R & R and Fire just 2 miles east of us....

 We decided that we needed a little R & R (rest and relaxation), so we headed out to Merritt Dam with our tent and grill and burgers and easy chairs.  It was a lovely setting and we fully enjoyed our stay.  After a big breakfast the next morning.....eggs and bacon and toast we headed south and then west ....making our way to Chadron, NE.

 This was a view south of Merritt that would make EVERY deer hunter drool all over himself!!!!! SEVEN mule deer - all bucks and some with huge racks!!  They allowed us to fly past --- stop -- back up and snap two pictures and never moved.  

 We found a motel in Chadron and then went to Fort Robinson.  A spot FULL of history.  Fort Robinson was a very busy fort in its day......10,000 horses, 6,000 mules.....5,000 K9 dogs....German prisoners of war and a lot of history with the Indians of the area.   Plus there was a museum of Mammoths that have been found in the area. Very interesting.

 We arrived home just before noon and at about 3:00 we received a phone call from a neighbor -- Rick Vander Wey....and as his call would break up...I could get out of it that there was a fire 2 miles east of us at the Gregory and LaCosta place....".can....Gary...."  and then it went dead.  So I ran out to the shop and told Gary and Dan T.  It just happened that Don Schelhaas had just showed Gary how to use his fire rig.  Don wasn't home but we got him on the phone and he said...."take it". 

 When we got there every other fire rig in the neighorhood was arriving ......3 fire departments were coming in --- but most headed south where the fire was moving thru the prairie grass.  We saw a GREAT need where fire was burning in the trees very close to Greg and LaCosta's home.  So we went in there.....Greg was almost exhausted from fighting with a shovel....so with the tank that you see in the picture above we were able to get the fire out in the trees ....it was MUCH too close to the house!!!  Gary is using the hose, Dan is driving and I was on foot - stomping the left over 'restarts'.

Here is a picture of the burned out area to the east of the place - and it also went about 1/4 mile to the south...burning approximately 20 acres.   It was such a good feeling as people continued to arrive to help.  A tractor with a disc, pickups with water tanks, someone with water for the firefighters.  It only lasted about 1 1/2 hours but it really made the adrenalin flow!!!  As you can see in the picture above we even had helicopter support.  It seems that after the HUGE fires we have had in the area  - that they are on stand by.......and were there almost immediately.

Good to be home again  = and able to help keep a tragedy from happening.
Gary and Barb