Guns and Cows? Only in Idaho . . .

Tanner, Jason, and Brittney in the Snake River Canyon

So last Friday I got to go on a date with Will Kezele. It was super fun! We started out at Cafe Rio, a local Mexican Restaurant. Then we headed across the bridge to the shooting ranges out in the fields. Luckily, he'd brought handguns so I could aim at least a little. I'm right handed but left eye dominant so when shooting or doing archery I have to shoot left handed so I can align my sights with my left eye. In archery this poses no problem, I just get to shoot with a left-handed bow, awkward feeling most definitely, but hey at least I can aim. But when shooting rifles, it's always a hassle. Almost all guns are right handed (at least the ones I've shot with) and so I generally can't hit a thing or have to shoot a right handed gun left handed.
Handguns pose no such problem! I can align with my left eye while holding with my right hand and do great. I think my favorite gun to shoot, or at least the one I'm most accurate on would be a Glock 9 mil. but revolvers make you feel so cool! It's kind of that Sherlock Holmes feeling or perhaps I should say Judd Law since he generally handles the revolvers. The trigger is a little heavy which was weird to get used to but the concussion from the shot is awesome. Unfortunately about half way through our shooting a cow appeared at the top of the range. We couldn't shoot for fear of a bullet ricocheting off the rock and into the cow and because it had two calves and we were afraid it would charge in defense of them, and then Will would have to shoot it. Due to open range laws in Idaho, the law would probably favor the cow and its owner and not us. Thankfully the cow eventually left but not for long. On our way out we were trapped by a bunch of cows on the road. One cow was being super stubborn so it just stood there for the longest time, staring down our car, but not without getting all the other cows out of the way first. It jumped on one of the cows standing by it! It literally jumped on the other cow, yes, it was quite startling.

Living in Idaho has always been an experience, made better by the fact that my entire family loves to make fun of it, but now that I'm back from Utah I am reminded just how different things can be. Idaho has a singular beauty. Harvest season is my favorite time of year here, when the winter's dead, brown fields are suddenly alive with the swaying greens and golds of wheat, alfalfa, and corn. Crop dusters and huge irrigation pipes are everywhere turning our desert into a farming empire. Out in the country seeing families riding horses down the road is common and getting stuck behind a 5-10 mph tractor is an evil necessity. Southern Idaho is also almost totally flat making it perfect for tumbleweeds (very unlike the mountains in Utah). A lot of kids come to school in their cowboy garb and hunting clothes, and occasionally a kid will get in trouble for forgetting to take their hunting rifle out of their car (and yes, I've even seen duck whistles, camping axes, and hunting knives). Eating potatoes with every meal is no big deal, I mean potato donuts...delicious! The County Fair is the highlight of every year and half of the kids at school are simply not there because they're selling their cows and competing with livestock. Windy days are every day at an average of 10-20 mph and occasional microbursts with winds from 50-75 mph are not really so surprising anymore. At an Athletic Coach banquet I attended with my dad, they served us thick slabs of venison deer meat, and having political views contrary to the stereotypical republican candidate is practically a sin. And yes, one can even witness a cow molesting another cow. Suddenly the phrase, "Only in Idaho . . ." has more meaning cause some things are really found only in Idaho.

-Natalie Cherie