Column: Archery event just might lead to new hobby for my son
Leaning over to help my son figure out the mechanics of shooting a bow, Mike Vinion watched with interest as he was able to pop a balloon.
To my knowledge, my son had never shot a bow and arrow before and if he had, it was probably one of those little kiddie models that break after 30 minutes.
One of the other participants allowed Brandon to borrow a bow so he could take part in a Saturday afternoon balloon shoot at the Fisher River Shootout out at Fawn Creek Campground.
Dorie Stephens and Teri Kelly of the Libby Archery Club invited him to take aim. Brandon and my wife tagged along with me while I shot photos and did interviews on site for a feature story.
With Teri’s help early on, he didn’t pop a balloon on the first try but he did get the arrow to stick – not a bad accomplishment I thought at the time. I think Teri might’ve given him a dollar prize anyway for accomplishing that feat.
Later on, Vinion took over the shoot and helped the kids, retrieved arrows and awarded money. I appreciated the time that he and the others took to help Brandon.
And by the way, it wasn’t long before he was asking me for his own bow. Maybe that little trip out to the campground and the archery club’s hospitality will lead to a new interest or hobby for him.
Last summer, my wife spent three weeks on a river raft trip through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River.
The experience I can venture to say will always be a highlight of her life. The Grand Canyon has always been a special place to her and to spend the time flowing within the lifeblood of that natural wonder is something to cherish.
On Friday evening, I took her out to Yaak Falls on Highway 508 in between Troy and the Yaak. The water was running fast – so fast that I got a little dizzy if I looked for too long.
Besides the main falls that you can see from the parking area, there is another pretty good-sized drop-off in the river about 50 yards down. We walked along the highway for a few minutes and found a trail that led down to that spot.
Incredible view, incredibly fast. I asked her if they went over anything like that down the Colorado and of course she laughed at me at the suggestion.
It would be hard to imagine anyone going through that type of rapid in a raft.
For those who haven’t noticed, I started a hiking series in Wednesday’s edition this week. I hope these pieces do a little to help promote our region and I plan to eventually feature them as part of our online product.
The second hike on the series that will appear next week will be on the Old Highway 2 Trail near Troy. During that hike, we went off course a bit to Shannon Lake, a little gem that sits in an area near the Old Highway 2 and the Grambauer trails.
It was a beautiful day – a little wind and just cool enough that we didn’t die from the heat. The lake had awesome views and we met some nice folks from Troy who had hiked down their with their kids and black lab. I even got a front page photo out of it.
I look forward to discovering this region’s backcountry as we go on our hikes. I hope most of you out there appreciate the beauty that we have at our disposal.
(Brad Fuqua is managing editor of The Western News. E-mail him at: thewesternnews@gmail.com )