FEATURING FUDD

The Fudd story

    It was Missoula, Montana -- a college town.  1991.  A cheesy second hand store.  A muffled voice -- from the dirty kitchen appliances department.  Although Fudd has never admitted his ancestry consisted of a not-so-infamous pile of pot-holder discards, he's still suspect.  Just look at those beady-eyes, the mouth, the missing tooth, the half-confused crooked smile -- truly, a Dick Cheney look-alike. 

    I rescued Fudd.  I could see potential.  So I dashed him to the second hand store check-out clerk.  No, he was not in the "free" basket with the other discards, but, still, they paid me a dime to get rid of him. 

    We bonded.

    A soloist hiker of the Rocky Mountain Front, I and my new hiking partner, ventured far and wide.  And on those lonely nights around the campfire, we sang and told stories til the stars came out.  And in those unpredictable East Front wind storms or those horizontal snow flurries or those blazing hot afternoons, Fudd was always at his best.  Why?  Cuz he'd make me giggle.  He would come up with the gall dangest stuff. 

    Let me show you.

Fudd Branches out

    Fudd decided to branch out.  Instead of hanging around the mall, he decided to hang around the woodlands and high country of the Front.

Wildlife viewing

Fudd keeps a sharp eye out for anything from grizzly bears to antelope.  It's all on the Front.  Wildlife viewing is a multi-million dollar business in Montana.  The Front is home to one of the largest bighorn sheep populations on the continent.

Bear Aware

Two things I always pack with me in griz country: My pepper spray and my Fudd.  You just never know when you might be attacked by a griz or thrust to the ground by a giggle-attack.  Be prepared!!  The giggle response can be controlled under circumstances of distress, but you have about 3.5 seconds to respond to a griz attack.  Carry your pepper spray where you can reach it and discharge . . . One thousand one ... One thousand two ...  Get the idea?!

Awe Struck

Fudd is awestruck by the sight of Ear Mountain on the distant horizon -- a prominent point for ancient travelers of the Old North Trail

In Search of . . .

Renowned Rocky Mountain Front anthropologist, Dr. Sally searches for the illusive Fudd.  One of Fudd's really really favorite games is playing "Spot-the-Fudd."  Look very closely at the photo above.  Can you spot the Fudd?  Careful, don't let the giggle-response catch you too soon.

Fudd-O-Matic

Where: Haystack Butte southwest of Augusta, Montana. Elevation gain: 2400'. Far Background: The Front and Ear Mountain. 

The yet-to-be-patented Fudd-O-Matic giggle-response mechanism receiving a field test.  It worked! 

On a hot hot hot sweaty July afternoon with biting horse flies, deer flies, and snipe flies -- and much fatigue -- the Fudd-O-Matic STILL produced the giggle-response.  PROOF!!  (Of what, we are not sure.  But further research is expected).  NOTE: Researchers are desperate to repress the giggle-response.  But, they were caught on camera.  Fudd's conclusion:  the two pointed metal objects are actually discarded UFO transceivers.  Ladies and gentleman, we have a "sighting."

"Fudd Mania!!"

Suddenly, the entire hiking party is stricken with "Fudd Mania!!"  PROOF, again . . . the Fudd-O-Matic giggle-response mechanism can infect an entire outdoor population of otherwise normal looking hot sweaty adults being overrun by buzzing biting insects. 

And It Doesn't Stop There!!

The Fudd giggle-response can even STRIKE the most serious dedicated Rocky Mount Front big game hunters.

AND . . . Even in the Comfort of the Great Indoors, Fudd can do His Stuff!

Keep watching the skies . . . (woooooWOOOOOwooo) . . .