The first group of racers besides Jack to show up for the hunt were Bruce Nicholson and Bill Knipe on the weekend of December 3rd.. What irony. These were the two guys that finished first and second ahead of my brother Mark and I at the first race we ever ran. Bruce was always kind of quiet and reserved and had already made a mark for himself on the national racing circuit. I was in awe that he was spending the weekend at Baldy's.

Bill Knipe, however, was more gregarious and was always had a smile for Baldy and the rest of us at the races. Not to say that Bruce wasn't friendly, but we talked a lot with Bill and the races and not so much Bruce. They had a great time at Baldy's and were each able to bag a buck. Bill also shot a turkey, which is not an easy thing to do.

The guests generally showed up late afternoon or early evening on a Friday and Baldy would cook supper. We would get up around five or five thirty in the morning, depending on the size of the party and whether or not Baldy cooked breakfast. From Baldy's house at Pernitas Point to the front gate of the lease was exactly twenty minutes. (Just a little longer at night.) So if there were only a couple of people to drop off, it wouldn't take long. We tried to get everyone in their stands at least a half hour before sunrise.

We would not pick the first one up until the sun dropped below the horizon. Baldy always timed the first one just at that moment. Even though you could still see well enough to shoot something ten or fifteen minutes after sunset, the law was the law, and Baldy was not going to jeopardize the lease because someone broke the rules. He made that quite clear to everyone who hunted. Trouble is, sometimes the game came out just after the sun set. Fortunately too, though, some of the best hunting is also just after sunrise, and during the next hour or two after the game is making it's way back into the shelter of the trees, and brush.