Shooting Day (With A Couple of Mishaps)

Above, before his mishap, Larry shooting his pistol. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday's session of target shooting at the shooting area of the Cibola National Forest was an enjoyable time for Larry Lucier and myself. 

It was reasonably warm outside with very little wind. 

I started out shooting my Winchester 62A .22 pump action rifle and Larry started out with his .22 Henry lever-action rifle. Neither of us could hit the broadside of a barn when we had the targets set at 50 yards, so we moved them in to 25 yards. We did much better then.

After that, I switched to shooting eight one-gallon jugs of water with my Winchester 94 .30-30. It was fun watching them explode. Larry switched to a .22 cal. pistol.

That's when we started having a couple of mishaps.

Above, yours truly holding the Winchester 94 and the shredded shooting bag. Photo by Larry Lucier.

It started with me shooting the Winchester 94 from my table with my shooting bags. Somehow, the barrel of the rifle slipped off right when I was firing and it blasted the larger of the two bags to pieces. I thought for sure that I would thereafter be the butt of jokes over this. But, something a bit worse happened.

Above, Larry showing his wounded index finger. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Larry was shooting his .22 pistol and somehow his left index finger went over the gun's muzzle and the round grazed his finger. It was a small cut with powder burns around it. It was a good thing that it was a .22 and not a larger caliber. 

We continued shooting for a little while more and then packed up and later met up with "Uncle Bob" at Jerry Cafe for dinner. Naturally, we had a good conversation about our shooting mishaps. 

As it is said, sh*t happens!

Florida Man Gored By Yellowstone Bison

Above, a Yellowstone bison lounging on a hill. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Despite many warnings, including those when one enters Yellowstone National Park, stupid people are getting injured (or even killed) by approaching bison too close.

It has happened again in Yellowstone when a Florida man got too close to a bison and got himself gored.

From RV Travel:

A 47-year-old man from Cape Coral, Florida, was gored by a bison while visiting Yellowstone National Park on Sunday, May 4, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

Park officials say the man approached the animal in the Lake Village area and was attacked after getting too close. He sustained minor injuries and was treated by medics at the scene.

Yellowstone—and most national parks—require visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from all wildlife, and at least 100 yards from predators like bears and wolves. Bison, though seemingly docile, are unpredictable and can run up to three times faster than humans.

This marks the first reported bison-related injury in Yellowstone in 2025. There were two such incidents in 2024 and one in 2023. Bison have injured more people in the park than any other animal.

When I photographed bison in Yellowstone, I used a zoom lens to do so.

As been said, "Don't pet the furry cows!"

To read more, go here. 

Elderly Woman Gored By Bison

Above, a Yellowstone bison relaxing on a hill. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There's a reason why people need to keep their distance from the "furry cows" at Yellowstone National Park and other places where bison roam. One can get seriously injured or killed if they come too close to the animal. 

I've always used zoom lenses when photographing bison.

Last Saturday, an elderly woman was gored and seriously injured by a bison protecting its space.

The New York Post reported:

An 83-year-old woman was gored by a wild bison that was “defending its space” in Yellowstone National Park, according to officials.

The unidentified visitor from Greenville, South Carolina, suffered “serious injuries” in the terrifying run-in on the Storm Point Trail at Yellowstone Lake on Saturday, the National Park Service said Monday.

“The bison, defending its space, came within a few feet of the woman and lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns,” the NPS said.

After first being taken to a medical clinic in the park, the injured woman was flown by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the park service said. There was no immediate update on her condition.

Yellowstone revealed the injury while warning visitors to stay at least 75 feet away from the animals, which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall.

To read more, go here. 

Now It's Dirt Diving

Above, Russ and I last week at Jerry's Cafe.

If it isn't one thing in life, it's another.

My Jamestown friend Russell took a spill in his yard last night and got pretty banged up. Well, not exactly pretty.

Fortunately, he'll heal up.

Last week, one of his dogs got bit on the tongue by a rattlesnake. He's healing up and is back home. This week, it was his master's turn. 

At least Russ didn't land on a rattlesnake, which is good thing.

Took A Spill

Above, the Stetson that kept me from getting a head injury or worse. 

It took five years, but it finally happened.

I have some black ice on a walkway between the house and garage. I slipped on it and landed on my shoulders and back. The walkway just looked wet, but it had a layer of ice on it.

Thanks to my Stetson, I would have hit my head, but didn't. The Stetson stopped my head from hitting the walkway. 

This happened an hour and a half ago after getting back home from our coffee/breakfast at Denny's in the Flying J. Right now, my shoulders and back are sore. 

I've had some close calls before, but this was the first time I actually went down from slipping on ice. 

David Gold "Hanging In"

Above, David Gold.

Over the past few months, I was wondering what happened to former talk show host David Gold. His Facebook page has been gone for months.

I always enjoyed his insights on politics and current affairs.

Apparently, he had a fall (knee-related is what I am gathering) and suffered a fractured clavicle and, more seriously, a head injury.

Kevin McCarthy posted the following two days ago on David's current status:

David Gold update from DeAnna: (summarized)

First of all, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

As of tonight, David is still hanging in there... was able to cross room with walker yesterday and today. ASAP, he will be moved from the hospital to a rehab unit that we all think is the best one locally. After a few weeks there, then it'll be safe to do another angiogram to see if he is safe from another bleed in his brain. He's still struggling with pain from his knee, and a complex break in his clavicle.

They are postponing treatment of the clavicle until the brain injury is sorted and it's safe to mess with him. If all goes well, at some point he'll be able to come home but we are looking at a long road ahead.

My best wishes to David and DeAnna.  

Yellowstone's Greatest Threat To Visitors

Above, visitors gather the watch an eruption of Yellowstone's Old Faithful Geyser. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When one is out in the "Great Outdoors", anything can happen and at any time.

Such is the case with Yellowstone National Park, perhaps even more so.

The Casper Star-Tribune has an article on what is the greatest threat to park visitors, and it is not what one might think.

They begin with:

Summer is upon us! And for many, that means vacation time. What better place to take a holiday than Yellowstone? But while enjoying the spectacle of America’s first National Park, please keep safety in mind.

In fact, there are many ways to get injured or even die while visiting Yellowstone National Park. As reported in the book “Death in Yellowstone,” there have been numerous causes of death throughout the region’s history, including violent confrontations between people, wagon accidents, falling trees, poisonous gases, drownings, falling into hot springs, and, of course, encounters with wildlife. Even in the past few years, news stories have reported bison gorings/tossings, bear attacks, and fatal falls from selfie moments gone awry.

However, contrary to common belief, one of Yellowstone’s biggest dangers to the public is not the abundant and diverse wildlife that millions gather to see, nor even human error, such as falls or traffic accidents.

 To see what the "greatest threat" to visitors is, go here. 

National Park Deaths and Injuries

Above, Tenaya Creek at Yosemite. People have been getting swept down swollen rivers and creeks. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People have been getting injured and killed in our national parks. I've noticed quite a number of them over the past several weeks and months.

I've noticed drownings (Yosemite and Sequoia), falling into volcanic hot springs and getting dissolved (Yellowstone), falls (Crater Lake and Zion) and heat stroke/dehydration (Carlsbad Caverns).

RV Life has an article on just this subject.

They start with:

According to National Park Service statistics reported by CNN, a total of 1,025 people died in national parks from 2007 to 2013. In the big scheme, that’s not too many deaths compared to other ways to die in America. For instance, in 2015 there were 15,696 homicides and 40,000 fatal car crashes. Regardless of how many people die in U.S. national parks the fact is that many deaths were totally preventable. 

Most vacationers don’t die from grizzly bear maulings or other wild animal attacks. The causes aren’t quite as sensational. The most popular ways to die in national parks usually involves being unprepared and disrespectful of the power of nature.

To read more, go here. 

Terri's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Above, Terri and Ken Hulsey.

Those of you who read this blog have noticed that I've mentioned Ken Hulsey on occasion.

Ken runs the Monster Island News blog, of which I am a contributor. He has been a great source for pretty much everything otaku. He has been a great friend to me and "puts up with" my occasional pearls of wisdom on the Monster Island News blog.

Unfortunately, Ken's wife suffered an injury at work that has caused a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) several months ago.

I'll let Ken explain it:

Not everyone is blessed so late in life with the gift of finding their soulmate, but I was. I met Terri in 2011, we became friends through our mutal love of old movies on Facebook. Our friendship blossomed into love and in 2012 Terri moved to California so we could begin a new life together. God has been good to us and has blessed our relationship so we began to make plans to move back to NC and get married, but on March 3, 2015 Terri was injured at work. She suffered a TBI and is totally disabled.Terri requires daily medication and monthly trips to a neurologist which is an hour away from our home. It has been hard on her to deal with her 'new normal'. When our car 'died' the distress of missing doctors appointments and the fear that I would lose my job without transportation, our main source of income, began to set in and exacerbate her symptoms. I love her with all of my heart and my sole goal is, through the help of the doctors and therapists, to help her recover and have the best quality of life she can have.

An account has been set up at GoFundMe.com to raise money to help out the Hulseys. I made a contribution today that brought their total to the $500 threshold required to get their fundraiser on GoFundMe.com pages.

If you would like to help Ken and Terri, any amount is appreciated, go here.

Here's your chance to help out ONE OF US!