Shooting at 10 below

Ten below really isn't all that cold. For here. I'm glad someone thought to have us qualify now instead of when it's even colder.

Normally, I love to shoot. I've been pretty good at sticking to my goal of going to the range once a month. I think I even went three times in June.

We're required to qualify twice a year. Of all the places that need an indoor range, I think Alaska is right up there. You may say, "Yeah, but as a Ranger, you're more likely to shoot someone outside."

Yes, that's true. But shootings rarely last more than a few seconds, and we were outside shooting for two hours. If I were out on snowmachine patrol (so if I were planning to be out in the cold for an extended period of time), I'd be wearing bibs and a parka. In that case, if I needed to shoot someone it would be a race to see who could dig through the layers faster.

I wasn't wearing my snowmachine bibs or parka yesterday morning. Foolishly, I wasn't wearing my bunny boot either. Just my regular winter boots and one pair of socks. So my toes got cold. And being as how I wanted to fit my finger in the trigger, my hands got cold. And every time I covered my face with my balaclava, my glasses iced up (not fog, but ice). The rangemaster said I needed to learn to shoot with glasses on, but actually, I don't. I'm not going to rush to put on eye protection before shooting someone. To qualify, yes, I suppose I need to learn to shoot with glasses.

Of course with my face bare, I then had to press that face onto my rifle and shotgun. If it had been -40 I'd have burned myself. And it didn't really help, at least on prone rifle. I got all fogged up there anyway. And my pants froze from laying in the snow.

Despite all this, I shot pretty well. I thought my rifle target was absolutely amazing since I couldn't see the dang thing half the time.

Memories of Nepal

I ran across a photo contest that wanted entries of travel memories. So I was looking through my pictures of Nepal. I've got hundreds. I saw Everest and hiked to 15,000 feet. I rode elephants in the jungle and saw rhinos. I've got some really nice pictures. But my favorite photos are the ones of the people.

Like this girl in Bhakatpur standing in her doorway.
Or Seita Tamang, who signed my travel journal.

Joti Thapa and her little brother. We played tag and duck, duck, goose with those kids.

I don't want to go to Africa and return with nothing but fantastic pictures of lions and giraffes. They won't mean anything. My memories won't be tied up in them. It will be neat to see all those things, but they won't mean that much once I'm back home.

Going to Nepal, I felt kind of obligated to see Mt. Everest. Wouldn't it seem silly to miss it when I was right there? But in my travel journal after the flightseeing trip, this is what I wrote:

"On the flightseeing trip while I was looking at the mountains that just kept going, I thought of the little Nepali girls who are taken from their homes and sold into brothels. I thought of how lost they would be if they tried to find their way back home. It made me cry. Not the mighty creation of the awe-inspiring Himalayas, but the thought of those little girls being swallowed up and lost forever."

I was so happy I had those posters about sex trafficking that I stuck to buildings in all the villages I went to. The lady who gave them to me used my pictures (me standing next to posters in random villages) on her website. They're trying to advertise what I did to other trekkers, so word can be spread and more posters taken to more places.

Another journal entry:

"It was a whirlwind tour. It seems like we went all over the city [Kathmandu]. But the neatest thing I saw all day was while we were stuck in traffic on the way home. A little girl was standing on a stoop and when she saw me in the van, she lifted a little green squirt gun, gave me the cutest little imp grin, and pulled the trigger."

I don't want to go to Africa and be so caught up in safaris that I never connect with the people. I'm still looking for volunteer opportunities, but so far the cheapest I've found is $1400 for two weeks. I might do it anyway.

Auntie Liz

Two days ago, at 1508, I became an aunt. I'm not really sure what my duties as an aunt are, but I suppose I have some time to figure it out.
Her name is Aurora. Here she is with her two grandmothers.
And here with my little bro! My little brother the dad! Incredible.

I thought I would get to meet her at Christmas, but my brother will spend this Christmas with his inlaws. I won't get to meet her until January. I imagine right now she's kind of boring anyway, in a new baby kind of way.

She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 18.5 inches long.

More wolves

This is one of the wolf pups that was hanging around my house all summer. Wolves are my favorite of the parks "Big Five." Can you tell?

Wolf pups

This isn't the pack by my house, it's a different one that I saw this fall. I just got the pictures back. This little guy picked up one of those little yellow lane markers and carried it off. Very cute.

My next adventure

Africa. Specifically South Africa. Possibly Mozambique as well. I'd like to go to Zimbabwe, but they seem to be having some political issues at the moment.

Unfortunately, I seem to be having problems finding a place to volunteer that doesn't cost a ton of money. Why does volunteering have to be so popular?

I really enjoyed my time in the Indian orphanage. I wish I could find a similar set up in Africa.

Never fear, I'll still have a good time. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, exactly. I'm not going until March, so I have time to plan. I've got relatives in Durban and Cape Town. It would be nice to meet them. And I've booked a wilderness trail in Kruger National Park. I wouldn't mind meeting some South African Park Rangers. I wonder if they do "ride alongs"? And would I get a rifle to?

I think I might like to learn how to scuba dive off the coast of Mozambique. I've wanted to learn to dive for a couple years.

Have any of you been to Africa? Any advice?

Blood Lessons

I pre-ordered a copy of Charles Remsburg's new book back in July. The book arrived a couple weeks ago and quickly became one of my favorites. I finished it in two days. The reason it took that long is that I kept working out. I'd read a chapter and I would be compelled to exercise. I'd have to go for a run or beat my punching bag until my knuckles got bruised (even wearing gloves. I guess I just bruise easily).

I promptly loaned my book to a coworker because I think it's an important book for LEOs to read. The title is self explanatory and it says in the intro (written by my other favorite author, Lt. Col. Grossman) that a wise man learns from his experiences, but a truly wise man learns from the experiences of others.

I think I was to hasty in loaning the book out. I find that I want to read it again. I ordered two more copies to give to friends.

I encourage all LEOs who read this blog to go get your own copy. Right now. Blood Lessons isn't a bunch of "cops who got killed" stories. Most of the officers won, but they recognized that there were things they could have done differently. Let's learn from them. Remember your when/then thinking and mental imagery. Don't let yourself get complacent; evil doesn't take time off.