Yesterday afternoon, Trent traveled 2 hours north to pick up a friend, and a rental trailer for the purpose of going to Wyoming to haul a horse home for our friend. They picked up the trailer, but soon realized the trailer lights were not indicating properly. They stopped to fix that, and that took several hours. This meant that the friend and Trent didn't make it back here for Shabbat dinner. - And I was getting pretty antsy about the whole trip, with the idea that they left the trailer place with the lights not working properly - that didn't impress me at all.
So, they arrived here nearly at Midnight, told us the tale and retired to bed. This morning they left just before 6 AM and headed south to the border to enter North Dakota at Fortuna, and south to Williston. Just before Alexander, they turned west into Montana and made their way to the 94 highway at Glendive MT. I spoke to them just before Wiliston and just before Glendive - the trip was uneventful at that point.
A few hours later I called, expecting them to be approaching Hardin MT.. (A town that has been in the news as of late and was a cause for concern for Trent and I at the thought of traveling through it). It turns out they weren't anywhere near Hardin, they were at Miles City - the truck was not enjoying the climb into the mountains and was huffing and puffing. They pulled into a service station in Miles City and a mechanic there suggested it was either a cracked gasket or a broken header. A cracked gasket is a day's repair once the gasket is found for a 20 year old truck - but a broken header means it needs a new engine, and not worth bringing the truck home. We've just invested $1000 into new tires and rims for this truck - and we need this truck to haul water for the house - without it, there's no water for the cistern!
So, at this point, I don't know where they are. They were planning on continuing on their way slowly towards Casper Wy and trying to get it fixed there tomorrow (Sunday - yep.. sounds promising!). I called a friend who knows the truck, and knows Trent, and asked him if he thought that the truck would make it the 6 hour highway drive to Casper from Miles City. He said it sounded doubtful.
Last year at about this time, Trent went hunting with Jim - the first day out, they got lost. I was blissfully ignorant. Today I'm not. I've been praying about this trip for over a week now, and praying fervently for the last two days. When something went wrong yesterday, I was getting nervous. I should have told him to abandon ship and not go, but I wanted to let my son have this opportunity to grow into manhood. He's not alone, he's with an adult - but still.. it's not easy having him in such trouble so far away.
I'll keep you posted as I hear more.. Please pray for them - Trent and Marie.. and the truck. and the horse Sally who needs to be brought home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
832 pm
Got a text message, they're at Little Bighorn and the I90.. so they're moving slowly, but moving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9:57 Marie just called, they’re in Sheridan WY. Marie will drive the last two hours to Casper. Truck is working fine. 150 miles left
~~~~~~~~~~~
Arrived at Casper at 2 pm
~~~~~~~~~
3:15pm Sunday
I just heard from him. The truck is hissing, and he can't tell where from. It looses power in the hills, so they're planning on coming home a different way to avoid the Bighorn mountains (by waywest of the Black Hills). They can't pick up the horse today, as there's a storm where the horse is, they're trying to borrow another truck so they can go get the horse from where it is.. in the mountains.. and then bring it back to Casper, where they'll re-hook his truck and come home. It's a 5 hour round trip just to pick up the horse, so it's not likely he'll be home until Tuesday. He's pretty frustrated about the truck - but essentially - they took "Grampa" for a marathon, after "grampa" has been used to a daily stroll for the last year and a half.
The truck loses power on the hills - he has to down shift to 3rd gear and go about 35mph up the hill.. tough slugging in the mountains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Playing catch up.. the drama of this trip is over now, I'm able to tell you about it now.
Monday, Marie and her friend drive to the mountains to pick up the horse, Trent tries to fix his truck.. thinks it's a vacuum hose leak.. he gets if fixed.. horse arrives, and they plan to leave Tuesday Morning.
Some time early Tuesday morning, they discover the horse is dehydrated, and decide not to leave Wyoming, but tend to the horse. I don't find out about it until 8PM, when I expected they'd be arriving shortly. I have a meltdown. - ANOTHER meltdown.
Wednesday morning we get a call at 7AM, Trent is on his way home, the horse is loaded, they're off. He's instructed to call every time he stops for gas or whatever.
10:30 AM I get a call, they're south of Gilette - the truck is losing power.. they can't continue. My meltdown just about returns. I spend some time on the phone with my friend Susan to hold my head above water........... I come up with a plan, I'll rent a truck, drive down and bring them all home. Turns out you can't rent a truck with a tow package.. and can't tow internationally with a rental anyhow... sigh. Back to waiting.
3PM. they have the truck fixed, they've fixed the catalytic converter.
9PM They're in Miles City - 4 hours from the border.
My brain calculates.. 4 hours from the border, therefore about 6-7 hours from home. That means he'll be home in the wee hours of the night. I stay up until 2 AM, but don't hear anything, I head to bed.
Wake up in the morning, there's another call, he's in Weyburn, waiting for Peter to come get the trailer. Weyburn is an hour away!!!!!
just before 9AM Thursday morning, after being up since 5AM Wedneday morning, after driving most of the way... my boy is HOME. I do my dance, I give hugs, feed him, he takes a shower and goes to bed for the better part of the day.
Today is Friday - Today is normal. today is good.. today is relaxed My boy is home!
So Leslie wanted to know what other materials Trent would be using for his year of study. I've finally received it all, so here it is.. with the exception of his math, it's up in his room.
My scheduling will have to wait, as there's the potential that he might spend a month apprenticing with our Farrier. That's alright, it's all education, just not sit down education.
So this is Trent's shelf.
And this is the details of what's on his shelf
Product Description
Edward Goodrick's classic guide introduces the alphabets and basic elements of Greek and Hebrew grammar. With this foundation, the student is encouraged to use some basic language tools, including analytical, lexicons, interlinears, concordances, and commentaries.
From the Back Cover
Do It Yourself Hebrew and Greek is designed for the serious Bible student who wants to discover as accurately as possible what the Bible meant in its original languages but who is not in a position to master those languages. This manual introduces the alphabets and the basic elements of Hebrew and Greek grammar. With this foundation, the student is taught to use the basic language tools, including analyticals, lexicons, interlinears, concordances, and commentaries. MAIN FEATURES: • Explanatory diagrams • Sample pages from the language tools with explanations of use • How to analyze, identify, and find Hebrew and Greek words • How to do a word study • Basic principles of interpretation • Glossary • Worksheets and answer keys • May be used individually or by classes
God's Lamp, Man's Light is a masterful analysis of the menorah, the only biblical symbol that has the distinction of being designed by God himself.
The only comprehensive study of the menorah in existence, this book is filled with valuable information about the history, design, and function of the menorah in both the Israelite sanctuary and in the earliest church.
Dr. Garr also analyzes biblical themes connected with the menorah, including light, fire, the tree of life. He discusses thoroughly the menorah’s messianic imagery. He also evaluates individual men and women, Israel, and the church as God’s living menorah, fulfilling the commission of being the light of the world.
You will simply be amazed at the wealth of insight that has been hidden from the historical church because of its separation from Judaism and things Jewish. You will be challenged to embark on a more complete study of the Jewish roots of your Christian faith when you consider this enriching and inspirational teaching on the menorah, God’s lamp, man’s light. If you’re restoring the Jewish roots of your faith, God's Lamp, Man's Light is essential to your quest.
A Chasidic discourse from one of the pioneers of Messianic Judaism, crammed with stimulating thought and pervaded by real spiritual beauty, Love and the Messianic Age is a mint of good things and solid learning.
Love in the Messianic Age is adorned in a magnificent, sturdy gold-embossed hard cover, and it would make a handsome and classic addition to any library. Its 87 pages contain a biography of the author and an introduction by D. Thomas Lancaster, as well as numerous footnotes.
This is an important book for Messianic Judaism and Christianity both. It opens a field of inquiry and reflection which encourages us to internalize the spiritual truths of theology and of our faith in Messiah and causes us to consider our relationship with God, our motivations for serving him, and how our interactions with God and Torah can be expressed in hearts of joy, acts of love, fervent prayer, and sincere repentance. Most importantly, Levertoff’s work demonstrates just how mysterious and wonderful the Gospel message actually is.
Paul Philip Levertoff, a Jewish believer from a Chasidic family with a classical, Yeshivah education, summarizes the complex, esoteric teachings of Chasidic Judaism for the purpose of comparison and contrast with apostolic theology. Levertoff reveals a mystical thrust behind the Gospel and unfurls the Messianic concept of love—love for God and love of fellow—bound up with the experience of knowing God and fearing God, relationship to His Torah, and a life characterized by joy, prayer, and repentance. This is a book about experiencing God and attaining the revelation of the Messianic Era in the here and now.
In His Own Words will take you on a fascinating journey through territory that has, until now, remained unexplored by Christian theologians. The book reveals amazing details about God's Word that have never been translated into our English editions.
You will learn why some letters in the original Hebrew Bible are printed over- or under-size, as well as why other letters are printed upside down, broken in half, or suspended in mid-air. You will discover why nearly every column of a Torah scroll begins with a letter that symbolizes a hook, and why some passages of scripture are printed in such a way as to depict a brick wall. This book will also demonstrate how the message of the gospel is graphically illustrated by the names, shapes, and order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. You are sure to be inspired and encouraged by the amazing truths that God has hidden in these ancient symbols. Written in layman's terms, In His Own Words will introduce you to a dimension of God's Word that will powerfully impact your life and ministry.
Turn a book into a bible study resource with the new companion In HIs Own Words- Student Guide. The Student Guide along with the Teachers Resource Guide can aid an individual's study or to help facilitate a small group study. In this companion resource you will learn how to refine the concepts that Mr. Luton introduces. Our ability to grasp these concepts will increase as we ponder the ancient lessons God would teach us through His biblical alphabet.
Product Description
A convenient reference for writers, students, and businesspeople;anyone who needs the right word at the right time. Poetry, prose, and a nine-letter pizza toping . . . When you're looking for a word, pull it out of one of our Pockets.
About the Author
Since 2000. Hammond, American Map, Langenscheidt Dictionaries, Insight Travel Guides, Delorme – the famous names in the Langenscheidt family. These represent the most authoritative, up-to-date, and extensive travel and reference products available. In January 2003, the renowned Berlitz Publishing became part of the Langenscheidt Group. The Langenscheidt Publishing Group, the premier group of map and travel companies, offers over 4,000 North American and international street maps, road maps, atlases, language-learning, bilingual dictionaries, and travel-related products covering countries, cities, and languages in every continent.
This is a two book set that includes both the student textbook and the Solutions and Test Manual.
Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. is proud to present the second edition of its Exploring Creation With Biology course. The first edition has been used by thousands of students in all 50 states and 13 other countries. Now, this award-winning biology course will get even better!
This course is designed to be the student’s first high school science course and is a college-prep biology course that provides a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general biology. Heavily emphasizing the vocabulary of biology, it provides the student with a strong background in the scientific method, the five-kingdom classification scheme, microscopy, biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular and Mendelian genetics, evolution, dissection, and ecosystems. It also provides a complete survey of the five kingdoms in Creation. Students who take and understand this course will be very well-prepared for a tough university biology course.
Why Hebrew Word Pictures are important to believers?
"Every so often, something comes along that can help move your spiritual life into high gear. I'm convinced that Frank Seekins' concept of "Hebrew Word Pictures" is such a concept. With so many books and conference about biblical principles, this one can help you better understand and love God's Word itself.
As someone who's studied "word pictures" for years, seeing them come alive in the very letters of Scripture is like adding color to a classic movie. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gaining a deeper love and understanding of the Scriptures.
John Trent, ph.D Author, Speaker President of Encouraging Words
Does this need a description?
The most accurate and complete Strong's ever published, the only Strong's compiled and verified by computer technology, the only truly exhaustive concordance to the KJV, and includes the most up-to-date Hebrew and Greek dictionaries for precise word studies.
In the first century of the Common Era, tens of thousands of Jewish people followed Yeshua (Jesus), believing him to be the promised Messiah of Israel. They didn't renounce their heritage, their customs, nor their people. They remained Jews.
Two thousand years later, hundreds of thousands of Jewish people follow Yeshua, also believing that he was the Messia. They, too , have not renounced their heritage, customs nor their people.
Messianic Judaism is the modern movement that is bringing it all together, for Jews and non-Jews. This book answers the following questions and more:
What happened in the past 2000 years?
Is Messianic Judaism a prophetic movement?
What do Messianic Jews believer?
Did the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, become null and void?
What are the challenges for the future of this Movement?
In easy to read style, Dr. David H Stern, translator of the Jewish New Testament and Complete Jewish Bible, author of books and articles, teacher and tinker, gives us a comprehensive look at this vital movement.
Whether you are a Messianic Jew, yourself, a Christian with curiosity about the Jewish roots of the Faith, or, a Jewish person wanting to understand more, Messianic Judaism.. puts it all in perspective for you.
Did Yeshua observe the Law? Did Paul teach his congregations to abandon the Torah? Was the devout Jew, Peter, persuaded that the Commandments were cancelled?
The answers you’ll find in They Loved the Torah may surprise you! Even though many Jews believe that Paul taught against the Law, this book disproves that notion. Most Christians are disconnected from the Torah; reading this book will reconnect them.
Dr. Friedman makes an excellent case for his premise that ALL the first followers of Messiah were not only Torah-observant, but they desired to spread their love for God’s entire Word to the Gentiles to whom they preached.
Too many Gentile believers think of Christianity as a replacement for Judaism - and Israel as something apart from God's plan.
Don FInto's Your People Shall Be My People reveals God's purposes for His covenant people in these times - and how this revelation is impacting the Church.
Unlike Ruth in the old Testament, many of us ahve turned our backs on the relatives of the Messiah, and we share the collective guilt for centuries of their persecution. Finto reminds us that confessing these sins is only a beginning. More than ever,we must embrace and intercede for the chosen people of God, aligning our prayers with God's plan.
With Israel and her people once again center stage at a crucial moment in th world history, our prayers for them are vital. Will we make the same covenant pledge to Israel that Ruth made to Naomi? If so, our Church will never be the same.
From the first "Christian" persecutions of the Jews in the fourth century to the horrors of the Holocaust, from Israel-bashing in today's press to anti-Semitism in today's pulpits, this shocking and painful book tells the tragic story that every Christian must hear.
A Hebrew Bible - both Old and New Testaments in Hebrew - from Trintarian Bible Society, Tyndale House, Dorset Road , London, SW193NN, England
We've done the bulk of this map study at our congregation, but Trent will be able to continue to use these maps to help him navigate the Promised Land as he does the other studies. He may finish this study..... we may finish it as a family around the dining room table in the evenings.
Hope this inspires some of you to do some further studies, or to add to your own children's studies.
Homeschooling materials are starting to trickle in in the mail, and I'm so excited by today's box. I asked my friend Yisrael what resources he had to suggest for some really in depth Hebrew and scripture studies. The focus of Trent's academics for this year will be almost entirely based on scripture and Hebrew. We're basically training him to be of little use to the secular world, but powerfully useful to God's Kingdom. This was on his list.
Beth Tikkun Publishing
In His Own Words
Author: L. Grant Luton
In His Own Words will take you on a fascinating journey through territory that
has, until now, remained unexplored by Christian theologians. The book reveals
amazing details about God's Word that have never been translated into our English
editions. See details.
In this companion resource you will learn how to refine the concepts that Mr. Luton
introduces. Our ability to grasp these concepts will increase as we ponder the
ancient lessons God would teach us through His biblical alphabet. See details.
I ordered the book, the study guide and the teacher guide.. and just flipping through it, I'm ... well, I'm in awe of what Trent will spend his year studying, and a little envious that he has the time to do this.. I may have to make the effort to do this too, once I'm finished the Hebrew Primer that is..
Here's what's written on the back of the book
"Till heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Torah..."
Why does the world need a book about the Hebrew alphabet? Actually, this is not the first book written about the subject. Jewish theologians have been exploring the hidden meanings of the Hebrew letters for many centuries. However, this is the first book that explores this subject from a Messianic viewpoint.
In His Own Words will take you on a fascinating journey through territory that has , until now, remained unexplored by Christian theologians. Through the pages of this book, you will encounter amazing details about God's word that have never been translated into our English editions. You will learn why some letters in the Hebrew Bible are printed over - or undersize, as well as why other letters are printed upside down, broke in half, or suspended in mid-air. You will discover why nearly every column of a Torah scroll begins with a letter that symbolizes a hook, and why some passages of scripture are printed in such a way as to depict a brick wall.
This book will also demonstrate how the message of the gospel is graphically illustrated by the names, shapes, and order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. You are sure to be inspired and encouraged by the amazing truths that God has hidden in these ancient symbols.
Written in layman's terms, In His Own Words will introduce you to a dimension of God's Word that will powerfully impact your life and ministry.
Trent has joined a very funny Ultimate Frizbee team. It's made up mostly of homeschoolers (past and present) and a couple who aren't. The team is called Disclexia
Anyhow, the occasionally decide that a game will be dedicated to a theme. They've had crazy hat day, or wear your undies on the outside day.. and Monday's game was wear your occupation day. Trent actually did play wearing his beekeeping hat and apron.. silly boy.
And Myles goes to be the game photographer
They're a pretty good team, they win most of their games.. won this one.
A bag full of hand me down jeans is fuel for creative energy. The boys decided that some of these jeans needed some re-styling... they're calling them torched jeans
Imagine using the back of your pickup truck to make artwork out of your jeans.. simply rad man! Can you say REDNECK? (Oh My, I just realized, I'm producing Redneck offspring!)
Earlier this week, Trent was asked to be a moderator on a group he's been conversing on for the last year and a half. The owners send a very nice letter asking him to serve the group, siting that he is mature beyond his years, without being to straight to the exclusion of having fun. He accepted and the very next night he was participation in a Bible Study with the group, they were honing their skills at defending Yeshua as our Messiah.
Tonight he's on the phone with a friend from Texas. He's tutoring her in math - Multiplying percentages.
It's Never Nothing.. that sounds like bad English, but it's the truth. I'm really looking forward to the day when NOTHING is wrong - Nothing Needs fixing.
Today Myles and Trent went out to kill some chickens for me. For what ever reason, Trent went to his truck, and found there was a smell of gas. He looked underneath and found his gas tank leaking. He rushed in to get a bucket to catch what he could, and then got to work to find out the problem.
This is what his truck looks like now
And this is what the problem is
A broken gas pump.
Well, I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow, I'm driving him to the wreckers to get a new gas pump so he can fix his truck. We need this truck, Stuart was planning on taking another load of garbage to the dump this week, and we need this truck to haul water. And our friend who has been helping us with hauling water with his BIG truck, his mother in law died yesterday, so he won't be available to help us in the near future. Oh, did I tell you the pump in the basement to pump water through the house died on Friday night?
So this is the story of my trip. I’m going to try to do this in diary form.
Sunday, Sept. 28
At 5:00 AM Jim came to pick me up at my house. I had been up for an hour, trying to get the last few things ready before going, like packing the cold things in to the cooler, and taking one last shower. As Jim pulls up, my mom and brother are up as well, and Rourke starts packing things in to the truck. Me, well, I’m still not ready. I have to grab some extra things that I forgot earlier. Once everything was packed, I hugged my mom (of course) and we left. It was a pretty uneventful ride up, being so early, but once it got later, other people started driving. We joked that they were headed to such cushy jobs, while we went to live in a tent for 7 days.
When we got to Yorkton, we stopped for gas and Timmies. For those Americans reading, Timmies is Tim Hortons, which is the biggest (and best) doughnut shop in Canada. Jim’s a big coffee guy, but I don’t drink, so he got me a hot chocolate. After getting gas, and a map, we made a final phone call from his cell. He called another hunter that was coming to the same area, to see if he was up. He wasn’t, until the phone rang, and he was quite displeased to be woken up. After that, we lost any signal, and the only radio stations left were CBC and CJME, which are both news channels, and neither of us really liked them.
About 2 hours later, we arrived at our destination. We had three, 1 mile pack in trips. The first one, I brought all my clothes, a pail of rope, and a 2 gallon jug of water, and Jim took two 10 gallon pails. Let me tell you, it wasn’t a simple hike. I think we took at least 5 breaks that trip. The next one was his clothes, and all the food (two backpacks, and two coolers). The last one, we decided to throw everything in the canoe and drag it. Dragging a full canoe 1 mile really kills the legs. We probably took 8 breaks. And once it almost ran over Jim.
Once we had everything at our campsite, it was time to start setting up camp. Pretty much uneventful, just setting up a tent, and some tarps, but the one thing we did that I wouldn’t have thought of, was that we leveled the ground under the tent. We got all our fire wood laid out, and I think at that point we were done.
By now, it was 4:00 PM, and there wasn’t anything left to do, so Jim decided we should go for a ten minute hike, just over the hill, and then we’d come back, because he had never been over there in the 4 years he had been in this area. Well, a 10 minute hike isn’t long, so we just took the bow, the rifle, and the clothes on our back. It just so happened that we both had lighters, and he had a flashlight and some tape.
To make a long story short, we got… confused. Not “lost” just confused enough to not get back to camp for 17 1/2 hours. We decided to stop looking for camp at 6:30 and made camp. I won’t go into to much detail, but let’s say our clothes were wet, and needed drying. We just barely got a fire started before dark. We stayed in a little place where there were about 15 lodge-pole pines in a “U” shape, and we got a roof out of pine boughs and tape. It was windy, but not too cold, so we weren’t freezing to death, but it sure was cold! We had quite a few cramps in our legs, and some were so bad, I could hardly bend my leg. I think I got 3 hours of sleep that night, and Jim got 1.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I bought a pair of water proof boots for this trip, $150, and forgot them at home… Dummy.
Monday, Sept. 29.
We had been up all night, and neither one of us really wanted to stick around, so at about 6:00 AM, we started looking for camp. We decided that we would stay in the lowlands, so that we wouldn’t get ourselves even more lost, because if we went east, there was nothing but forest for several miles. Enough for us to never get out alive. Jim figured that if we stayed in the lowlands, we’d end up back at the beaver dam, which is where we first got “confused”.
Luckily, he was right, and we ended up back where we started. No we just had to find out which way we came from. We went over a couple ridges, and the third one was just too big, we figured there was no way we would have gone over it. So straight ahead of us was this ridge, behind us was the way we came, and to our left, was where we camped last night. But to our right was the thickest forest we had ever seen. So we decided to go with the only logical way, and go right. We came out about a ½ a mile south of our main camp. We finally made it out. We were so tired, we got back to camp, had a little bit to eat, and then slept for about four hours. Well, Jim slept; I sat up listening to him snore, which is what I did the first three nights as well.
At about 4:00 PM, we decided to get up, and go look for sign. We got in the canoe, and paddled up Midnight Creek, about 100 yards north, to MidnightLake, and paddled across it to the north end, where the creek resumed. Now MidnightLake, at the deepest point, was about 4 ½ feet deep.
About another 100 yards up the creek, we went on shore to look for sign. At this point of shore, there was an open plain, with some willow bushes on the south end, pine and spruce forest to the north, to the east was the creek, and to the west was a bay from MidnightLake. So we were in an inlet of sorts. We didn’t find any fresh sign, but there was some old sign, and beds, so we decided to go further north.
A mile north of there was a spot that we called Snaggle-tooth tree. At this spot, two years earlier, Jim had seen the biggest moose he had ever seen. He said it probably would have been in the top 10 moose in Saskatchewan. He was sitting in this Snaggle-tooth tree, and it was getting late, so he got down, and just as he touched ground, he heard this bull grunt, and turned around and saw him. The bull was standing about 15 yards away from him, and when Jim drew his bow, the bull just stood there, staring straight at him, for about 1 minute, but Jim couldn’t shoot him, because all he would have hit was bone. Finally, after standing there for a minute, the bull starts to run off in to the willows, and Jim missed his shot.
Anyway, when we got to that spot, we didn’t find any sign there either. Every year before this, Jim had found several fresh scrapes. After that we decided to go back to camp, because it was starting to get dark. And sleep. Sleep is good, especially when you have to get up early the next morning; 5:00 early.
Tuesday Sept. 30.
So as I said, we were supposed to get up at 5:00. Well, we didn’t get up till about 7:00. And every morning, I was the first one to get out of bed, and start the fire and get the kettle going. After we had breakfast, we got in the canoe, and went back to the willow spot, and called. We heard a couple moose breaking trees in the forest, but not a lot, and they wouldn’t come out. We sat there till about 11:30, and then went back to camp for lunch and nap. Jim decided we needed to nap every day. Then after our nap, we went back to the willows to call, but we didn’t hear anything. We stayed there till about 6:30, and then went back to camp for dinner and bed.
Wednesday Oct. 1
Again, we didn’t get up till about 8:00, and had breakfast. But instead of going to the willows, we had arranged to have lunch with the guy we called at the lodge, so we went down the creek. This creek isn’t your typical creek though. From where we camped, the whole creek south was rocks and timber.
There were a couple fresh signs, but still nothing we could really rely on. We ended up stopping at one spot, because we heard a bit of crashing, and we sat on the side of a hill for about an hour, and then decided to leave, because the crashing had gone away. It was a really good spot, because we could see the whole valley, but we still had fairly good cover. Unfortunately, we still didn’t see anything.
By this time, it was closing in on 11:00, and we still had about a half hours walk till we got to the road. When we did, we had to unload the gun, because there is a 400m game preserve from the road, to prevent truck hunters. So as were unloading the gun, we’re sitting on a hillside, and so we just decided to wait and try to get a ride, because we had been walking almost all morning. One guy stopped in his rhino, and gave us a ride back. They were camped at a lake at the other end of Midnight Creek, called IsbisterLake. They hadn’t seen anything either, and there were three of them, each going their own way. Hunting in the same area, but covering more ground. After we got back to camp, Jim decided to go straight to the Lodge. I don’t know why we didn’t just go straight from the rhino to Jim’s truck, but we didn’t. Anyway, we got to the Lodge, and found out it was closed on Wednesdays. So we didn’t get our lunch, but we did get to talk to other hunters, and no one had seen any moose either, but some had seen tracks and fresh willow cuts.
About an hour later we decided to go back to camp for lunch, and then head out again. I can’t remember where we went, but we didn’t see anything. I think that was the night where we were at the trail head by the lake, and there was a bull right across the creek from us, but he didn’t come out. That was the closest to a bull we were all week.
Thursday Oct. 2
This morning we went out to spike. We got all our gear, plus food and water for 2 days, and sleeping supplies. We canoed to Snaggle-tooth Tree, and had lunch, and then we canoed upstream till we couldn’t go any further. Now why couldn’t we go any further? Well, remember I told you south of our camp were all rocks and timber? Well, it was like that again. We decided to walk a bit further, but we didn’t go very far before deciding to go back.
On our way up, Jim spotted a place where there was a hidden creek, and he had been up there before, so we decided to go that way and make camp. It was more of a swamp then a creek, and there was one spot where it had a very small beaver dam, about 4 feet across, and it was in the side of a sort of basin. I didn’t see it, but Jim did, so we went over this dam. It’s a good thing to, because the creek kept going for quite a ways after it. After a little more paddling, we got to a spot were we thought would be a good place to camp the night. We went for a little hike to see if there was any sign, and there were some old willows, and some beds and tracks, but still nothing fresh. We did see some wolf tracks though, and some elk as well.
As we’re getting all the stuff out of the canoe, Jim picks up the 2 gallon water jug, but it feels really light. So he opens it up, and it’s only a quarter full! He says to me “Trent, didn’t I tell you to fill the jugs?” And I said, “I did!! It must have leaked!” And sure enough, in the bottom of the canoe, was all the water from the jug. So all we had left was about a liter of water to last us dinner and breakfast the next morning. We boiled perogies in some of the water, and then used the same water to mix with our soup. Jim thought the perogies were good even without the salt and pepper, and I remembered we had brought a big bag of pepper to cover the moose with so the flies stay off. So he put some on his perogies, but he puts WAY too much on, and this is strong pepper. Needless to say, his mouth was on fire by the end of dinner. And then it was bed time, in our little pup tent, just big enough to fit Jim, myself, and the gun.
Friday Oct. 3.
We ran out of good water, so we had to boil some beaver water; you have to boil this water for at least 5 minutes, because otherwise you can get Beaver Fever, which is like Montezuma’s Revenge. Anyway, we got our (mmm mmm good) porridge, took down camp, and head home, because there wasn’t anything worth sticking around for.
After getting back, I think we ended up going back to the lodge so that Jim could have coffee. Then we went and checked in on the guy that had given us a ride, to see if they had seen anything, and then went to Taryl’s ( the other hunter we had called) camp to see if they had seen anything, and have coffee. Jim is obsessed with coffee. They hadn’t seen anything either, but they had a bear Thursday night.
We decided to take a look at the other side of Midnight Creek, on the north end of Isbister, but still didn’t see anything, and it was REALLY hot. It must have been something like 25 C outside, so nothing was going to happen other than us swelter, so we went back to camp and…
Slept.
We got up at about 3:00PM and went to a little beaver pond north-west of our camp, because we thought it was a lake that some people had seen some tracks. We sat there for about 2 ½ hours, still not seeing anything, but we did hear some crashing. It was getting dark, so we went back to camp, but decided to go back the next morning. Then we had the bear incident. We had this bear hanging around our camp from about 7:30 PM till 1:00 AM. Jim told me to sleep light, in-case the bear came in, and 5 minutes after we got in the tent, I fell asleep, while Jim got to stay up and watch for the bear. It was such a satisfying sleep.
Sorry Jim.
Saturday Oct. 3.
Seeing as though this was our last day, I decided to force Jim to get up “early”, so I got up at 5:30, so that he would get up at 6:00.I think we got to our north-east spot at 7:30. We had 2 bulls crashing around on the other side of the pond, but they wouldn’t come out, so at about 10:00 we decided to go around the lake to go get him, but we had to go the long way around so that the bull wouldn’t catch our scent or see us. Unfortunately, the walk around the pond took us 2 hours, and by that time, we had lost him. Then it was lunch, nap and then back to our spot to hope and pray that something would come out before sundown. No moose. Not a single one. So we came home exhausted, beat up, and empty-handed, but had a really good time.
All-in-all, the experience was great, getting lost was a good learning tool, and Jim taught me a lot of neat tricks. And I now know that when you get hot chocolate spilled on your chest, it leaves blisters. And I still have the blisters. Now this wasn’t my fault, Jim ddecided to peel-out at a stoplight in Yorkton.
I am Sombra, and these are the stories from our house. We're a Messianic family where academics often take a back seat to the work and adventure of life.
At about 4:00 PM, we decided to get up, and go look for sign. We got in the canoe, and paddled up Midnight Creek, about 100 yards north, to 
