My first hunting knife was a Christmas gift from my father. I was only ten years old at the time, which according to my dad is the age when boys should start owning and caring for their own hunting gear. It had a 4-inch fixed blade and was sheathed in an embossed leather carrying case—perfect for any future deer I may need to field dress. Read More
Every road trip has its own soundtrack—and no two trips are exactly the same. However, if I had to compile one definitive CD, I would start with these absolutely must-have tunes: Helpless-Neil Young California Stars-Wilco & Billy Bragg Sway-Rolling Stones
The distance between Sioux Falls and Arches National Park on a map is only about nine inches. In reality, the distance is over 1,000 miles, which translates into almost 17 hours of hard road time—one way. When I was planning a trip to Utah’s most… Read More
Every camping trip I take with my son begins with the same question. “Where should we go?” His reply has been the same since he was 6 years old. “I don’t care.” This response doesn’t mean he is disinterested. It genuinely means he doesn’t mind… Read More
Airports suck. There really isn’t a more eloquent way to say it. In the last month I have flown to Indianapolis once and Los Angeles twice. I may have to make another trip next week. The cities are different, but the destination is always the… Read More
Rare sunset over Ketchikan Harbor
I don’t have a bucket list, but if I did, fly-fishing for cutthroat trout in Alaska would undoubtedly be near the top. But even as I write the words, it seems like something I would expect to read in a travel brochure and not something I would actually do.
It is too incredible to be real.
To be honest, the idea of taking a weeklong trip to Alaska never seemed plausible—especially when my old college buddy, Brant, half-jokingly suggested it nearly a year ago. I hadn’t seen Brant since we graduated from the University of South Dakota in the mid-80s. But there we were, thirty years later, waist deep in a remote Alaskan lake and casting our lines to rising trout. Read More
The Dakota Sky 