American Press Travel News-PRODUCT REVIEW–July 4th, TN.–Bob and Barb “On the Road Again and Testing.” Over several years, and as an outdoor writer, I’ve seen my fellow gun writers extoll the virtues of Galco’s pistol holsters. Well, now I know why. I put my little Sterling semi into Galco’s, hand-made in America, model F199, and my Sterling, semi-auto 22, as old as she is has her forever home. The materials in the padding adhere nicely to my pocket hold the holster just where I like it, without clips, and although not a velcro, still does make my pocket-rocket proudly available when I reach for it, anywhere.
Without a doubt, you can see the quality crafting of this product. My front-pocket, horsehide draw is now assured! The holsters reinforced top-rail hook and the trigger guard hook puts the finishing touch on this holster. The unit I am testing is for either a Sig Sauer or a Glock. However, it also perfectly fits my small SS Sterling for my purposes. Check out the new Galco Products. You will find one or more that you’d want to CARRY! GalcoGunleather.com
AmericanPressTravelNews-Sept. 19th, “Bob and Barb On The Road Again”–What would make a modern family leave California, and pioneer backwards towards the east coast of the U.S.? When the Echternacht family; Jim and Sandy and their son Ian headed to Tennessee, from their home in Santa Barbara, CA. in a circuitous adventure, they had made the decision to purchase Ken Moody’s hunting lodge, and the many hundreds of acres it afforded for client-hunters since the 1950’s.The family wanted to change their life’s paradigm. No more super highways to sit in traffic, no more anti-hunting, and negative target shooting people to have to deal with, no more incredibly high prices for everything to continue dragging them down.
Son, Ian loves the shooting sports life, handling the dogs, putting hunters on to a wild boar, or the various other game animals on their hunting lodge properties. I had a chance to shoot with Ian at their range, try out some fine weaponry, and master-blast a few sporting weapons-it was great fun and in an environment where booms and rifle cracks were perfectly acceptable.
The family are happy campers since purchasing the lodge in September, 2016. “We knew we wanted to leave CA. so we made an RV out of a 1986 shuttle bus. The bus had a fine diesel engine, and no fancy electronics. We traveled all over looking for a place to land outside of CA. We wanted a rural, quiet place to spend our lives that had water, trees and hunting opportunities. So we coined the term: “Go east young man.” We finally found it here in Clark range. Just down the road from great service, and shopping in Crossville, great neighbors, plenty of room, and very happy hunters are our lot now”, said mom Sandy.
When they got into to TN. they stayed at Fall Creek Falls State Park. “We loved the park, the people and the feeling of being in a state that was more laid back than any other we visited, and upon our return to CA. we looked on a land and business sale site, found this lodge here in Clark Range, and studied the idea of buying and settling in the woods and waters of TN. We took quite awhile to decide, and after selling our home in Santa Barbara, and a few trips to, and from Clark Range, here we are”, said Dad, Jim.
Hunters can stay and hunt at the lodge for boar, Fallow Deer, Black Buck and anything non-indigenous to TN. Whitetail deer, black bear, and other specially licensed animals require a state license. People who wish to have a mount, and the meat hunt here. Several of the long term clients have stated that actually hunting is secondary to being in the wild with family and friends just to hang together-being happy to just be together with those they enjoy in a relaxed, non-working environment in nature.
The property has diverse terrain with waterfalls cliffs and caves for the adventurer, as well as accessible locations with blinds for the more laid back hunter. First hunts for youngsters with their parents are welcomed. A few groups have come year after year for decades.
There is no plan for clear-cutting; just cleanup as the previous owner wasn’t around for controlling usage of his lands perimeters. Today, Ian is on it all! A great sportsman in his own right, he appreciates, and has the drive to renovate and upgrade the lodge to its original condition, yet upgrade in the style and manner of what a true hunting lodge really feels and looks like. Mom, Sandy, treated us to a great chicken dinner, and we slowly began to lose the trappings and feelings of the life in hustle-mode. Yes, while visiting, we relaxed and understood why folks from all over would come and de-stress at the Clark Range Hunting Lodge. A guide with 16-years experience takes you & your party on guided dog hunts. There are tree stands, and ground blinds also available for hunters of any age, and physical condition is what you’re in for. Parties of 10 or more have exclusive use of the Lodge and Preserve, and smaller parties too are always welcome! We’re going back for some more of that “personality.”
Note* There are several hunting and sporting lodges in Tennessee, and we plan on visiting a few of these that are in, or are close to Crossville for Fall features.
“The museum gardens are not only for the benefit of the tourist , they also serve as a food supply for the Irwin’s and their neighbors.” John Rice Irwin is shown here with his wife Elizabeth, and their two grandchildren, Lindsey and John Rice Irwin Meyer. Photo by John Meyer.
AmericanPressTravelNews-May 17th, Clinton, TN.-Bob and Barb “On the Road Again” this time at the Museum of Appalachia–I first met John Rice Irwin over a decade ago. His sparkling eyes and spirit for the past, as he’d dragged it into the present to preserve it for the future shone through loud and clear-not just what he said, but how he told the story of his foraging to collect on to his property the remnants of what is still left of early Appalachia as a living museum.
John Rice Irwin spent a lifetime collecting the artifacts of the Appalachian people and although the museum’s founder is now retired, he can still remember just about every auction, every smokehouse and barn he has explored–and every good friend that he has made among the rural folks of Appalachia. Those histories–and the people to which they are connected–are central to his passion for collecting and central to the character of the Museum.
It was the familiar story of the devastating Barren Creek flood–legendary in East Tennessee for churning past the banks of the Clinch River in the dead of night and sweeping many people and hundreds of farm animals to their deaths–that led to one of his earliest purchases. The purchase, made at a local auction, was just an old, worn, poplar horse-shoeing box, but the auctioneer mentioned in passing that it had been fished out of the nearby Clinch River over half a century earlier, following the catastrophic flood.
After that purchase came many others, sometimes at auction, sometimes from making trips over dirt tracks and going door to door. Earning the hard-won trust of rural folk is never easy, and John Rice will tell you that it was his knowledge of and curiosity about old-time farm implements that often opened the door to friendships. But conversations with him begin to draw a larger picture, one where it becomes clear that it was—and continues to be—his admiration and esteem for the ingenuity, craftsmanship, and hardy perseverance of the people of Appalachia that has allowed him to forge relationships of trust and mutual respect.
The purchase of several truckloads of early Appalachian artifacts from Bill Parkey of Hancock County reveals just such a relationship. Bill’s family had lived in Rebel Hollow near the Powell River for generations, settling there before the Civil War, and the old homeplace had a wealth of early tools and equipment that he continued to use for blacksmithing and wagon-making. For years, John Rice had been told that Bill would never part with his beloved tools for any amount of money. The warnings largely were correct, for although John Rice occasionally was able to purchase a thing or two, his trips to “Revel Holler” were generally spent just visiting with his friend. It was only after Bill’s death that his widow called John Rice, saying that Bill had told her never to sell his cherished tools unless it was to “the professor”—because John Rice had “always treated him right.” It is illustrative that John Rice insisted on paying Mrs. Parkey twice her asking price for several truckloads of her husband’s tools.
What grew out of John Rice’s love for this region’s past and its people is an impressive living history that has been nationally acclaimed. It has been featured in the Smithsonian magazine, which said, “it vividly portrays something ethereal—the soul of mountain people,” and it has been named one of only a handful of affiliates of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in the state of Tennessee.
AmericanPressTravelNews–News Release–April 12th, Bob and Barb passing it on to you! Looks like bargains for gear are there.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold an auction of confiscated hunting and fishing equipment on Saturday, April 29, beginning at 9 a.m. The auction items are from people who forfeited their equipment after committing serious game violations. The last auction was in 2014 and there is a large inventory available.
The public auction will be at Hiller Auction Service, 10785 261st Ave., Zimmerman.
Items offered for sale include, but are not limited to: firearms, bows, tree stands, fishing rods and reels, tip-ups, traps, trail camera, spotlights, scopes and spears. There are 387 firearms, 100 bows, 280 other items.
Inspection of items will be available on Friday, April 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., and at 7 a.m. the day of the auction. Once the auction begins, there will be no access to firearms.
All equipment is sold as is, including all defects or faults, known or unknown. Items cannot be returned once they have been purchased. Buyers may bring their own cases and there will be cases available for purchase to transport firearms.
Anyone purchasing a firearm will be required to pass a background check.
Revenue from the auction goes to the Game and Fish Fund, the DNR’s most important fund for delivering fish, wildlife and law enforcement programs. It is used, among other things, to manage 5,400 fishing lakes, 1,400 Wildlife Management Areas and support 150-plus field conservation officers.
American Press Travel News-PRODUCT REVIEW–July 4th, TN.–Bob and Barb “On the Road Again and Testing.” Over several years, and as an outdoor writer, I’ve seen my fellow gun writers extoll the virtues of Galco’s pistol holsters. Well, now I know why. I put my little Sterling semi into Galco’s, hand-made in America, model F199, and my Sterling, semi-auto 22, as old as she is has her forever home. The materials in the padding adhere nicely to my pocket hold the holster just where I like it, without clips, and although not a velcro, still does make my pocket-rocket proudly available when I reach for it, anywhere.
