ones you want to hit in a weekend and try and pre-plan your season a little bit easier, because you're not sorting through all the dates and everything.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it gets to be pretty hectic.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, when Vegas hits, though, we'll be there. You're gonna let me know what dates I should go there, yeah and have fun and then see what concerts we can roll up to. Yeah, you think pops is gonna be there again.
Speaker 2:Um, just depends on the weekend I can go. Is the weekend that his event will be okay, so I was.
Speaker 1:I was just trying to tell people, man, how it was. It's good, but I think I I was there good enough time to get a taste and get some and then, but dude, it took a it took a week to recover and I was just there for less than 24 hours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Going for one day is like taking that first skittle out of the bag and somebody holding that bag in front of you going.
Speaker 1:You want more, yeah, yeah man, it's getting dark in here but I need to turn on the light. But, man, the one thing I did tell my boss about, though, like I just did it, it was bothering me there, it was bothering me just days later. The smell of their marijuana, dude's terrible it's like I was I was trying to tell people. I was trying to tell my wife too. You know, it's just like skunk weed is skunk weed. I could manage that. Yeah, nevada, it's worse than skunk weed it's not even it's worse than skunk weed.
Speaker 2:It's not even. It's not even palatable. Yeah, yeah it's. It's like the old um Adam Sandler. Uh, joking, billy Madison burning um paper bag of dog poop on the dog.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, he called the shit poop.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:It was just around everywhere we went and it was like it's not the sewer, no, it was just weed yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Everyone knows it's weed, yeah, and it just it smells terrible it, yeah, it was around us all day. Yeah, and then you get like the big major whiffs yeah, it's throw up dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't throw up well, yeah, I was telling my boss All day. And then you get like the big major whiffs yeah, throw up dude. Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't throw up. I was telling my boss. I was like, yeah, the weed, it's different. Yeah, I would never buy Nevada weed.
Speaker 2:Never.
Speaker 1:After being there for less than 24 hours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it has to do with the demand. They just produce it as fast as they can down there. Where up here, like the people, you can get it from Canada, yeah well, the guys up here, they take pride in producing it more and so they take their time and actually produce good stuff and higher quality stuff, and I think a lot of it down there is it's just really low quality and that's where the stench comes from.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's very low quality. And I was talking to Travis Nelson, a comedian that from Washington but moved to San Diego, and I told him about the stench and he's like yeah, man, last thing, I thought I never thought about going to state Nevada and buying their weed. I would not. I was like dude, you're, you're correct, I, yeah, I. I would see California, maybe Colorado, you know the big ones, but Nevada after smelling that stench, dude, not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, man, all right, did I leave anything out? Did we leave anything out?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I know the last time I was on you're kind of mad. We never got into the hunting.
Speaker 1:The hunting.
Speaker 2:Yes, let me turn on the light, all right.
Speaker 1:Golly.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put on that fan. Hopefully it works a little bit. So the hunting yeah, how was hunting season? Uh, this past year I got about three days in because of work. My hunting season opened up first week of september and I was working the second week of September and. I was working five, six tens, so my days off involved doing laundry and getting ready for the next week. Did dad get anything? I don't believe so, um but.
Speaker 2:I was into it dude yeah, yeah, um, um, but that's into it. Dude, yeah, yeah, um, but my brother he got I think it was this last season he got a bull. Um, okay in oregon yeah your whole family's into it yeah, well, most of them yeah, so you, uh, your sister um. One of them is into it, or two of them yeah, one is old enough one is old enough to to hunt by herself. The other one, she's starting to get there.
Speaker 1:But yeah, and hunting has been in your life since day one. It's as long as.
Speaker 2:I can remember, yeah.
Speaker 1:What do you like about hunting man?
Speaker 2:You're always trying.
Speaker 1:It's the new try at life I the next try at life in a way but it's, I mean, it's not try, though it's been in your life forever yeah, but it brings out something primal in you.
Speaker 2:I mean I I really moved to archery, um, when I was in high school. I mean it got when I first started hunting, killing a deer with a rifle. They're getting a deer with the rifle, um, yeah, it was. That was a challenge. I was 10 years old or something like that. I um eight years old, I don't know, it was a while ago, um, but it was. It was very, very hard to achieve at that, that point in my life, like there was a lot going on, yeah, and then going through the years, by the time I was 16, like, especially like hunting the same piece of property every year yeah you start to learn it, you start to know where the animals are going to go after stuff starts going down right and it just became.
Speaker 2:It became, I guess, more of shooting than it did hunting, in a way, because you had learned, I like, for me, I'd learned that hill so well, yeah, like, and now I haven't hunted that hill really in the last three, four years. Um, so I don't, I don't know the routes as well anymore, but and I kind of quit hunting it when I switched to archery, because it's very hard to hunt archery spot, um, and it was also a long drive, being in high school and not having a whole lot to be able to go drive an hour to go hunt every day after school and all that. But switching to archery it it brought the challenge back into it for me. Um, that, um, that bull that you'd seen on my instagram that was actually my first archery big game animal um that I'd I'd gotten and, uh, so it it's a new challenge. I mean, life eats life, yeah, and it's.
Speaker 2:I really honestly like the way you connect with nature, the way everything it's. I mean you can look at it in the rodeo world. Some like horses, like you're very, very attracted to horses and like that lifestyle Once you get into it, like you either have the bug or you don't. Hunting's the same way, you either got the bug or you don't. And it brings out that like inner, I want to explore, I want to adventure, I want to provide, I want to like everything like that, because I mean my brother's elk that he got last year. We're on the tail end of it, um, I mean we don't have a whole lot left we got some ground meat left a couple some steaks like, but not not really a whole lot left that one I got.
Speaker 2:my family had that finished off minus like a couple packages of steaks in less than six months. So it's a very like, it's very fulfilling in a way and it just you don't have a worry in the world, like the only thing that matters to you in that moment in time is getting to that elk, yeah, or that deer or that bear or whatever you're you know you're chasing at the times.
Speaker 2:You know some people. They really like to hunt ducks and upland game and stuff like that ducks yeah, yeah, and I'm a person I'm I never really got the foul bug. Everyone has always told me, once you go waterfowl hunting, you're never going to want to go back. It's fun. I love pulling the trigger, yeah, but I'm not one. I will gladly go freeze my ass off for an elk For an elk, okay, but to go sit in the freezing water for a duck, is it?
Speaker 2:just doesn't do it for me so by, by the water most of the time when I go with my brother we're usually in some form of water, but yeah, it just doesn't. It doesn't click for me. But I mean that elk, I got it came. It was middle of September and so the middle of their mating season and he came off of his herd of cows. He was pushing his herd of cows down into the bottom of the canyon, yeah, and he had no idea I was there and just came in bugling, screaming, his head off, raking yeah, um, just tearing up the ground, just showing his dominance. The other bulls in the area making everybody know he's king.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah and he comes right down this hill, and I mean he ended up walking at 22 yards away from me yeah and didn't care that I was there. And it's that drive to like for them, that drive to reproduce. They don't care if there's danger, right, because they just want to make another offspring. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's funny, it's still extremely what sex can do to the mind. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sex can do to the mind, yeah.
Speaker 1:yeah, it's still extremely challenging to get them into less than really 50 yards it's interesting with a bow. Yeah, um, and yeah it's makes makes the adrenaline pump through you like you've never yeah, the more you guys talk when I say you guys, the bow hunters, man like wolfgang troxel I had him on did you listen to that episode? He he does. He was a bullfighter, okay, who went, uh, who retired once. He had kids, you know, lady. Lady said what's up, okay, he does behind the scenes now junior rodeo.
Speaker 1:He's really good at it, probably the biggest chapter in the West. But he's behind that. But, dude, he lives off of bow hunting. He does the whole Cameron Haynes thing like working out, does this, does that. But the way you guys describe it, you know primal and there's no other feeling like it. You know from, yeah, you can shoot something, but dude, there's nothing like you know hunting with a bow. Yeah, it's different.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And the way you guys describe it. It's like, hmm, I need to give it a try, but it's expensive yeah.
Speaker 2:It can be very expensive.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was looking back at my setup and everything because somebody asked me one of my buddies. He was over at the house and asked me how much it cost and I go well, if I paid for it it all, or are we not including the stuff I didn't pay?
Speaker 2:for yeah, yeah, dude, because either way you probably don't want to hear the number right, but I was also. I've spent a lot of time getting good at a bow. Yeah, I had a very uh eye opening moment over the weekend. I brought my bow out after not really having shot it in two years and I could barely hit the target at 60 yards where that target has a little 8-inch circle on it. I could keep every arrow in that 8-inch circle at over 100 yards, so not being able to hit the target at 60 yards was an eye-opener for me, right.
Speaker 1:Practice yeah, right Practice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, practice, practice. And that's the thing. This year I want to go hunt more. I really didn't get the time to go.
Speaker 1:I don't know how you're going to hunt more when you have that schedule.
Speaker 2:Luckily, everything takes a slight lull about September, which is when archery season is everything takes a slight lull about September, which is when archery season is, but if I draw a really good tag, I'm going to take the time off work. I'll probably not rodeo for a weekend or two.
Speaker 1:You would not rodeo. Yeah, okay, yeah, if I get a very good tag.
Speaker 2:I would hang it up for a week, Even if it's a big purse and you're hot right now.
Speaker 1:You're hot and it's a big purse.
Speaker 2:That one might be questionable. It's a matter of is it like a once-in-a-lifetime elk, moose, sheep, goat tag, or is it a deer tag or just like an over-the-counter elk tag or something like that. But, and I guess, like I know, there's like a lot of stigma around, like the hunting world, as especially as of like lately a lot more, a lot more people are getting into it, but there's a lot more stigma around it than like the word trophy hunting. No, and like I mean, it's the same thing in the rodeo world, it's the same argument, just two different ways of looking at it. But that the trophy hunting thing it's, it's not the matter of killing the animal with the biggest, most baddest, like horns on on the mountain Right. It's the pursuit of the old, mature, smart one.
Speaker 1:I got you.
Speaker 2:That's what really gets you on. I got you and like at least for me anymore, like because I really really challenged myself when I switched to a bow was I'm not going gonna go start and kill this younger age class. That's quote-unquote more dumb. They're very much turned on. Still they're.
Speaker 1:They're still very in tune, very smart, yeah well everything that you know, the hunters that I've put on here, including yourself, you guys don't just shoot at random things, so you know, I mean, but yeah, they're always that, that, that that group of people or someone saying, oh you guys trophy hunting, oh it's like we're providing for family. Yeah, this and that one thing that that scares me when, when hunting, is the fact that you can catch whatever that deer has, like that blue tongue has been, or purple tongue blue tongue yeah yeah, how do you know and this is probably, like you know, listeners like oh my god, here we go.
Speaker 1:How do you know that that animal that you killed is disease?
Speaker 2:free, because all the ones that have the disease died in the summer. Okay, because the blue tongue is most greatly affected. So when blue tongue hits, it's, I think, a winter disease. They catch it in the winter or in the springtime Well, they're fine all spring where there's moisture. Well, when it dries up, they can't fight the disease no more because the nutrition's starting to lack a little bit and that dries time. And that's when you see all the die-offs generally. Um, a lot more is in the summer months and like cwd, chronic wasting disease or zombie deers some people call them zombie deers so that one is not it's said not to be transferable to humans.
Speaker 2:I don't know whether to fully believe that or not. Yeah, but they like when I hunted colorado um a few years back, um, they, if you shot a deer there, they made you bring it in to the check station oh wow, and they wanted to check out the h class of the animal. They wanted to check it for chronic wasting disease and they wanted to kind of make sure you're, I think, doing it legally yeah yeah, to an extent you know as much as they can tell from that, right, um.
Speaker 2:But so then it was all included in the um, your tag price, like you don't have to pay an extra fee for those check stations um which and it also it's their biological studies they pull teeth out, that and stuff like that so they can study and do tests on these deer and do it's in colorado yeah, that was in colorado um huh, washington is uh up their game but yeah, so I my deer that I got that year.
Speaker 2:It did not test positive for chronic wasting disease, but we did see a deer that was suffering from it and and it was very much a zombie. Yeah, yeah, it would. You could see the pus draining out of its eyes. Yeah, and um. It couldn't, so it couldn't see anymore. It was like white globes in its eyes yeah and wow, yeah, it was completely blind, like the walking dead.
Speaker 2:Yeah deer, yeah and um, oh my god, it was completely blind, like the walking dead. But deer, yeah, oh my God. And it was in the middle of this farm field, a stubble field. Yeah, it was like eight-inch stubble. No place that a deer would ever voluntarily lay down unless it was extremely sick. And yeah, it was. Just we drove by it and we're like that's an odd place for that deer, and then we were looking at it and it was a nice buck yeah but it was also.
Speaker 2:I had already shot my buck by then too, and um and uh, we're looking at it. We called it into the game department like hey, like this deer is is deathly sick, like yeah, it's going to die like? Can we put it out of its misery?
Speaker 2:because that's you know as hunters like, yeah, we may shoot them, we may kill them and to put food on our table, but we cared very deeply about that wildlife. Yeah, so, um, it was one of those like we wanted to do what was best for that deer and, but we wanted to do it legally, like, and the game department wouldn't let us put it down. They're like you can put your tag on it. We're like, well, we don't have a valid tag anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wouldn't put a tag on that Gross.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's just, it's terrible and it's really just from the like. A lot of it is a natural die-off, like populations become too dense and so and so they just like struck down by a zombie yeah, and I mean blue tongue when the white tail populations get super dense around here, blue tongue comes through and it's crazy, kills them and it's just the the natural cycle yeah I mean it's huh what makes me wonder.
Speaker 1:You know the people, you know when they do die off and they're just laying there, man, the, the predators that come and feed off of it, wonder if it goes, if it transfers to them. I, I don't know if their gut is just so intense.
Speaker 2:I honestly don't think it does. I think a lot of those diseases it's specific to the ungulates like that. Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, that's the one thing, man yeah this question.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I know a lot of people they worry about. It's like trichinosis with bears Black bear meat man.
Speaker 1:There's nothing like it, right? It's amazing. Are you going to try to get a bear tag?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll probably actually try and bear hunt again this year. I'll probably take a rifle out for that one, though.
Speaker 1:Wolfgang does bear hunt too. Yeah, he's a good guy. You need to a rifle out for that one, though. Wolfgang. Wolfgang does bear hunt too. Yeah, yeah, he's. Yeah, yeah, he's a good guy. You need to check out that episode, man but yeah he has this, uh, he has this fascination of, of this one bear that travels in and around his property and he's just like next year, no, no, next year, you know, yeah, yeah and you almost develop that sense when you watch animals like that yeah, that you just want to see them live too, because like that was, that was one thing, like when I my first bull elk I'd taken um I we're after this one elk, one elk, one elk.
Speaker 2:Well, there's like three that we're like really after and, um, the one died of old age people were finding his sheds three, four years later, stuff like that, and then he just disappeared yeah no one. There's never any pictures of him with anyone, so we have no idea where it's crazy but yeah they all come to the same place, huh.
Speaker 2:They. They're pretty consistent in their patterns every year, yeah, um, on where they're at during certain times of the year and all that. But yeah, it was, he was an awesome bull. And every year I was like, oh, I want, I want to see somebody get them, get them, get them. But I was like, but I want to see them live next year. Gotcha Like and.
Speaker 1:I was telling Pops he needs to take me out there, man, so we can go, you know, get some meat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but If you want to bear hunt, I know a few spots.
Speaker 1:That's right, okay, well, I have to get a tag first, right, isn't it? Lottery, no?
Speaker 2:Right, okay, well, I have to get a tag first, right, isn't it lottery? No, it's over the counter. Over the counter. Yeah, yeah, for fall bear, it's over the counter. They did away with Washington spring bear, okay.
Speaker 1:So that was the lottery bear tag.
Speaker 2:I think I would go and I won't say anything just because of the flack that you'll get. It's weird with it. Yeah, like people. Because of the flack that you'll get. It's weird with it. Yeah, like people. Don't that trophy, yeah, but you can eat it yeah people don't care as much about the elk or the deer or rabbit or turkey or anything like that. Joe rogan did this. He posted um. It was uh, it was turkey meat, wild turkey meat.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then he posted elk meat and it was just a picture of the meat Right and labeled bags of animals that he'd killed. Well, the one that said bear meat people went crazy over.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because it was a bear yeah.
Speaker 1:Just like cougar man yeah.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I've heard that's one of the best eating meats. Yeah, my, my buddy, he uh went to college with and was roommates and everything else, but he lives in northern california. Dude, he hunts them, yeah, and he takes them home and skins them and eats them. Dude, it's crazy. He's like dude, it's one of the best meats you'll ever eat. I'm like serious, and it's white too. Yeah, it's white. Yeah, I wouldn't have known yeah, I, that's.
Speaker 2:One thing I really want to get is cougar.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh dude, I never want to see a cougar, because if they, if you see him, he saw you four miles away.
Speaker 2:I've seen two in the wild. What's that? I've seen two for sure, in the wild. See there's, and I watched one of them kill an elk.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that made me feel, you know, actually 12-year-old me was scared shitless, yeah. But like looking back on it now, I'm like, well, if a cougar decides to attack me, I'm, and it wants to eat me, I'm going to go out pretty quick Because it did not screw around with that elk. That elk was done in 30 seconds. Yeah, it goes right for the back. Right, it goes right for the throat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, like the back or the front, the front right on the throat, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I was like you know, people are super afraid of these things. Hell yeah, Understandably so. But if it decides that you're dinner, it's at least going to be quick, it's not going to be very painful. Also, man, because, like I mean watching in a drug, an 800 pound elk into the brush.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy by itself yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm sitting there watching that and I'm like I couldn't do that downhill. Yeah, and it was doing it uphill, yeah, and it was wild. That's crazy. And then the second one that was the very first time I'd ever seen a cougar in the wild.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what I witnessed.
Speaker 1:I would have pissed my pants.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I was ghost white. According to my dad, they're different man, yeah. And then recently there was a study or a story of a lady fighting off a cougar for 45 minutes. I don't even know if it's a baby one like that. One person in Colorado, running or Utah, come to find out he killed a cougar with his bare hands. But come to find out it was like a little adolescent cougar. I was like, oh, it makes sense, hey, try that in the big one. It was just a joke, but still like 45 minutes playing around with the cougar or fighting a cougar, hell, no, yeah, I want to know that lady and how she did that or manage that for 45 minutes yeah, yeah and what were you saying?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, it's wild with that like, and people get killed by bobcats every year it's a 45 pound animal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bob bob bobcats are out here. Yeah, you can hear them. I saw, I've seen I it.
Speaker 2:I've seen it around here, man.
Speaker 1:They're a big time around here, especially around that. Preserve man, Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen a few. I saw one in Elk, Huntington Oregon.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They're different man and I got my furbearer's license. I went through all the courses and everything during COVID when you could do it online. Right, I went through all the courses and everything during COVID when you could do it online. Otherwise you had to go to Olympia for it. But it makes it so I'm eligible in all the states by their furbearers license. So I did that. Now I can go buy my furbearers license in whatever state I want to hunt in. I can go shoot bobcats and stuff like that too. But yeah, it was it.
Speaker 1:It's crazy at how stealthy they are oh yeah, but they're so loud in the way they communicate it's like yeah, is that a lady in distress?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, I had a cougar one year. Scream oh yeah, and that was my buddy. His name's Colby actually. Not Cash but another one. He was kind of toying about hunting a little bit and was wanting to get into it and see what it was all about. I brought him out elk hunting and the tree stand. I wanted to hunt because where we hunt in Oregon it's very hard to hunt it on foot.
Speaker 2:You got to be up above everything because the underbrush is so thick Right, and so the tree stand I wanted to go sit in. There's another tree stand, literally walking the same trail to it. So I dropped him off at that first tree stand and then I went into that farther tree stand, literally walking the same trail to it. So I dropped him off at that first tree stand and then I went into that farther tree stand and about 150 yards away from that tree stand, if not less, this cougar lets out its scream and there's like 45 minutes left of light and it's about a 25 minute hike out. Yeah, did you?
Speaker 1:guys stay in there. No, I climbed out.
Speaker 2:I gave it about 10, 15 minutes To clear, yeah, to make sure I didn't hear anything else or didn't come walking in, yeah, and then um, and I got down out of the tree stand and I went over to him and we have zero cell service wherever we are, so there is zero communication between us. We could have yelled and maybe heard each other, yeah, like, and we're only 250 yards apart but, but you guys heard that though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what did your buddy say?
Speaker 2:and he was the one with the gun. Oh, I had a bow, I left him with the gun and so, um, get over there and he's like he's freaking and yeah, man, all that, um, I'm trying to hold it together for him, but yeah, it was, it was wild, yeah, and it was a few days later. We saw the paw prints, yeah, or it was a few days before we saw the paw prints.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or it was a few days before we had seen paw prints or something like that. Yeah, yeah and yeah it's, they're it's crazy.
Speaker 1:They're different beasts, man. I think they scare me more than a bear man. Yeah, yeah, now, if it was a grizzly, it's equal. I think Grizzlies. Dude, I'm not going to sit there and see if there's a grizzly or a black bear.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Because you can tell by the nose right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then the grizzlies have the big hump on the back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not going to sit there and be like, okay, is that a grizzly? No, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, yeah, I'd rather no. Sounds wild, but I'd rather take my chances up on like Kodiak Island with a grizzly and Montana with a grizzly, Because they actually get hunted in Kodiak Island, right, and so they know a gunshot doesn't mean a dinner bell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, true.
Speaker 2:True, but yeah that's, it's a different, like grizzlies are one of those.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that, yeah. That's why I don't do that much stuff in Montana and not too much in Idaho when it comes to. You know, getting outdoors and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Washington, I don't think really wants to admit to it, but there's grizzlies.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Up north.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, dude yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Colville yeah.
Speaker 2:Colville, Spokane area. Oh yeah, there's grizzlies up there and all that, but the one predator that really, really scares me.
Speaker 1:What's that? Wolves? Yeah, yeah, but you guys deal with that over there where you live. There's a lot of stuff there, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but those are like cougar bobcat bears. That's a singular one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all the packs.
Speaker 2:More often than not, there's at least two wolves, and that's the scary part to me and the wolves. They decide they want to eat you. They don't kill you yeah and just eat you alive. Yeah, it's not, yeah it's crazy man and that's the wild part about like nature and that too, like those animals that hunt in packs and bears, they'll eat you alive too, but they can just about overpower anything well, well, yeah, one swipe dude, you're done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, please.
Speaker 2:Please don't. But yeah, no, they're the scary ones to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wolves, okay, yeah. Well, you got them right in the backyard man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that year I killed that bull with my bow and I knew one of the other guys that was hunting that same canyon as me and he called me the day after I killed it and he goes hey, I just seen two wolves up the hill, like basically 150 yards up the hill from where you got your bull at.
Speaker 1:Have you seen the size of the coyotes these days? Yeah, dude, they're almost the size of a wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're big. Yeah, Now you can the ones out by my house. I got a bunch of them by my house.
Speaker 1:There's a bunch of them back in Benton City area, you know, on McBee, the ridgeline and everything, and there's a couple of times when I had to stop and be like is that? No? No, I'm like that's a coyote. Oh my God, that thing is gnarly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I've seen a few that have been well over 50 pounds. Dude they're huge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're huge. Okay, I see somebody lighting you up Is that the lady I don't know, no, no, do you have to go? Nope. I don't no okay, All right, it's been a pleasure, man, it's been a pleasure. Next time let's do some concerts up here or something like that, man, you know, and maybe a couple spectating. Well, for you I'm always spectating, but, like you know, just have a good old time watching. You know some rodeo, yeah for sure.
Speaker 1:Cheer on the people who are coming up and up and coming. Dude, it's a wonderful sport, man, it gets me going and I love every minute of it. Dude, I do, I do, man. There's something about it, man. I think it's all the hard work. Knowing what they do, knowing what you guys do. You guys lay it all on the line. You guys don't really talk much, you guys just show up, do what you got to do and then repeat yep through a whole damn season whole season, man, like spring, summer, fall.
Speaker 1:So three seasons, man. If you're lucky you get a winner. But yeah, just it's crazy yeah, yeah there's.
Speaker 2:It's a very trying uh sport to be in for sure I think it's longer than baseball season. Yeah, for sure yeah, it's one of the only sports in a way that can be played year round.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because there's a lot of heated indoor arenas you're lucky I mean montana has year round, even though, like dang, for real, but yeah, they do. Yeah, texas oklahoma arizona wyoming yeah yeah, but that's the money, money, money yeah, yeah to have that stuff but yeah, no, we'll have to catch a few concerts stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Um, I think we're gonna do the whiskey fest okay um, yeah, I don't do that man. It's too poppy for me, oh yeah, yeah and then, um, actually I don't know if he can get tickets still, but me and Cash are going to Zach Bryan.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I guess, and our girlfriends are also joining us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, zach Bryan, that's the kind of country I don't like. Okay, yeah, yeah, I am going to the Weekstock Festival though.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dude, that's good stuff, that stuff, I love that stuff, man. But uh, now I'm going to go see red clay strays in Spokane. That's going to be fun. When's that one? Uh uh, July, I believe it's like right before or right after, uh, chris Stapleton, okay, chris Stapleton, okay, yeah, yeah, seeing Chris Stapleton in Spokane as well. Seattle, okay, seattle, gonna go see him. You ever seen him? I've not, dude, he's a different beast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's a different beast.
Speaker 1:I've seen the steel drivers oh, okay, nice, when he wasn't yeah, that was after he went on. Yeah, I saw the steel drivers last year okay, yeah, I saw the Steel Drivers last year. Okay, yeah, dude, he made them dude. I don't care what they say, he made them dude. Oh my God, yeah, the Steel Drivers are good, but, man, when he was in there they were better. So, okay, yeah, well, let's hit a concert or two, or maybe a festival, that farewell festival.
Speaker 2:And down in like like redmond or bend area it looks promising, but it's expensive as hell is it? Yeah, so it's like man they're.
Speaker 1:They're just pulling all kinds of money out for us like all like lineups and everything else and pay an arm and a leg to see him. But no, definitely gotta gotta get together one of these days and just shoot it like the Vegas. Yeah, sound good, let's do it All right, man Brock, it's been a pleasure man. Thank you, it's been great being back home. Take care.