Are you looking for some inexpensive fun for the entire family this weekend? Consider checking out the Tri-State Outdoor Festival being held in St. Charles, Minnesota—just a short two-hour drive southeast from the Twin Cities.
The event, primarily for kids, promises to be a fun-filled weekend with an emphasis on introducing youth to various outdoor activities. Daily skill events include many hunting and fishing related games such as: air rifle range, BB gun/slingshot shoot, skeet simulation, trout pond, rock climbing wall, fly-fishing obstacle course, kids archery shoot, tomahawk throw, plus much more.
The Tri-State Outdoor Festival was held for the first time last year at the Winona County Fairgrounds drawing a crowd of over 6,000 attendees. This year organizers are expecting an even bigger turnout for this family-oriented outdoor experience.
Aside from the kid games, adults can take part in a 3D pop-up archery course (bring your bow) and enjoy over 100 vendor booths promoting a wide array of hunting and fishing related items. Still need that deer rack or shed antler scored? Official measurers from Boone and Crockett Club, The Pope and Young Club, as well as the North American Shed Hunters Club will be on hand to provide free measuring services.
DATES: July 31, Aug. 1 & Aug. 2 (Friday thru Sunday)
TIME: 2pm – 8pm (Friday)
10am – 8pm (Saturday)
noon – 6pm (Sunday)
LOCATION: Winona County Fairgrounds (St. Charles, Minnesota)
(Click HERE for a map/directions)
COST: Free (Children 15 and younger)
$8 (Individuals 16 and older)
MORE INFORMATION: www.tri-stateoutdoorfestival.com or on Facebook.
© 2009 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time you’ve surely discovered that I’m pretty big on establishing outdoor traditions. Honestly, I view fishing, hunting or general outdoor traditions to be the essential glue that keeps us coming back for more — year after year. That is especially true in today’s world where the outdoors seemingly competes with so many other opportunities in a person’s life — such as sports, work, you name it.
It was so heartening to once again see a good turnout at my annual Fish Camp last weekend. Oh sure, the angler numbers were down just a bit mostly due to the economy and the negative effects it is having on family budgets, but for the most part the fishermen turned out and everyone had a great time.
As I sat in the boat jigging for walleye I thought about how relaxing it is just to be out in nature. Talk about a stress reducer, people pay lots of money for drugs and counselors to accomplish the same thing the outdoors does for me whether it be sitting in a deer stand or listening to the waves gently lap against the stern of a boat. Indeed, those of us who are passionate about the outdoors know how to get an adrenaline rush and we don’t need a doctor’s prescription just to feel that way.
Yes, traditions in our outdoors world are so very important…and I dare say that statement is true now more than ever before. I encourage you to round up some friends and begin creating some outdoor traditions of your own. Maybe its something as simple as hooking up with a buddy and going down to the shooting range every Saturday morning. Maybe its something like teaching a child how to bobber fish. It really doesn’t matter what the activity is…rather, what’s important is that you develop a passion and stay active enjoying it.
Last weekend my little fishing camp in Northern Minnesota enjoyed 8 years celebrating the grand event known as the Minnesota Fishing Opener. This coming fall I will round up a bunch of guys and we’ll do the same in the deer woods celebrating that great hunting heritage. Folks, please understand that fishing and hunting traditions are how we pass along the excitement of the outdoors to the next generation. I can’t encourage you enough to seize the opportunity available and create your very own outdoor traditions. Someday, you’ll be glad you took the initiative to do so.
© 2009 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
Back in 1996 I snapped this picture of some bark on an aspen tree while elk hunting out in Colorado during the muzzleloader season. I took pause, because although I had been hunting for several days the only other human I saw during my days afield was my buddy, Mitch. Yet, I was intrigued by this “hunter graffiti” and stopped for several minutes to ponder about the person who had gone before me on this very land.
Indeed, L.B.K. from Virginia was a very lucky man. With just a few simple little letters etched into the tree he told me (and subsequently others) everything we really needed to know. He proclaimed his achievement and gave inspiration to others in the future who were attempting this same feat. In fact, this sort of hunter graffiti, as I call it, was quite common in the mountain range where I hunted near Craig, CO. Each told a story that by no means was permanent or destructive to the landscape, yet it reminded others of the triumph some other hunter was once feeling.
Occasionally when I walk through the woods I have to ponder these artifacts left by sportsmen who have gone before me. Even for just a few moments I have to wonder what was going on in the minds of the people who left their marks for others to obviously see.
In Colorado it was markings in a tree. In Montana it was an old hunting shack in the middle of nowhere long since abandoned by the original builder and ravished by years of brutal extremes in the weather. In Maine it was a small, nearly unrecognizable gravestone left where one would not suspect a buried body. In Minnesota it has been countless old, dilapidated tree stands that perhaps have not been used for decades. The list goes on.
Indeed, when I walk the fields and woods while enjoying the outdoors my mind often tries to connect with others who have walked there before me. These telltale signs other outdoor enthusiasts have left only fills my mind with more intrigue as to what they were doing in this very place. We could so easily walk by most of these “artifacts of the past” and pay no further attention. Or we can use the stopping point as an opportunity to perhaps connect with the spirit of our sportsmen brethren who have walked this very land before us.
Perhaps it’s just me, but when I hunt or fish in areas that have a deep history associated with the location it provides special meaning for me. In many cases that history may be well known and widely published, but nearly all the areas where we recreate have stories of the past and most just don’t happen to be written or widely shared. No doubt…these areas can be just as intriguing.
So, this fall and beyond when you are out tromping through the woods keep your eyes open looking for signs indicating that the area currently being explored has some history worthy of observing. In most instances we will never fully comprehend the full story of why that object is there proclaiming a message. But that’s really not important. What is important is realizing as sportsmen we all share these lands and our time enjoying a particular area is only momentary and often very brief. By imagining what other sportsmen may have been doing at that very spot we preserve an important connection with our heritage. The fact remains, some of the best outdoor stories are those that remain untold and sources for future wonderment by others.
2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
I challenge you to find a symbol that depicts the outdoors better than a good ol’ pair of snowshoes. Oh sure, for some of you who live in the southern climes I understand the symbol might not fit. Yet, generally speaking, a pair of rawhide laced snowshoes represents the outdoors in nostalgic ways I feel no other object can better represent.
I spent part of this weekend doing those putsy little jobs that we all need to get done, but we seldom take time to do…so we keep putting it off. For me re-varnishing my snowshoes in preparation for winter is one of those chores. Been meaning to do it for years, but it’s not exactly fun. Heck, in most cases the task just doesn’t take priority over the many other jobs one has to do in his spare time.
But today was different. I picked up a quart of spar varnish and touched up the two pair of snowshoes I am lucky to own. I say lucky to own because rawhide snowshoes aren’t exactly commonplace these days. I didn’t realize this until I started checking out the Internet…but modern technology has certainly made shoes like I own almost outdated.
Don’t get me wrong…if I go snowshoeing I would much rather use the traditional ones as opposed to the modern aluminum frame with neoprene webbing. Oh sure, the newer shoes work very effectively and are a dream to wear on your feet because of their lightweight construction. Still, traditional shoes are just cool to strap onto your feet. They look rugged and, well, I guess there is that nostalgia thing again.
Whether running a late season beaver trapline, chasing bunnies during the mid-winter doldrums, or maybe it’s just out getting some honest to goodness exercise. If you’ve never strapped on a pair of snowshoes let me be the first to tell you they can be a workout. I’m not saying that in a grueling, negative way. Nope, the outdoorsmen of yesteryear who used snowshoes as a means of traversing the mountains must have been in some of the best shape possible. Snowshoeing will work nearly every muscle in your body.
I guess this process of varnishing the webbing to help preserve and protect the shoes so they will last me a lifetime has taught me something. First, I have to replace my bindings because they are nearly wore out. Searching the Internet has certainly taught me that traditional snowshoes are on their way out. Apparently today’s outdoorsman would prefer the carefree ease of using the modern shoes. Quite frankly, I don’t blame the marketplace because this is where today’s consumer attitudes likely fall. Nevertheless, watching the slow demise of traditional shoes is sort of sad.
So how about you…do you like snowshoeing? Do you agree with me that the snowshoe is certainly the quintessential icon for the outdoors?
2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
Hey folks! Thanks for checking in on me here at the blog occasionally. Please understand I haven’t forgotten about this blog (as evidenced by my lack of posts). Nope, it’s just that my life has been turned upside-down by a little 9 pound girl who came into my life about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Yup, I’m enjoying life being the proud papa and slowly I am trying to re-establish some normalcy in my life — which includes, among many things, blogging about the outdoors.
It’s amazing how having a new child in your life can force a person to do some serious introspection about what is truly important in life. This might sound sort of foolish, but at times lately I feel my world is simply revolving around her young life. Okay, you were bound to ask…and yes, I can assure you those 3–4 hour feedings throughout the night are really kicking me in the shorts. I can now see the benefits of some of my peers having had children 25 years earlier in life.
Speaking of that…as many of you probably know or have figured out I am a new father in my mid-40s. Indeed, I am taking my share of crap about being an old man and “finally” entering fatherhood. Still, during the past weeks there have been twice now when strangers have put their foot in their mouth and asked my wife and I if little Elsie Jean was our grand-baby! EXCUSE ME!!!! The kid happens to be our daughter. Of course, the requester usually turns red from embarrassment, and rightly so for such lack of tact. I’ve laughed it off…but my wife, well…let’s just say the granddaughter question doesn’t sit quite so well with her these days.
Well, I just wanted to check in and say I will try to be back blogging here again hopefully by this weekend at the latest. Stay tuned…I have some juicy items upcoming about which I want to blog.
Here’s hoping everyone is having a great summer and the gas prices are not getting you down too bad. 
Okay, please indulge me a bit here. This post has nothing to do with being a sportsman, rather, it has everything to do with becoming a new daddy. Please grant me the extreme privilege of introducing my new daughter, Elsie Jean, who arrived into this wonderful world yesterday morning (6/21) at 9:45a.m.
8lbs. 4oz., 20” long
Addendum: For those who have asked, Elsie is my first biological child. I also have an 11–y/o stepson named Luke. 
Back in my college days not too many people know this about me, but I took a course called Grain Marketing Economics at the University of Minnesota. It wasn’t because I had a dying urge to understand all the intricacies of the futures and commodity market trading as it related to grain. Nope! I took the class, rather, because it fulfilled a college economics course requirement and more than likely allowed me to sleep in (after those late night college parties). 
Sorry to say as with a few other classes I took 25+ years ago, I must confess I don’t remember a lot when it comes to marketing grain. I remember it can make you or break you if you’re a speculator…depending, of course, on your skill level and how lady luck shines. I remember that timing in the market is everything. Arrive a day late or a day early and the difference can mean lots of $$$.
But one thing I’m pretty sure Professor Dahl did not mention to us was corn prices rocketing over the $7/bushel level. And that’s exactly what has happened in recent days. Indeed, prior to 2004 corn traded typically in the $2.50 level or below. In fact, as recent as 2005 corn traded even below $1.80/bushel which really prompted farmers at that level to squeeze as many bushels to the acre out of their land as possible to show a profit. Then late 2006 the cash price for corn seemed to depart from these long historic, fairly non-fluctuating levels seemingly now on an escalator ride to who knows where.
Okay, by no means am I an expert on this matter…let me make that perfectly straight…but it’s pretty easy to see that most of these escalating corn prices are due in large part to our nation’s quest for petroleum alternatives — ethanol, to be precise. Indeed, farm commodities, especially corn, are seeing a financial boom the likes of which have never before been realized by the industry.
Translation to sportsmen. Farmers are now seeing that idle CRP land or ground taken out of production by other government programs as a potential gold mine just waiting to be prospected. That means habitat once vital for upland birds and wildlife is now increasingly going under the plow for a crop soaring to historic high price levels.
Now I know many sportsmen are down on farmers for doing this, but I’m not one of them. At least not completely. Let’s face it, when the opportunity allows a person to “shake the ol’ money tree” there are not too many of us that turn down that chance. Look at it this way. If you walked into your boss’ office and he offered you a promotion with a pay raise…would you turn them down? Well, asking a farmer not to capitalize on an opportunity available to them is sort of the same thing.
The reality is farmers need to make their land pay for itself. Sure, they may be conservationists at heart enjoying watching a bounding buck over the fence or listening to a pheasant crowing in a nearby field, but the simple reality is they farm to produce a living. Most farmers I know do not carry on their business activities to do what’s best for wildlife first and foremost in their practices.
That being said, sportsmen need to realize that in most of farm country farming practices take precedent over wildlife management. That’s not to say the two can’t work in concert with one another, but with $7 corn it’s a rare farmer who will overlook this highly attractive commodity and leave the ground fallow for a year. Or even to plant parcels in switchgrass to help build the soil’s natural nutrients once again.
Nope, don’t expect those things to happen during the coming year. Agreed, it doesn’t bode well for our upland birds such as pheasants squeezing every square inch of farmland for corn, but right now it happens to be reality. Personally, I don’t like it but I’m not blaming the farmer, either.
Over the years sportsmen have so much to be thankful for to most farmers. Even though wildlife may be a by-product of their usual farming practices, it’s a very important by-product to many of us. These runaway gas prices are effecting nearly every aspect of our lives, and now we are even seeing the connection of how it is negatively effecting our upland bird and wild game hunting opportunities. In all the insanity of this current world, the one thing we just cannot do is point the blame solely on farmers and their land practices. I refuse to do that, even though I don’t happen to like what I am currently seeing.
2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
What the heck…here it is almost a week and a half into the new year and FINALLY I show up making some New Year’s resolutions. Actually, I made them back in December I just hadn’t found the time to sit down, relax, and gather my thoughts for a New Year’s blog—at least not until today.
Before I get too far into things I looked back at last year to see what resolutions I made and to see if I kept any or not. Wow! I hang my head low in shame realizing that 12 months ago I never even took the time to jot any down. I could have swore I had. Nope, it was back in December of ‘05 when I last publicly declared how I was going to improve my life.
Of course, 2006 was to be the year I would do a better job blogging, get healthier, take more pictures…you know, the usual stuff. To some extent I met a few of those goals, but as you know my blogging has been pretty sporadic and way off my stated intentions.
It seems falling back into the blogging routine is just a whole lot easier said than done. I miss it dearly and I miss many of my loyal readers commenting about my ramblings whether good or bad. I also miss doing the podcasting as I daily look over in the corner of my office and see about $3,000 worth of broadcast recording equipment just collecting dust.
So, this year I am NOT going to make blogging or podcasting part of my declared New Year’s resolutions. Nope, I plan to keep this year’s resolutions a lot more simple than that. This year my one and only resolution is going to be to three-fold: #1. I’m going to introduce someone new to the sport of shooting. #2. I’m going to introduce someone new to the sport of fishing. #3. And, as you might deduce, I plan to introduce someone new to the wonders of hunting. That’s it. My resolution is to simply reach out and find some other person(s) who can experience those fabulous activities thanks to me enabling it to happen.
To better accomplish this goal I signed up for the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s STEP OUTSIDE program that is geared toward helping me accomplish my 2008 goals. Check out their web site. They have great ideas on how to make this happen. My favorite part of the web site is their gift certificate you can down-load and give to someone. What a great way to make a fun outing actually happen. I mean…who doesn’t like to cash-in on a gift certificate that is received?
Imagine if those of us who enjoy the outdoors started sharing those opportunities with others a bit more freely. Not only does it help foster new friendships, but think of what it does by exposing someone new to better understanding that guns are not all bad, hunting isn’t so barbaric, and fishing is a whole lot more than cranking in those lunkers and then immediately letting them go.
Folks, I could easily sit here today and say that my 2008 resolutions are to lose weight, get in better shape, spend more time with my family, save more money, you know…the typical things many people hope for as any new year gets rolling. Truth is, my simple resolution to invite someone new into the outdoors is probably equally as important to any of those common resolutions.
Think of how many lives we could touch if each of us simply invited one new person along fishing this year or a new guy into deer camp. Rather than seeing our sporting heritage numbers dwindle due to attrition, we could each do our part to help reverse those negative trends. Sure, it’s a big task…but we all have to start somewhere.
Here’s hoping you made some resolutions for 2008 and those intentions are still going strong. Have a Happy New Year and (off the record) I do hope to accomplish a lot more blogging and podcasting this year. Please don’t count me out in that regard quite yet, either. 
2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
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