Mountain Man

While surveying an old homestead two weeks ago I came across this old gentleman, Archie. He was more than happy to talk...and talk...and talk some more. His family had homesteaded the area north of Missoula back in the 19th century and he had lived in the old house his entire life. No kids, no wife, no worries for this character. Over the weekend, some friends and I were looking for a place to go shooting. One of them is going through a divorce and needed to blow off some steam. So we loaded up the car, drove to the hills and went to visit my new friend.

We showed up at Archie's house around eleven, and he didn't immediatly answer. We sat around bullshitting for about ten minutes when he stumbled outside looking a bit worse for the wear. We asked him what he was up to and here was his response:

Well, last night my buddy and I ended up at Fred's (the local titty joint on the Interstate, a rough location with rough looking women). Then we went into Missoula to grab a hamburger and somehow ended up at the Fox Club (another titty joint, a bit more upscale). I can't remember what time I got home, but if I don't get some coffee in me soon, my head's gonna explode.

85 and still looking at titties -- I hope I'm as interested should I live that long. He gave us permission to shoot on his property, got his coffee, and came out and joined us. He picked off gophers at 150 yards and encouraged us to find the coyote that had been hassling his calves. While picking off coke cans, he regaled us with stories ranging from the times of street cars in Missoula to replacing the transmission in his Chevy blazer two years ago to what's really going to happen with all the oil in the gulf (in short, he's not optimistic). After shooting for an hour, he told us to wait. He went inside and brought out his dad's old Colt revolver in perfect condition. We shot it for awhile, but not near as well as he. We wrapped up our visit to the Carlson homestead with Natural Light on the porch and bid Archie adieu. I reckon we'll be visiting again soon.