The Outdoor Buddies annual raffle is now live, and tickets are available for purchase! We have some great prizes that you can win this year, and the proceeds of this fundraiser raffle enable Outdoor Buddies to continue to fulfill its mission of getting mobility impaired hunters the opportunity to go on outdoor adventures. As an all-volunteer non-profit organization, Outdoor Buddies relies on folks like you to support our programs and make the dreams of mobility impaired outdoorsmen come true.

Please have a look at the fabulous prizes below, and get your raffle tickets soon! Don't forget to share this email with your friends!

All prizes will be drawn at the annual Clay Shoot fundraiser, which will take place on August 5th, 2023. Do not need to be present to win.

Call for Tickets:

Terry Gleason

303-868-2579



This year’s disabled veteran whitewater trips: We now have the outfitters and motels lined up and booked, as well as zipline reservations at https://www.ravensrim.com/ziplines for this summer's now five raft trips.

Our disabled female military veterans are an underserved population. Because of the effectiveness and successes, and the demand, we have added a third All Female trip. Two of the trips will be 5-day again on Desolation Canyon, and the third will be a 5-day on the Gates of Lodore. The women will be again flown into a remote air strip at the Deso put-in. No air strips at Lodore, too remote, will be a drive.

Lead therapist Karen House has updated the application process to an online form. This will make manifesting much easier. Historically that has taken up to 3000 emails and much hand entering data. The raft trips are:

1. May 4 - 9: Open Manifest, Cataract Canyon (Open to any active duty or veterans, any branch of service, any conflict) 

2. May 23 - 28: Special Operations, Cataract Canyon (Open to all active duty or veterans, any branch of service who’ve served in SOF or similar e.g. SEALs, Green Beret, Air Force Pararescue, Army Rangers, and the like.) We will include two disabled Ukrainian soldiers.

3. July 7 - 13: All Female Trip #1, Desolation Canyon (Open to any female active duty or veteran). 

4. July 29 - August 5: All Female Trip #2, Desolation Canyon (Open to any female active duty or veteran) 

5. Sept. 3 - 9: All Female Trip #3, Gates of Lodore (Open to any female who has been on at least 2 trips in the past. Specific restrictions & considerations apply).

All five whitewater raft trips are fully booked with waiting lists. This is looking to be a big water year!

Photo Albums of last year’s raft trips: We have (finally) sent out the photo albums from last year's trips. This may be our best album to date.

Laptops for veterans without Internet acess: We are again starting furnishing laptops to vets that don't have an internet connection. Access to the web for VA appointments, web surfing, remaining in contact with their buddies are important to stability and healing, and maintaining contact with battle buddies.

White Sands Missile Range 44^th Annual Bataan Death March Marathon: We sponsored the participation of a team of six of our female veterans in the 26 mile 44th annual Bataan Memorial Death March conducted on March 19. This is a commemoration of the 1942 Bataan Death March. It was attended by 5500 entrants, many of the survivors of the March, along with thousands of supporters from around the world, and held at White Sands Missile Range,

Our participants came from as far away as the East Coast. They all had a great time!

Whitewater Rafting for disabled Ukrainian soldiers: With the approval of the Outdoor Buddies Board, Warriors on Cataract expanded our Mission statement to include our support of the Ukrainian military and civilians that have suffered the trauma of the Russian invasion. Accordingly, through our connection with Andriy Zakutayev of https://www.sunflowerseedsukraine.org/, we are working with https://limbsforliberty.com/ to get two battle-casualty Ukrainian soldiers on the Special Operations May 24 launch of the 4 day Cataract Canyon trip. They are both lower left leg amputees and have other injuries.

They will travel over to Moab with us a few days before the launch, and we will put them on tours and other activities around Moab while I prep the Blue Boat. They have no English language skills, but one of the SpecOps troops speaks Russian, and we are taking a bilingual Ukranian woman as interpreter

Feedback from the Special Operations troops that are on that launch is that this will be "way cool."

We are now attempting to get two injured female Ukrainian soldiers to come on one of the two Desolation Canyon 5 day trips. A significant fraction of the Ukrainian armed forces are women.

Ukrainian soldiers are parallel to our veterans: Our veterans fought to protect our Nation, and in a broader sense were protecting the Free World. The same for the Ukrainian soldiers, protecting Ukraine and in a broader sense, protecting the Free World.

Tarryall Reservoir is a beautiful place to catch fish and make memories near Jefferson, Colorado. Outdoor Buddies hosts several fishing trips here each year. The Outdoor Buddies property at Tarryall Reservoir enables the organization to host these events and provide enjoyable outdoor experiences to you!

This event is in need of volunteers to come help clean up the Outdoor Buddies property at Tarryall to keep events running smoothly for years to come.

Interested volunteers should contact Jim Piper to sign up.

We need more volunteers to make this event a success and keep the property beautiful for generations of outdoorsmen to enjoy.

Date: Saturday, April 29

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Place: Tarryall Reservoir near Jefferson

Contact: Jim Piper

303-514-8944

geopros@q.com



It is almost time for another fishing adventure at Tarryall Reservoir! Bring your poles and bait (green power bait recommended). We will meet at 9:00 am at the second pier off  of County Road 77 and divide up to begin fishing.  Generally, the fishing is best in the morning, so plan on showing up promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Bring your kids and families.

Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Please contact below if you wish to participate, volunteer, or both!

Date: Saturday, May 20

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Place: Tarryall Reservoir near Jefferson

Contact: Jim Piper

303-514-8944

geopros@q.com



Please bring your family and friends to enjoy the day with Outdoor Buddies! Bring your sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters to make memories and build relationships.

There will be catch and release fishing, archery, and BB gun shooting available. Pending the availability of ammunition, trap shooting may be available as well. Swift Ponds has handicap-accessible fishing docks for those on wheels.

There will be equipment available for each of the activities, but please feel free to bring your own fishing equipment.

Nordy's BBQ will be served for lunch.

We will have on hand the Outdoor Buddies shuttle bus, track chairs, Bad Boy Buggy, Arctic Cat UTV, and ATV with go-getter to help those who need assistance in getting to the different activities.

Come and have a fun filled day with your family and friends!

Directions to Swift Ponds: Take Interstate 25 north to Windsor Exit 262, turn right onto Highway 392. Take Highway 392 east to County Rd. 5, turn left onto County Rd. 5. Take County Rd. 5 north to County Rd. 36 (Ketchter Road). Turn Left onto County Rd. 36, the Swift Ponds gate will be on your left.

For more information, please contact Larry Sanford at (970) 218-5356 popslarrys@gmail.com

Don't forget to buy your raffle tickets! Tickets will be sold at the event.

If you would like to help out with this event, please contact Steve Medberry at stevemedberry@gmail.com or (720) 255-9453 to volunteer.

Cooking a fish whole adds an extra punch to the presentation and allows you to pick out all of those extra bits that are usually lost to filleting. This stuffed dish uses a fish cleaning technique called butterflying, a classic method for gutting and removing the bones from smaller fish in order to cook them whole. You can watch a video of the technique here.

This recipe is easily modified, and since it’s spring, finishing with wild watercress or cooking with morels and nettles would be appropriate. Even buzzing wild greens into the bread crumbs adds impact. However, be careful to not overdo it with the amount of stuffing. You want to complement the delicateness of the trout with lighter spring flavors. I personally like to add asparagus and ramp powder with the room-temperature tomato vinaigrette.

Ingredients

• 2 small trout, butterflied, roughly 10 oz. each
• 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
• 1 cup toasted focaccia bread crumbs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup charred tomato purée
• 1½ cups leeks, diced small
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup chives, finely chopped
• ½ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
• ¼ cup chives, finely chopped
• The zest and juice of one lemon
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 4 tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 tbsp. capers, lightly chopped
• 1 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. ramp powder
• Coarse salt
• Cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Make the tomato vinaigrette. Over a flame or in the broiler, lightly char the outside of a few Roma tomatoes. Purée the tomato smooth and measure one cup. Blend the tomato with the vinegar, dijon, lemon juice, and one teaspoon of salt. Now emulsify the tomato mixture with the olive oil. Set aside and do not cool.

2. Dice the focaccia into one-inch cubes and lightly toast. Then buzz the crumbs in a food processor.

3. Toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove until lightly browned. Cool and roughly chop.

4. Cook the leeks. Dice them small and sauté with two tablespoons of butter until they are translucent. Season with salt. Add a splash of water and cook until the water is absorbed. Repeat the water process. Cooking out the water will make the leeks nice and creamy. Set aside to cool.

5. Make the stuffing. Mix the bread crumbs, pine nuts, capers, lemon zest, parsley, ramp powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper.

6. Lay out the fish skin side down and lightly season the flesh with salt. Add a liberal amount of the bread crumb mixture to each fish. Now split the leeks between the two fish and evenly layer over the bread crumbs. Close the fish and tie off with butcher's twine in 3 or 4 places, running the fish's length to secure the filling. You can also omit using the butcher's twine, just be careful when you handle the fish during the cooking process.

7. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

8. Dredge and sear the fish. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Lay the fish into seasoned flour and brush off any excess. Carefully set the fish in the oil. Sear until browned, flip, add a tablespoon of butter, and brown the second side. Remove the first fish to a sheet tray. Pour out the existing oil/butter and repeat the searing process with the second fish.

9. Bake the fish on the sheet tray for 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

10. While the fish is baking, cook the asparagus al dente in a hot pan with butter and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

11. Plate with tomato oil down first, then asparagus, and finish with the fish. Drizzle a little olive oil and garnish with finely chopped chives.

Outdoor Buddies Sporting Clays Event at Colorado Clays Shooting Park

*Raffle Drawing*

All day sporting clays shoot and fundraiser event at Colorado Clays LLC 13600 Lanewood Street Brighton, Colorado.

Aug 5

Larry Sanford

(970) 218-5356

popslarrys@gmail.com

Larry Sanford

President

970-218-5356

popslarrys@gmail.com

Nate Lucht

Vice President

(970) 219-8817

nate.lucht@hotmail.com

Christopher Nowak

Treasurer

303-717-7159

christopher_m_nowak@yahoo.com

Terry Gleason

Secretary

303-868-2579

terryjgleason@gmail.com

Kevin Kassner

Director

(303) 946-2502

kevin@asktechnolink.com 

Matt Camilleri

Director

860-930-2389

mcamilleri7@gmail.com

Tony Hodges

Director

303-523-0583

thodgesre21@aol.com

Nicholas Filler

Director

719.359.3641

nicholas.filler@outdoorbuddies.org

Steve Medberry

Director

720-255-9453

stevemedberry@gmail.com

Edgar Munoz

Director

720-261-1857

edgar4jec1268@gmail.com

Jim Piper

Director

303-514-8944

geopros@q.com

Frederick Solheim

Director-Warriors on Cataract

303-818-7600

WarriorsOnCataract@gmail.com 

Non-board members are welcome. Please RSVP in advance.

Meetings are held from 6:30pm-8:30pm at the locations and dates below.

May 9 - Cabela's (Lone Tree)

June 13 - Cabela's (Thornton)

July 11 - Cabela's (Lone Tree)

August 1 - Cabela's (Thornton)

September 12 - Cabela's (Lone Tree)

October (no meeting)

November 14 - Sportsman's Warehouse (Thornton)

December 12 - Sportsman's Warehouse (Thornton)