Hi members,
Another long time lurker, I have always loved visiting this site for your vast collective knowledge, and much warmth and humor. Now a proud new member, I'm taking this opportunity to introduce myself. I'm a nearly retired IT guy and a former long haul trucker who still gets out there once in awhile for the adventure of it.
Always a city kid (Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary), I was actually born in rural Saskatchewan and rural family roots provided opportunities the spend time on relatives' grain and livestock farms, as well as a few summers at my uncle's fishing camp in northern Saskatchewan. Aside from camp chores, my cousins and I did a lot of fishing, boating and dirt bike trail riding.
Also, my dad took us fishing and camping when he had time away from a demanding job, and the Sunday afternoon picnic and drive in the country was a regular family event. He let us drive a lot on rural gravel roads and I started learning on his "3-in-the-tree" standard when I was just 8.
My wife -- a rare Calgary native these days (it seems everyone is from SK) -- loves the outdoors as much as I do and we spend as much time camping as we can. The kids have never known a summer without at least one good camping trip. Tenting was the mode until the kids got a bit bigger (and the dog -- but that's another story from our last wet night in the tent), so we decided to start a coach conversion project that never ends. Lots of fun!
We also hike and explore back country roads on day trips. Now we are getting into sport shooting, starting with a 10/22 for targets and plinking just to get a comfort level. (I have not shot a firearm since my youth). We next want to get a shotgun to try the clay target sports. My goal is to do some hunting and fill the freezer, but I love wildlife and first want to know I have the skills to drop what I hit more often than not. (A big surprise, my son got me a compound bow for Christmas. I know very little about bows but look forward to giving it a try -- YOLO).
Work, elderly family and kids' school/university keep us tied to the city for now, but we would love to buy an acreage when we can. Even though we live on the very edge, the city seems to keep closing in on us and attacks our very nature!
Having much more to learn than contribute here, I expect to spend more time doing what I have in the past, lurking, but appreciate being a member.
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