I just love this time of year

[BIGNASTY]

Pretty fancy with the methane. I marvel at folks who live off grid. I like to think I could do it if I had to, but it's WORK. You are an industrious and crafty lot.

No more than anyone else, just have a need and look for answers!! Looking at this way of heating the greenhouse and heating the digester tanks. looks as thou it COULD serve a dual purpose. Don't like the idea of having to run a chimney out the top of the greenhouse so might just heat it with the digester methane burners and heat the digester with a heat exchanger coil in the digester ran back to the water heater, no pump would be needed if the tanks were less than 10 apart it would use Thermal Siphon this way it wouldn't be EATING into my electrical power. Just have to put the stove outside the greenhouse, all food for thought after all what else have I got to do :-laf



http://solarburrito.com/blog/wood-vs-propane-endless-hot-water-for-cabins-or-tiny-houses/ There is a video just a little down on link



Something to play with anyway!! Just built on a LARGER SCALE with another heat exchanger in the digester tanks the process works best when around 95 degrees to convert it all to Methane.

 

[jclark5810]

Wow, thank you for all that info BIG!!! I've been looking at Montana, Wyoming, and Utah a lot the last few weeks. I've never permanently lived in a severe cold weather environment and was curious about farming/gardening. I did a month in Alaska one winter playing war games but meals were provided:-laf

You've definitely inspired me to do some reading and learn about ways to get it done in the winter. Also wanted to thank you for all the photos, absolutely beautiful country. Hope you're still on here for the photos of elk season. My father in law will be up in Bob Marshall Wilderness for elk this year, I was showing him some of your photos. Not sure where they were taken but gorgeous! Thanks again.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Wow, thank you for all that info BIG!!! I've been looking at Montana, Wyoming, and Utah a lot the last few weeks. I've never permanently lived in a severe cold weather environment and was curious about farming/gardening. I did a month in Alaska one winter playing war games but meals were provided:-laf



You've definitely inspired me to do some reading and learn about ways to get it done in the winter. Also wanted to thank you for all the photos, absolutely beautiful country. Hope you're still on here for the photos of elk season. My father in law will be up in Bob Marshall Wilderness for elk this year, I was showing him some of your photos. Not sure where they were taken but gorgeous! Thanks again.

No Problem!! Is your FIL booked with a Outfitter for his hunt or his he going it alone? If he's going it alone, just be warned its some pretty tough country to get a downed Elk out of without animals. Most of the time my Pictures are from the West side we live along Hwy 83, West side of the Bob Marshall, I would have to see the picture to tell you where I took it, our property backs up to the Lolo National forest and to get into the Bob is an 8 mile ride that has NO ACCESS for trucks, only horse and foot. Excellent hunting because of this fact. Not many drag animals up here to get into hunt and when they do they have a lot further to ride than 8 miles because of the trail head starting point. I use to let people park on our property and go in from there but they wouldn't even use the trash can that I put out and would empty, so tuff now they can ride much farther, It gets their butt in shape for the tough part of the country. Tell your FIL to bring some good Binoculars and a range finder distance is VERY deceiving here. If he booked with a outfitter they most all carry them.

This is the way I like to set up and take a look around, most of the time they don't even know that your in the same state when they feel a bee-sting



Good luck with your plans



BIG

 

[BIGNASTY]

This is what I like to do AFTER we get done, I sure can get some sound sleep in the hills better than at home!!!!

 

[jclark5810]

That's quite the setup! Yeah he's going with 4 other guys and they're going with an outfitter. Horseback in, full camp setup, etc. Just absolutely beautiful country, looks like a dream that's worth the hard work.

 

[BIGNASTY]

That's quite the setup! Yeah he's going with 4 other guys and they're going with an outfitter. Horseback in, full camp setup, etc. Just absolutely beautiful country, looks like a dream that's worth the hard work.

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! I hope that they achieve their dreams, they are worthy of EVERY ounce of sweat. Don't know how many people come up here looking for something, what it is, is always different to each. I enjoy the people SOMETIMES not very often with just the hunters dead set on Blasting and animal down and that's it. There is so much more to see and wonder about. Young people and wives come up sometimes that's what is fun they aren't going to hunt they are just along for the ride, history, trees, geography, animals. At first I can tell if they are a family when the arrive, young ones are listening to music not paying attention to their parents. No family communication exists. NO ONE!!!! can sit in a saddle riding thru this country and be silent for very long. Then the questions, THEY'RE HOOKED!! Oo. Dad talks to Children, Wife and THEY TALK BACK!!!!! without using VERBAL ATROCITIES and Calif. Hello hand gestures. As the week or two progress ya can see that maybe Dad isn't such a Dork after all! and his Wife isn't a nagging old Bettie, sometimes :-laf there are exceptions to every rule. I like to take a picture of each and of family at the beginning of the trip, and then again at the end of the trip before they get in the car to go back home. I send them the BEFORE and AFTER pictures, and ask them if the difference is still visible on their face's as much as they are in the pictures. Most times we get a reply that we will see you next year or the following to see for yourself. This is why it has gone from hunting only to fishing and hunting our Nephew makes a few dollars more and more people get what they came up looking for in the first place.



BIG



PS: Please!!!! have them do a lot of Aerobic exercise, The animals can only do SO MUCH and the rest is up to the individual.

 

[jclark5810]

Sounds incredible, they'll definitely be ready physically. What do you know about the Bob and wolves changing the elk behavior? Is it as bad/worse as they've been told?

 

[BIGNASTY]

To be honest with ya I haven't seen but 1 wolf since ive been up here and that was at a very long distance. Have seen some tracks in the snow when I make my AM walk around to see what has been eaten. I don't worry about Predators to very much. Mostly its Coyotes some Bobcats that we see and my AR takes care of that problem pretty quick

In the Part of the Bob that we hunt in not much had changed as far as Elk or Deer populations, We have our share of Predator hunters around town, maybe that's why? I went last year quite a bit and did some damage to the coyote population to make a nice coat for the wife, most of them were taken within a few miles of the house at most.

Do you know the name of the outfitter that they are booked with? They all have their own territory to hunt, that would tell me the hunt area, I can talk to the Fish and Game guy in town and see what the population is. Ours is a high Bull/Buck to Cow/doe ratio because of the hard access. The only ones that DONT get a Bull and or Buck are guys that pass on an animal to get a shot at a trophy and run out of time.

 

[jclark5810]

Very interesting and some good things to consider. I'll get the details on the outfitter and let you know. I had heard that Idaho was a "bone yard" because of all the wolves but my buddy took a nice bull last year and never saw a wolf. Could just depend heavily on the areas? Thanks again for all your information.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Some less scruplulis outfitters tell info that is old some times to make hunters change their plans and maybe book a hunt with them, its a very competitive game. I don't like the game that is played this is why I just like to pack in supplies and out game. Its our belief that the best advertisement is by word of mouth, I talked to my Nephew Jason just this AM when we packed up our family members that came into town to finish off some work for us. About how his business was going? I haven't really talked to him for quite awhile, everyone of the fishermen that he has taken out this year so far has rebooked a trip for next. He has hunters that have booked years ahead, why? because of his NO BS attitude on hunting, they have ALWAYS been told that if they expect to get off the horse and pull out their shooter and pop a trophy GOOD LUCK!!! if someone tells people that, I would stay away from them because to say that they have to be hunting in a Zoo with animals that are caged. Its a tremendous amount of work that goes into this to make things happen, some outfitters are willing to put in the work, some would just as soon you hand over the money and take you for a horse ride in the mountains and call it an adventure. I might be a little one sided about it but they get what they put into it, this is why the comment about being in shape. I hate to take someone that weighs more than what I pack on my mules plop their Fat Butt on some poor horse that looks back at me when getting saddled up and you can tell its thinking WHAT DID I DO TO YOU??? They get off the animal and want to shoot one were he stands, even that would be to much work for some! and then complain about not seeing any game.

I have quit long ago taking people that we don't know out hunting, he has other guides that are far better at babysitting than I. I like to guide and will work my butt off, but I will not carry someone up the hill. I like the spike camps type of hunting, your not out for the fine meals in camp your not there for the nice warm beds and a sit-down take a squat. Two riding stock and two pack animals and your moving from before sun-up to after sun-down, camp is easy when it gets to dark to hunt, where we are at that time looks like a GREAT place to spend the night. All of these guys are in better shape than me, and know what they are doing just as well, really the only reason that the guide is needed is because HE has spent the time in the field scouting the game and knows where and when they are. One reason im not going to guide at all this year is because I haven't had enough time on the Elliptical walker to get any aerobic capacity up to par, one doesn't have to be strong that's what the animals are for but if you have to take a step and rest 5 min take a step and rest 5 min its going to be a long week. Its just my opinion but I think that cats are the big problem around here not wolves. All the cats are pretty tough animals, lynx as small as some are they can still take down a deer.

Sorry for getting a little over excited, but its getting close to the season and im wound up about it. Im going to take a man and his family out on a trip to repay him for a transmission that we made a swap for. I might even get to tickle the trigger at that time.

BIG