Hunters Feed and Wild Game Cook-off - Ennis, MT

Friday afternoons have a special place in my heart. A full, well-worked week of classes and prudent vegetarianism blossom into the promise of a weekend of incremental excess. For, under the Bozeman gloam and persistent penumbra of the Bridgers, I grotesquely transform...into a wild carnivore, needing wild meats to supplicate and regenerate the taught fibers of my lumbering and steely cloak of armor.

So, it was with quite serendipity that the hunters of Western Montana were cleaning out their freezers of wild game for a cook-off about an hour west of Bozeman. The main street in Ennis is a classic wild west town, not too different from some of the mining towns around Truckee, CA, and maintaining the rickety facades of a bygone era. It still had a soda pop bar, albeit closed down for the festival.

From TravelMT.com, its description:

Hunters Feed and Wild Game Cook Off is a very popular event for locals, neighbors and visiting hunters. Started as a way to clean out the freezer of last years game before hunting season. Merchants on Main Street cook up exotic wild game dishes and serve their culinary delights in front of their shops.

Lining the main street were the warm smiles of proud and earnest cooks of wild meats. They offered in small plastic containers the fruits of their labors in the field and kitchen, all for delicious vote. There were two categories: Chili and Non-chili. And, here, I will list some of the excellent contenders:

• Elk Burger Won-Tons
• "Pesto" Bear Sausage Pizza
• Antelope Bolonese
• Vigilante Stew (secret recipe)
  
• Outstanding Antelope Enchiladas
• Elk Carne Asada
  
• Antelope Cream Chease Jalapeno Popper
  

Along for the glorious culinary jaunt were Luke, Matt, Roger & Patricia. We washed the meats down with a birch beer and shopped for shotguns at the local sports shop. I made sure we departed before I bought a shotgun. Something about being full of savage adrenaline and supple, prairie-fed tissue draws you to the cold steel and promise of a bloody trophy...

We took the long way home, around Ennis Lake along a dirt road. Evening on the Madison River:
A herd of white-tailed deer:

Bridger Raptor Fest '10

I first learned about the Raptor festival here by a conspicuous advertisement above the urinal in Montana Ale Works. The weather has been utterly phenomenal here, despite all the hoopla about cold weather. The warmth could be the result of man's greenhouse gas emissions, so it is bitter-sweet. If first frost stays away for another three more days, it will be the latest frost in recorded history for the part of Montana. So, it is indeed a warm year by historical standards. They say that last year there was a foot of snow by the second week in October, and it's been in the 60s and sunny for most of the month!

So, it was with beautiful and colorful weather that I took a break from my studies to check out the Raptorfest up at the Bridger Bowl lodge. I took a guided nature hike and learned some new edibles to look for in this area.

1) Wild sage. Easy to spot, thanks to Laura for growing some on the porch in San Francisco, I am now quite familiar with sage. Native American hunters would throw copious amounts onto the fire to hide their smell so they could get close to their targets. Good seasoning on wild meats.
2) Yarrow. Very fragrant and easy to spot. When dried, it makes a tasty and very laxative tea. In case you need a little help in that department on your next camping trip. It's nice to know you have options.
3) Pineapple-smelling plant. Smells like a ripe ol' pineapple. The roots are edible too.

I also saw some Live Birds:
1) Red-tailed Hawk.
2) Turkey Vulture. (just add wild sage and toss into the oven?)
3) Great Horned Owl. (my favorite bird of the day)

And infiltrated the local clandestine network of bird enthusiasts. Check.