Sitting in a "hotel??" in the middle of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The city is called Damghan for anyone who wants to know just how far away from the rest of the world I am!! Yesterday as I said in my last blog, I managed to sneak within 150 yards of a magnificent Transcaspian urial ram and even more better (pardon my English) I managed to make a good shot in spite of being on the verge of self-destructing! My first trip here to Iran, way back in 2004, was a bust for these most beautiful of all sheep, I didn't get one. So this time, as we snuck up to the sheep, sidehilling across nearly impossible rock faces, I could barely control the shakes. Exciting. Nothing has changed for me, no matter how many animals I've been fortunate to hunt, the feeling is exactly the same every time, just like the first time. If that feeling ever goes away, I'll let you know...and then I'll go away!

Back to today. We were supposed to get up early this morning and go hunting for wild boar (Iran has some of the biggest wild boar in the world) but our game scout didn't show. Apparently there is a forest fire in a nearby forest that required all the game scouts to go to help fight the fire. So we packed up and headed for our next spot, which is apparently near this "hotel??" 

On the way, we stopped in the head offices of the area in the city of Shahrud, and as I was looking through their small museum, the door opened and in walked Bob Kern of the Hunting Consortium! Strange place to meet a friend! Bob is doing a tour through Iran to learn about the amazing hunting to be had here. Apparently the US gov't department in charge of such things, says that US residents can visit Iran and hunt, as long as it is personal, not business. Something like that anyway. After we left Bob, we stopped at a local resaurant and as we finished eating, in walks famed hunter JY Jones! He was here with Bob and just finished taking a Transcaspian urial and a Persian Goitered gazelle. 

Small world.

Back to now. It's night here now and I've just been informed that we are staying in our "hotel??" for the next two days so I can hunt jackal, rabbit and hedgehog!!!!! Now that has to be the strangest combo hunt I've ever heard of! They are telling me that hedgehog is excellent table fare, but they are holding their hands out to show an animal that is bigger than a breadbox, so either the hedgehogs here are all on steroids, or else there is something missing in the translation! Either way, we can't go to the next area to hunt Armenian mouflon (sheep) for two days, so we're hunting what we can hunt. I'm not complaining! 

That said, they also informed me that in about a week, there is a two day national holiday that has been celebrated in Iran for over 1000 years and during that holiday, hunting is not allowed. Now that I am complaining about! This is an amazing place, but I can think of better places to be for those two days...

Anyway, we're in Asia and things are just run at a slower ssssssppppppppeeeeeeeeeedddddd hhhhheeeeeeeerrrreeeee. So I might as well get with the program and chill. 

Speaking of chilling, I've managed to catch a version of the Iranian flu here. Our outfitter Iman came down with it first a few days ago and like any camp, once one person gets a cold, the rest are sure to follow! 

Which all serves to bring us around to our "hotel???" It's like an ancient old mud camel stop along the silk trail. Honestly from the outside, it looks like a bunch of mud domes all joined, but on the inside it is realy nice, with domed arches and ceilings. Right here as I'm sitting, typing on the "hotel??" computer, there is a picture of the Ayatolla Khomani glowering down on me! All the writing is in Arabic here, even the stop signs, so I'm not sure what the sign in front of me says with the big "X" through it? "THIS COMPUTER IS NOT FOR THE USE OF GUESTS" maybe? Who knows. 

Yesterday as we were stalking the ram, I forgot to say that all of a sudden, from somewhere not to far away, a bunch of machine guns started firing. Big guns. Not sure what the deal was, but I was too focused on the stalk to worry about a few little machine guns firing somewhere nearby! 

Mike Schroeder is doing well, in case anyone from his neck of the woods is reading this. He's spotted most of the game so far, before the guides or me. His camera is hot to the touch, he's been recording so much great footage from over here in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In fact, Guy Judge, in case you are reading this, we are almost done with the 30 tapes we came with. Seems from here on in, since we now have two cameras running most hunts, we need to budget at least two one hour tapes per day for this kind of trip. So tonight, Iman, our outfitter, is off searching high and low for Sony HD Dvc tapes here in Damghan...good luck. 

And one last detail that will be more than you likely need to know...this "hotel??" has an actual toilet!!!!!!!! Now I know it's not a big deal to all of you reading this, but for Mike and I here in the Islamic Republic, it's a bit of wonderful news that I thought I'd share with everyone! Small luxuries become big luxuries, when there are no luxuries...