One of the reports we have to file every month is our projections of how much time we will need to work in the month ahead, and what we will be doing. Just finished my projections for September, and have gotten really excited.

Yeah, it will be the usual hectic fall month. Lots of hours. Enough that I will have to cut some things out, or lie, in order to stay below the maximum hours they allow us to work in any month. Used to be the outfit didn't worry how much we worked, so long as the work got done. So September was almost always over 300 hours.

Now we can't exceed 259 hours. Based upon some Harvard employee efficiency study.

But that's not the point of this entry.

September has five weekends this year!

Five.

The first is of course the traditional Labor Day weekend opening for antelope area 61, so I know where I will be all three days.

The second is the opener for area 62. Know where I will be.

The third weekend is the opening for antelope areas 60, 64, and all of the Lander areas. Haven't decided where I'll be, but I know I'll be busy.

The fourth weekend is the first weekend for areas 53, 55, 56 and 108. They open the Thursday before, but most of the hunters will be out on the weekend. So again, I know where I will be. It's also the opening of the sage grouse hunting season, but I'll already have my wing barrels up for that, so it doesn't affect my work much on the weekend.

But that fifth weekend?

Not really much going on. All the other antelope and sage grouse seasons will still be going, but not with enough hunters left to justify sitting along a road all day hoping to run into a couple. It will be the first weekend for area 52, but not a lot of those hunters come our direction.

Deer seasons south of town open on Monday, 1 October, so the country will fill up with people during the weekend before. And some of them will have antelope licenses that they haven't used yet, so a fair amount of antelope harvest will occur on those two days. But enough to justify my time? Probably not. At least, not if I don't want it to.

So, that fifth weekend?

Youngest son has an antelope license that I am sure will still be unused at that point. We could go hunting.

Or, we could make another mad weekend dash to Yellowstone.

Yellowstone in the fall...

Cold nights and cool days. Only half the tourists. Aspen changing color. The sulphur smell of geysers and mudpots. Elk bugling all night, and now, the wolves howling as well. The cold "schlap-schlap-schlap" of waves on the black, volcanic rocks at the shore at Lake. Spending time and money buying unnecessary trinkets and books in the tourist gift shops. Bison. Feeling the wood rails at the Old Faithful Inn.

Coffee and the Sunday paper on the veranda at Lake Hotel.

Maybe even a grizzly or two.

Called the wife an hour ago to point out the free weekend in my fall schedule.

Her first thought was visiting the eldest son who will be in college out of state.

Who?

Oh, yeah. Him.

I remember parental visits during freshman year. Embarrassing but reassuring at the same time. We might need to do that, but I'll bet he won't want us to.

The more we talked, the more she was liking Yellowstone. Wasn't hard to persuade her.

Know the youngest would vote for Yellowstone over hunting antelope. He's had to make that decision before. Not a lot of bloodlust in that one. He'd rather see or hear wolves.

Hopefully there won't be a big band event at a football game or something that weekend.

Wife's godson has been wanting to see Yellowstone, so he may take eldest son's seat. He's the only member of his family that hasn't been there.

Wife's been on lunch break for a half hour already. Want to take bets on whether she's made reservations yet?