I guess this would more appropriately be titled “Summer and Fall 2025 Classes and Traveling Adventures” but highs are still in the 80s here in Texas and the swimming pools are open. That’s still “summer” in my book.
Since my cancer metastasized, I’ve been intentionally spending less time on social media. I’ve also been writing a bit less on this site as well. Even before I reduced my writing output, the number of viewers on my website had dropped to about 20% of what it was in the height of the site’s popularity from 2015-2017.
Very few people read my stuff any more, so it doesn’t make sense to spend 20-30 hours a week writing here when no one sees my work and the advertising revenues barely pay my hosting costs.
Even though I haven’t been writing or posting on social media as much, I’ve still been really busy. The picture below shows all of the cities I’ve visited this calendar year. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road.
I haven’t been sharing my travels and activities recently so I thought you all might want to know what I’ve been up to. Here we go…
I started out my summer adventures by flying to Dayton, Ohio in mid-May to take a class from my long-time friends Dave Spaulding and Rich Nance. The class was one of Dave’s last classes since he announced his official retirement last year. I partnered with training legend Aqil Qadir for the weekend. It was great to hang out with the guys and put some rounds downrange.
With the entity, Dave Spaulding
Working close range stuff with Aq
May 23 marked the anniversary of the ambush that killed Bonnie and Clyde. The ambush was planned by former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. Hamer was one of the most legendary gunfighters of the 20th century. He was involved in over 50 gunfights and was shot 23 times.
Only in Texas does the grave of a retired Texas ranger have more decorations than one of the world’s greatest novelists.
At the end of May, I flew back to Ohio to teach my armed school staff in rural Indiana and an extreme close quarters shooting class at Blackwing Shooting Center north of Columbus. I’m a crappy photographer/self-promoter and I didn’t get any photos of those classes.
The very next weekend I taught an instructor class at Karl Rehn’s place east of Austin.
With Karl
All the KR Training staff who took my class.
After Karl’s class, I had two weeks off before I flew back to Ohio at the end of June to attend a huge community music and art festival as well as teaching a couple more classes at Blackwing.
In mid July, I taught a full close quarters shooting instructor class in Culpeper, Virginia. I arrived two days early and spent them with John Murphy touring Culpeper and the National Air and Space Museum. I’m not that into planes, but I like history and the museum was absolutely amazing.
Old machine guns make me happy
I had no idea that the Enola Gay still existed
A very hot weekend on the range in Virginia
At the end of July, I flew to Miami to see one of my favorite people on the planet (buy her book) and attend her 40th birthday party. We toured Miami, ate some excellent seafood, and visited the beach. It was a nice break.
Nathalie’s birthday party
Enjoying fresh seafood with an ocean view
August was a month of concerts and teaching. I taught two more weekends at KR Training (only about an hour’s drive from my house). I saw the Teddy Swims and Jason Aldean concerts in Austin. I flew to Columbus for a couple days and saw the Red Clay Strays there. All of them were great shows.
Outside the Red Clay Strays show in Columbus
At the end of August, I flew out to Nevada to attend my 7th Burning Man event. This one went a little more smoothly than the last one I attended when we were trapped there by historic rainfall and flooding (in the desert).
The “man” that gets burned at the end of the festival
My future looks bright!
Surprisingly, the event was far less dusty than usual
Where else can you fight in a full scale replica of ThunderDome?
I couldn’t fight because I weigh more than their 250 pound weight limit
The Man at sunset
Art on the Playa
A lot of Burning Man consists of riding bikes around with friends exploring all the strange and wondrous art and events
At the beginning of September, I had a few days off. I’ve lived in Texas for four years now but haven’t explored as much of the state as would like. I took a few days to meet up with a friend in Dallas. We toured the JFK assassination site/museum and spent a couple days at the Ft. Worth Stockyards. I really enjoyed both locations.
A Texas and Gorillafritz sized flask
After Dallas/Ft. Worth I flew to Ohio and taught another weekend with my armed school employees and a day at Blackwing. The following weekend I helped Lou Ann Hamblin teach a private A Girl and A Gun group near San Antonio. I taught some marksmanship instructor development and a class on self defense using walking canes. It was a great group and we had lots of fun.
The following week, I drove to Las Vegas to teach at the Thunderstick Shotgun Summit. On the way, I made some stops in New Mexico to study some of the Billy the Kid old west history and went to the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner.
Thunderstick was held at the old Front Sight training facility outside of Pahrump, Nevada. I hadn’t been there since 2003. It’s an excellent facility and we had a lot of fun teaching there. I’m looking forward to returning there next year.
On the range at Thunderstick
Solving some of the problems of the world after class with instructors, sponsors, and students
The Thunderstick instructor cadre
After Thunderstick, I took the long way home, stopping in Santa Fe to spend a few days with a girlfriend. It was the first time I had been to that city. We really enjoyed a low-key visit checking out the shops, restaurants, live music, and art galleries in the perfect autumn weather. I’ll definitely go back.
A rainbow over an Indian reservation in rural New Mexico on the road to Santa Fe
A perfect fall day on the historic town square in Santa Fe
Hanging with a robotic gorilla buddy in an art gallery
I really feel drawn to the west Texas “llano estacado” area. I drove though it both on the way to Vegas and on my return from Santa Fe. It’s a lonely, desolate, high altitude desert that is somewhat unique. It was historically Apache (and later Comanche) territory where very few Texans actually settled. Its desolation is what makes it beautiful. An early American army scout explored the land in 1852 and had this to say:
“When we were upon the high table-land, a view presented itself as boundless as the ocean. Not a tree, shrub, or any other object, either animate or inanimate, relieved the dreary monotony of the prospect; it was a vast-illimitable expanse of desert prairie . … the great Sahara of North America. it is a region almost as vast and trackless as the ocean—a land where no man, either savage or civilized permanently abides … a treeless, desolate waste of uninhabitable solitude, which always has been, and must continue uninhabited forever.”
I don’t want to live there, but I’ve really enjoyed driving through it during the last few years. If you are interested in the area, I would highly suggest reading
Sunset over rural west Texas “Llano Estacado” on the 12-hour drive home
The next week after I got home from Thunderstick (a 1400 mile round trip), I started another two-week (and 3100 mile) epic road trip to teach at RevolverFest in South Carolina and then the following weekend at Blackwing in Ohio. In between those two weekend classes, I spent some time at my friends’ house in rural North Carolina. We did some hunting, hiking, and 4×4 off-roading. It made for an excellent break in between classes.
On my way to RevolverFest, I stopped by the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush site and the Ambush Museum to further fuel my obsession with this period of history. This was my second time visiting both sites. And yes, the museum still smells of cat piss and the owner has a slightly skewed version of the events of that day. Nonetheless, it’s a cool place to visit. If you plan on checking it out, read Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde before you go. Interestingly enough, the book was written by the same author that wrote the book about the Comanches I mentioned above. It’s the best Bonnie and Clyde historical reference on the market today.
The ambush site
The ambush museum
The museum was housed in the same building as the cafe where Bonnie and Clyde got sandwiches just before their deaths
RevolverFest was a stellar training conference and social event geared around revolvers. We had nine instructors teaching blocks of instruction to more than 150 students.
RevolverFest students and instructors
Teaching revolver retention shooting
After visiting my friends, I drove to Ohio and taught full medical and shotgun classes. I got to visit several old Ohio friends, eat some good food, and get a two-hour massage from my all-time favorite massage therapist before driving the 19 hours back home to Texas. On the drive home, I stopped at a gas station north of Louisville, Kentucky. While pumping gas, I just so happened to randomly run into a former co-worker. I went to the police academy with Jason Messer. He worked his way up to lieutenant in the police department where I collected a paycheck for 25 years (I can’t really describe my police career as “work”). Jason was better able to cope with the bureaucracy than I was and he lasted five years longer than I did.
He was celebrating his own retirement by spending a long weekend in Nashville with his wife. He randomly stopped at the same gas station and the same time as I did on his way home. I hadn’t seen him since I retired myself, more than five years ago. It was great seeing him, catching up, and wondering about the serendipity the world provides us. I’m glad Jason made it through a 30-year police career relatively unscathed and wish him the best of luck as he pursues the next chapter of his life without a badge.
The last five months have been non-stop movement. Since I’ve been home, I went to one more concert (The Revivalists) here in Austin. It was another excellent show. If you get a chance to see these guys live, you won’t regret it.
It’s been a hectic, but amazingly satisfying summer of adventures. I’ve been busy, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my remaining time on this planet.
I have two more classes to teach this year (in Arkansas with Ed Monk and then the following week at Gunsite) and then I’ll be taking a couple months off. I’ll be spending all of December in Mexico and all of January in the Dominican Republic getting caught up on some book writing. I’m feeling pretty good and will be working on my 2026 teaching schedule soon.
I hope to see some of you in classes next year!