At any rate, our destination was the Pheasant City Lodge near Wessington. We were very thankful the directions on the website were precise on distances and landmarks. Had they been more general, with the snow blowing as it was, we might still be looking.
Here is the lodge:
Despite its plain looks on the outside, the inside was quite nice and exceptionally functional. Here are a few photos of the accomodations:
The lodge is run by Kevin and Kristy Teveldal and their 5 sons. They are a delightful family and provided yet another reminder of why I love South Dakota. The people are just wonderful. And in case it needs to be said, the food was outstanding as well.
Of course, the major story of our trip was the blizzard that kept us in all day Friday and half of Thursday. I had always wanted to hunt in the snow, but as has been said before, be careful what you ask for. Here is what it looked like trying to drive around the ranch:
At any rate, when we did get to hunt, the results were nothing short of spectacular. The birds were bunched up by the hundreds in the shelter belts and woods lines, and the conditions made for some exciting shooting - both with the gun and with the camera. Here are some of the better pix of the bird hunting:
Also got a couple keepers of the dogs at work. Wish I would have been able to capture the eyes better, but I was not in the right position.
Not a huge fan of posed photos but this one includes the unfortunate coyote that zigged when he should of zagged so I figured it was worth a look. According to Kevin, taking that coyote (a female) probably saved dozens of pheasants.
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Loved these
