Tutt's new job in Ukiah, CA

[CowboyTutt]

Well, its taken me months to do so, but my hard work payed off and I was offered a job up in the town of Ukiah, CA that pays much more than my current position in Hollister. I guess I have never really fallen in love with this town or the district in the 5 years that I have been here. I was searching Edjoin, a website for school jobs in CA earlier in the year, and saw a job up in Ukiah. After doing some research, it sounded like a perfect place for me to live given my hobbies of camping, off-roading, shooting and motorcycling. So, I applied and made two trips up there; one for an informal interview with the director and to check out the town, and another for the formal panel interview. I did not get the job, but was refered with an endorsement from that director to the Mendicino County Office of Education when a job came up later. I also made two trips and two interviews for the county position. I was awaiting the results when the first job called up to tell me there was an "emergency opening" and they offered me the job flat-out this last week. I called the Mendicino County Office regarding the status of my interview there, and I was in 3rd place out of 24 applicants (not all of which they interviewed). So I had little chance of getting it, and accepted the offer for Ukiah Unified School District. The contract is signed for next year, and I'm good to go!

I'm pretty happy about the turn of events, and will be moving in early August. There is a primitive shooting range good for 600 yards just outside of town on some BLM land called Cow Mountain. Its fairly steep and rough road and I won't be able to get up there in wet weather, but it is certainly an improvement over my shooting opportunities here! According to the local gunsmith it is a "right to carry" county and concealed permits are pretty easy to get. Also, there are some reportedly good hunting spots nearby and perhaps best of all, it is OUTSIDE THE CONDOR ZONE!!!! Hopefully, this will be a place where I truly want to stay and put down roots. I think it will. It is lovely countryside! I will be moving in early August so I have a lot to do between now and then. I'm still planning on being at the Billy Dixon range on July 26-27th and hope to see some of you there. If any of you have suggestions of places to shoot/hunt/eat/drink in Ukiah, I would love to hear about it!

-Tutt

[El Chivo]

Congratulations, sounds like a dream move. BTW, the condor zone is just a beginning...

[CowboyTutt]

Thanks Sobenk. I hope your wrong about the condor zone. Perhaps we will try harder to fight it off next time. I'll still make next years SoCal reunion. I figure we start planning in January/February for March or April!

-Tutt

[Old Savage]

Congratulations Andy! Sounds right for you.

[Tycer]

Congrats! Go visit the Oracle Oaks Winery Tasting Room and head over to Jimtown to the Jimtown Store. It's a cool little place to get a bite of lunch.

[CowboyTutt]

O.S., thanks very much! Tycer, thanks for the recommendations. I'm going to bookmark this thread. If anyone else has places to see or do there, I'm all ears!

I did find a neat store called "Diamond Jim's Sporting Goods and Liquor Store" or something very close to that effect. You have got to love a place that has all the usual neon "open" and beer/alcohol signs, but also has an even bigger banner that says, "Kimber Master Dealer" in the window!

Not only did was it a gun store/liquor store, but they also had gunpowder! It was SOOOOO cool! I bought two pounds of powder while there last time. I knew I was in the right town.

Anyone else with recommendations?

-Tutt

[GANJIRO]

My Bro-in-law in San Jose goes hunting just a few miles north of Ukiah outside of Willets and has scored a buck every year for the past 16 years. Sonoma Valley area as well was up north towards Red Bluff has decent Wild Pig hunting from what I hear so you're not too far from decent hunting. You'll also have some decent Steelhead rivers, and Trout streams nearby. Not a bad place at all for a lover of the outdoors. I think the northern half of California should secede from the rest of the state (ala West Virginia) and form a decent new state with a fenced southern border.

Oh yes, almost forgot- CONGRATULATIONS! on your new job.

[JReed]

Thats awesome. I know you had been trying for this job for awhile glad you got it.

[scr83jp]

Congratulations, sounds like a dream move. BTW, the condor zone is just a beginning...

No one knows where the condors are getting the lead,not that many deer are killed in the A zone, pigs are in the trees & brush where they're gutted,condors land in clearings and take off with a running start like diving ducks. My thoughts are they're being baited with lead loaded piles of offal,in AZ a sports writer said the condors may have been baited in with a dead bovine loaded with lead.You're not far from excellent deer areas like Yolla Bolly. Lots of good elk hunting areas if you can get drawn.I camped in the Klamath NF & backed packed into the Marble Mtns during summers & hunted in Siskiyou County off & on from 1969 to 2007.

[Griff]

Congrats Andy! Sounds like a good move for you. Looking forward to July.

[Hank Dodge]

Yep, that Cow Mtn. area is pretty nice. There are quite a few "off-road" campsites that are just perfect for spending a long weekend at. That 600 yard range used to be nice too. They used to have steels hung out at varied distances all the way up that canyon; made it great for trying long shots. My buddy and I used to go there quite often, but it's been a number of years now since we were there. Hope it's still as nice as it used to be.

Hank

[Jaguarundi]

Congrats CowboyTutt it sounds like a outdoorsman paradise !

[20cows]

Yee hah!

[Rusty]

I thought I remembered reading here on leverguns that the lead levels in the condors was something invented by some egghead who was trying to get his agenda passed. Was that really for real?

Why would anyone bait a condor with bait loaded with lead?

[rjohns94]

congrats. very happy for you. blessings

[Wrangler John]

Congrats on your new job. Twenty years or so ago I used to shoot IHMSA matches at the Ukiah Gun Club. Here's their link:

www.ukiahgunclub.com

Seems they are still going strong and offer a bunch of activities. These were real good folks, so you may want to drop by.

[kimwcook]

Congratulations. Sounds like a good move.

[CowboyTutt]

Hank, the Cow Mountain area is still open and it looked like it still had swingers out, but it was also pretty trashed. Still shootable though.

Wrangler, thanks for the link to the U.G.C. I needed that! The rifle range sounds pretty nice there.

Thanks to everyone for all the well-wishes.

-Tutt

[C. Cash]

Congratulations Tutt! Sounds like a good change

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Hi Andy,
Looks like a pretty good deal for ya. Congrats.

[brucew44guns]

I been to Ukiah many times when my inlaws had a place in Clear Lake nearby. Father-in-law worked for Masonite there. The road from Willits to Fort Bragg is quite a nice trip, and you'll have the ocean nearby for some good fishing. Should be some good mule deer hunting in those higher mountains, maybe up by Lake Pillsbury!!. Good luck to you in that part of our great nation.

[Ysabel Kid]

Excellent news Tutt! I am really happy for you! Looking forward to all kinds of pictures and range reports from the new stomping grounds! I'll keep you in my prayers - even a move that is desired is still a move, with all of the associated headaches, trials, and tribulations!!!

[otteray]

Glad to see so many fellow Californians here!
You will be well out of condor country there.
That lead salted bovine was actually probably the one that Fish and Game shot (with lead bullets) to feed the poor hungry prehistoric worthless buzzard that couldn't find it's own darn food!
Best Wishes, from Santa Cruz County, just down the road from Hollister.

[new pig hunter]

What a great change with the job, and certainly much prettier country in Ukiah than Hollister.

Cheers,

Carl

[hfcable]

that sounds really nice, especially beiing out of the condor zone!
good luck, and congratulations, i bet you are going to love it there!

[Idiot]

The Eel River below the Middle Fork has steelhead. The area surrounding it has black bear, elk, truck loads of deer, and pigs. About ten miles from Ukiah is Lake Mendocino with fishing and boating opportunities.

Right up the road from the bullets and booze gun store you mentioned is Jensens Resturant. It serves a very good breakfast and a decent chili size. It will also put a slice of cheddar on your hot apple pie upon request.

Be careful when wandering the wilderness, there are paramilitary types paid by the marijuana growers (an important part of the local economy) who are deadly serious about protecting their crops. A lot of bad things go on in the woods around those parts.

Willits has a good used book store on main street and a good cafe about midway through town.

As far as gun supplies go, you better get real acquainted with Midway because Wal-Mart and the store you mentioned are the only games in town. Have fun.

[Travis Morgan]

I'm happy that you're happy. Hope it all works out for ya. It's nice to see someone with ambition's plans come together.

[dr walker]

Congratulations on the new job and upcoming move to a truly beautiful part of our country.

[J Miller]

Congratulations. Sounds like you'll be a lot happier there.

Joe

[CowboyTutt]

Wow, I can't believe this came up again. Thanks Joe and the rest of you. I had just about given up hope and thought I would be stuck here another year. I'm looking forward to having a new playground.

-Tutt

[NonPCnraRN]

I thought I remembered reading here on leverguns that the lead levels in the condors was something invented by some egghead who was trying to get his agenda passed. Was that really for real?

Why would anyone bait a condor with bait loaded with lead?

Liberal environmentalists will do anything to promote their agenda. I've heard of fur of an endangered animal being "planted" in an area so it can be "found" and offered as proof that the animal is there and Voila, the land becomes off limits to humans. They pushed the Supreme Court into declaring that CO2 is a pollutant. God had this neat plan where amimals breath in 02 and breath out CO2. Plants use CO2 and sunlight to make O2 and so the cycle repeats. Basic high school biology. Liberals aren't happy with what God designed and want to change it. The earth has actually cooled a few degrees over the last 30 years but the fear of global warming 50 years from now based on computer models means liberals can take away our freedoms now. Sorry for the rant. Congratulations on your new job Tutt. I am jealous. I am going back to get my BS degree in Nursing. Maybe they'll need a Non Politically Correct RN who belongs to the NRA up there in a few years. You may be out of the Condor Zone but I think you moved into the Spotted Owl zone. The perfect liberal agenda.....stop timber cutting and start growing marijuana. Oops, there I go again.

[shawn_c992001]

I hope the move/new job goes smooth for you Tutt.

[t.r.]

I worked in Vallejo for many years; we lived near Napa. But for a number of reason, we packed up and departed northern California in 1993.

Good fishing at Blue Lakes on Hwy 20. There is abundant BLM lands there, too.

I toppled a big 4 X 4 blacktail buck while hunting the Hayfork "burn". This area was burned in a wildfire in early 80's and was an ideal deer habitat when I last hunted there in 1991. Ask at the little saloon how to find this area. I knew the saloon owner and kept in touch with him until about 10 years ago: Terry Painter.

Top of mountain at Pt. Arena was a USAF Comm Site until late 1980's. There used to be an abundance of hogs at the abandoned airfield. We rec'd written permission to hunt from the Real Property Office at Travis AF Base.

Back in the 1980's, illegal cultivation of a certain green plant was widespread in Mendocino County. Forest Service used to warn hikers and hunters about these activities and the dangerous people associated with this "industry". Hopefully, the bad guys have been rounded up and put out of business. But within California, you never know how Judges and Juries will behave. Be cautious.

Good hunting to you.
TR