We pulled out of Buffalo around 8:45 in the morning. Casper is about 90 miles south, so we decided to have breakfast there. I looked up the best breakfast places in town on my phone and found a small little place called Sheri’s Diner. We found it ok and after throwing our guns in the cab of the truck (so they don’t get stolen), we strolled in.
As soon as we sat down, I knew this big dude at the table next to us recognized James. I went to the bathroom and James slid over to the seat closer to the wall and I took his seat. The guy them made a comment to me saying, there’s Lars from Metallica. Now Lars of course is the drummer and I’m way taller and better looking than him, but I just ignored him.
I could see the guy immediately get on his phone and thought, uh oh, this could get crowded. The food was great, and the portions were giant! Our chicken fried steak had to be 12 inches long as it covered the entire plate, and the eggs and hash browns were buried underneath it. While we were eating, another guy walked in and yelled “James”. To James credit, he didn’t flinch, and the guy kept walking. The owner Sheri, who was serving us, asked if we were fishing or hunting, and then said, are you guys a band, or cops? We laughed and pretty much ignored her and enjoyed the food. A few minutes later she came back and said “are you guys Metallica?” and I of course shook my head no. She said, that’s what everyone is saying. At this point, I could feel a lot of eyes on us. We finished up and stood up and walked toward the door. As soon as we got outside, the crowd was there. There were kids with magazines wanting autographs and other people along with the guy who earlier called “James” in the restaurant. We walked briskly for the truck, half waving at people, (James said don’t turnaround and just keep walking and wave, ha), with people yelling, including the guy from earlier, who said “my brother just died and he was a huge fan, and some other things we didn’t hear. We made it to the truck and quickly loaded the stuff into the back of the truck and took off., as the crowd was slowly advancing onus. So, no harm done, but it was weird having a mini mob in little old Casper Wyoming. We decided people showed up to see Marty looks so much like a rock star, bwaaaahhh. Of course Marty looks nothing like that or anyone for that matter.
Marty did well on the trip and was relieved he made it through ok. We all watched out for him and carried his pack and gun, and other stuff, most of the time hunting, as he wasn’t supposed to exert himself too much. He now goes in for a 4 1/2 surgery on Monday and then begin 3 weeks of recovery in the hospital (4 days) and then a good 2 weeks at home. Then it’ll take another 3 weeks before he’s back to normal. He wanted to go hunting so bad so that’s why they delayed the surgery.
The rest of the trip was noneventful. We had a blast and I drove half the way home. It was bittersweet driving past our ranch in Walden. Wish that was still in the family. Not much has changed up there. We pulled into our hood around 4:30. I had done all my laundry before leaving so not much to do except put clothes and gear away. Lori made it home about an hour after me. She’s fighting a cold as her PA is pretty sick. We’ll head to the gym this morning and then she has a dentist appointment at 1. I have cigar night at 4:30ish.
Good to be home but what fun. We’re already deciding where to go next year. Maybe Newfoundland for moose, we’ll see. Here’s a few pics, but I’m not posting James as shit just gets out on the internet. Have a great Thursday. Nice here still, probably mid 70’s today. Be well, stay safe and God Bless.
Me and Davy
My Goat