Notable Posts of 2009
I can’t really say that these are my “best of” 2009, but I did review all of last year’s posts and try to pick out some that were the “best” and some that were the “biggest stories” and some that were just the most interesting for that particular month. There are some good ones here, if I do say so myself!~DesertRat
January 2009 – My daughter went on her first ever big game hunt – a javelina hunt in Unit 33. No piggie for us that day, but a great day together and some lessons learned too! Read Miky’s Javelina Hunt
February 2009 – Jaguar Captured and Collared in Southern AZ. This was a big story for a number of reasons!
March 2009 – Macho B re-captured and subsequently euthanized. A sad continuation from February’s big story. This controversy is still simmering. Read that story HERE.
April 2009 – My interview with Lennis Janzen of Crooked Horn Outfitters was April’s top post. Lennis and Brenda Negrete over at Crooked Horn Outfitters have been very supportive of the Desert Rat Blog. Lennis helped out by participating in a great interview and supplying some awesome photos as well.
May 2009 – May was a weird month at Desert Rat, in that it generated 3 entries in this post! First was the “regular” top entry of May – my coverage of the NRA Convention which was held in Phoenix this year. What a great time! Next, my post about booth babes was the top-ranking single-day traffic post in Desert Rat history. A bigger gun blog linked over to my post and “voila” – well over 1000 unique visitors which is a standing record! Finally, another odd record. I reprinted a press release that I had received regarding the Can Cooker and that post has directed a ton of people to my site via Google (and other search engine) searches. Although it has slipped to Number Two (Elite Archery currently leads by 0.6%) for a long time, it reigned supreme. Odd – one vanilla post – and I’ve never even seen a real can cooker!
June 2009 – For June I selected a “Most significant, but not very noticed” post. Being in the business of Facilities Management, I know what an achievement it is to build a LEED-certified building. Arizona Game and Fish should be extremely proud of their LEED Platinum facility! This press release actually led me to seek out a tour. I toured their great building with two co-workers and gained a lot of valuable info that I can use in my own facilities! Well done, Game and Fish!
July 2009 – July’s cool post selection was my interview with Dr. Cade Smith, owner of The Claw. The Claw is an innovative product, and a cool company with Arizona roots! You can read that interview HERE.
August 2009 – Top honors for August go to my interview with Laura Francese. Laura is an amazing lady, being a spokesperson for Martin Archery and a Buffalo Jills cheerleader to boot. She is involved in a number of charities as well. Coincidentally, someone else liked this post too – it got a “Top 50″ mention from another site.
September 2009 – My post about Trophy’s Steakhouse made my list for a couple of reasons. Number One, it was my first ever attempt at a restaurant review. Next, it is a great restaurant in my town of Queen Creek and I want to do what I can to help them be successful! Finally, Trophy’s is a great public face for hunting, introducing folks to wild game meat while they dine in a classy environment full of awesome big game mounts!
October 2009 – The Desert Rat Blog reached a personal and professional milestone with the celebration of its 100,000th Visitor! My contests were made possible through the generosity of several companies!
November 2009 – My choice for November included a relatively insignificant event which was, however, another personal milestone for me. Thanks to Jim Solomon over at Xplor The Outdoors, I made my radio debut! You can read about it, and have a listen HERE. Thanks Jim!
December 2009 – OK, another odd choice to round out the year. I do receive comments now and then regarding my photography skills. Even I am starting to admit that I am a better photographer than hunter. Anyway, it was a total fluke that I managed to capture an image of a hummingbird in mid-flight. So, not an amazing post by any measure, but a neat photo, nonetheless.
Thanks again to everyone who has visited my site in the past year – whether you’re a die hard regular, or a drive-by Googler, I appreciate you visiting. Here’s wishing you all the best in 2010!
