Guns . . .

The opinion on guns run from extremes, to some in the USA who feel that everyone should be able to openly carry weapons any time you want, but others feel that all guns should be completely banned. I am somewhere in between, feeling that walking around with a firearm strapped to your hip is a bit unnecessary, but that guns do serve some purpose and are a useful tool in some circumstances. 

As a teenager living on a 250 acre farm, I had a single shot 22 caliber rifle that I used to practice with down by the river on a nice deserted pasture. I was never a very good shot however, probably due to thick eyeglasses and extreme astigmatism. Once we moved to the city, I have no idea what happened to that gun and I never had any further opportunity to develop my gun skills.

That is, until this trip to visit my sister on Vancouver

Dang, those things are hard to hit

Island. My sister Linda and her husband Pete are lifetime members of the Courtney Fish & Game Protective Association, a beautiful facility on a lake overlooking a glacier and the spectacular BC mountains, and they were holding an open house the day after we arrived. As a way to encourage new members, all of their gun ranges were open to guests and many were free. They had a skeet shooting range, a black powder area and a recreated western town called Boomtown with rifle range and pistol shooting in a western themed setting as well as a range for modern firearms. I decided to give some of the gun ranges a try. 

My first stop was the skeet shooting range where for $5 I could shoot six 12 gauge shells at flying orange clay targets. After a short safety chat and instructions I discovered that hitting a little orange target with a shotgun is quite difficult, but I did manage to destroy one of the elusive things. 

Loading black powder

Next I went to the Black Powder range where you could shoot old fashioned rifles. The first one was an old fashioned flint-lock where the loose powder was inserted and packed in followed by a big lead bullet packed in with a long rod. This rifle packs a punch and is loud, firing with a big cloud of smoke, but I was unable to actually hit anything. Next I was invited to try another black powder rifle with reloaded bullets; don’t know what the difference was but with this one I actually managed to hit a few targets. 

OMG, I think I hit something

Finally we went down to the Cowboy Action in Boomtown where I learned how to miss every target with a six shooter style pistol, and left with a powder burn on my thumb for holding my hand too close to the barrel of the pistol. I could have gone to another range where for $30 I could have experienced a modern 9mm handgun with 30 shots to waste on missing targets but after hitting so few targets I did not
want to embarrass myself further.

All in all, it was a fun experience and I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I will bother applying for a gun licence just yet. 

No targets were harmed during this adventure . . .

Adventure at Walmart

Sorry no pictures of this blog

Parking at Walmart is never my first choice for campsites. The Walmarts are usually open 24 hours, so you never know who will be driving by. They are reasonably safe, for the same reason, they are always open, and there are always people around. There are also usually other RVers parked with you, so it is better than parking in the wilderness, or alone in a parking lot. I would however much rather pay for a site with full service and get power, water, sewer, Internet, and cable TV, but when you have no other choice, Walmart is always there as a last resort.

That is exactly what happened last night. The severe flooding in the area, had closed two of the three campgrounds, and the third was VERY full. We were tired and no one felt like driving further with no guarantee of a campground with available sites. Our only choice was Walmart. We pulled in and found a site among the other RV. We left the truck attached, as Regis had found a nice looking restaurant in the same parking lot right across from the Trailer, and that would mean a quicker start in the morning.

Everyone was tired enough that we all went to bed as soon as it was dark, and settled in for a good night sleep.

So you get extra pictures

We all (well all except Dad who didn't hear a thing) awoke with a start at 1:30 AM, to shouting:

“GET OUT OF THE CAR AND ON THE GROUND!”

“WHERE IS THE GUN? TELL US NOW!”

“YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT A GUN AND POINTING A GUN; NOW WHERE IS IT?”

Did I leave 'Law & Order' on the TV? . . . . No, wait a minute, we have no power, we're at Walmart. Whoa, this is real!

The noise seemed right outside the trailer, so we cautiously got up and peered out through the back window, trying not to open the blinds too much.

There were five police cars and about eight police officers with guns drawn surrounding a gold car with all four doors open. They had a guy on the ground on his stomach with his arms handcuffed behind him. This was taking place no more than four yards from the back corner of our RV.

The shouting and questioning continued for about 30 minutes with the “Perp” denying any knowledge of a gun, but the police officers seemed to think he did have one. It ended with them taking him away in a police car, because his continued insistence that there was no gun got abusive, and things got quiet again. Fine for them; probably went and took a coffee break, but it is not easy to just go back to sleep after such excitement so close to 'home'.

The wind was strong in North Dakota, and it got stronger as the night went on. The trailer shook like in a hurricane and the wind was blowing things around. A metal pop can rattled around the camper for about 15 minutes, and something banged up against it at one point. It was wild enough that you couldn't get back to sleep.

Regis got to thinking about the police, and said “I heard something bump the RV before the police came. I bet it was the bad guy hiding the gun in between our trailer and the Motorhome beside us.”

I tried to convince her that this scenario was unlikely but she insisted on going outside to check, and she made me check the back of the truck in the morning. I was sort of hoping to find a discarded Glock 9 or a stolen Police issue Colt, but no such luck.

The wind seemed to get louder and wilder as the night went on, and just as that stupid pop can rattled out of hearing range, the wind shifted and it rolled back. I found it in the morning, still rolling around – one of those “Power Drinks”, the one with the wings . . . . crushed it flat – it will roll no more.

Meanwhile, Dad and the dog, slept through it all, and when we explained about our mid-night adventure dad questioned whether we were making it all up. At least one of us got a good sleep – we made him drive in the morning.