Shootin'

On Saturday, this guy took Tara B, Megan, James and me out beyond Saratoga Springs, on the other side of Utah Lake, to shoot a few of his guns.

I've only been "shooting" one time before, and that was with my dad's handguns. Tommy had a 10-guage, 12-guage, a .22 with a scope (!) and we had a good time shooting at targets, soda bottles and tree stumps.

The weather couldn't have been better. I had expected to encounter snow and mud, and we found neither. The sun shined on us for most the day -- I didn't take off my sunglasses until the sun started setting behind the mountain. The backdrop was just perfect with Utah Lake in the background. I didn't even need to put the battery in my electric coat.

Tommy planned the whole outing and had everything we needed: guns, ammo, victuals, pop and water, gloves (though, I brought my own), etc. etc. He claims that he isn't a planner, but we seriously had everything we could have possible needed.

Tara is from Wyoming, and I don't know if that is the reason why she is practically a professional, or if it's just the family she was born in to, but between her, Tommy and James, Megan and I had great instructors on how to use and load all our guns.

I loved this little gun and the scope.

I think it looks awkward when I hold the guns because I'm left-handed. That MUST be the reason.

I've often heard how badly shotguns kick and expected my shoulder to be hurt and bruised, but nothing of the sort. I didn't have any problems, and Tommy's guns didn't have a kick to them at all. They were heavy, and I could definitely feel it in my arms yesterday. I was the only one to shoot a flying glass bottle, but I was terrible at hitting the launched clay pigeons. My favorite was that .22, the scope, and hitting the targets on the side of the hill. It was SO fun!

After a whole day of shooting, we decided to go ALL the way around Utah Lake. It was an adventure that found us in a small town called Goshen. By the time we got there, the sun was setting, but that didn't stop us from taking a detour up the side of a mountain, trying to get a closer look at some mystery on the mountainside. We still don't know what it is, because we couldn't get close enough and it was getting too dark. I love that Tommy, et. al., are so willing for detours and adventures!

We stopped at Cracker Barrel to grab dinner, played dirty Mad Libs in the car and then headed back to Tommy's to watch Mannequin. Remind me next time: I hate 80's movies. They are terrible, and this was no exception. But it was sort of a perfect way to end the day.