The Real Mountain Man

The gravesite and statue of "Liver Eating" Johnson at Cody, Wyoming, not far from Yellowstone National Park. That's Johnson in the photo.

Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson.

One of my favorite movies is Jeremiah Johnson. My kids might tell you I've watched it dozens of times, and that is quite accurate. Good story, very nice scenery, all shot in Utah. And some of the movie was filmed on or near Utah property owned by the star of the movie, Robert Redford. I learned recently that the movie is loosely based on an actual mountain man, John "Liver Eating" Johnson. His amazing story is told HERE.

The article doesn't mention that 2,000 people attended the reburial ceremony of the real mountain man Johnson at Cody, Wyoming. One of the pallbearers was Robert Redford.

Ho Ho Buffalo! Little Bull Meets the Man

Tot in Terror: In his first-ever meeting with Santa, Devin didn't have much to say.

Atop My Christmas Tree

Yeah, that's the door, Rod

Now, resign. Leave. Give us all a nice Christmas present.

The Briefcase Warrior

As I am typing this, President-elect Obama has not yet named his Secretary of the Interior. I have seen several names as possibles for this cabinet post, the most recent (just read this a few hours ago) being Kevin Gover (above). HERE'S the scoop on him. Imagine a Native American as Secretary of the Interior. Now that's change. Very experienced in environmental law and Indian affairs. I'll have to read more about him.

Madeline Rose: Not the Adventurer

After reading THIS article, I would have no worries about my cat Maddie (above). Her outdoor excursions are limited to accidentally walking out the front door on rare occasions, at which time she just freezes and gives a "Where am I?" look. She does stare at the TV intensely when other four-legged creatures appear on nature programs. As you can see, she is a literate feline. Her wildest encounter with another animal has been a face-to-face meeting with Ali (his photo in right-hand column), the result of which was a resounding hiss and a puzzled pit bull.

Thanksgiving with the Herd

My grandsons Red Chief and Little Bull. Future runners and friends of the buffalo (I hope).

Red Chief and my lady the Wolf Woman during a break from a fierce game of checkers.

My boy and his boy: Bull Papa and Little Bull.

Princess gets a smooch from the world's friendliest pit bull, Ali Baba.

My Thanksgiving day started with an early morning hike of the 10-mile trail at Clinton Lake with Chris and Jeff, fellow buffaloes who accompanied me on the Kentucky work vacation at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Besides empty beer cans and shotgun shell casings that littered the trail at Clinton Lake, we spied this additional memento left behind by hunters.