The Hunting Cabin

Awww....Jake left me again last Thursday to go hunting, but he left such a sweet note! It totally made up for all the terrible time I had to spend alone, reading O magazine and watching a marathon of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. It was torture.

Anyway, I drove out there Saturday afternoon to stay the night at the hunting lodge.  We made 'hobo dinners', which are basically ground beef, tatos, carrots, and whatever else (cream of mushroom soup, cheese, you name it!) thrown together in a foil packet and cooked on fire coals. Delicious! Saturday night was pretty uneventful; none of the guys shot anything. Jake needs to get a deer and elk soon so we can add some variety to our fish and antelope diet.

The ranch is very scenic, and there are a herd of horses that stay in the field near the cabin. We were supposed to chase them away if they came too close, but I just fed them carrots instead. Here they are drinking from the pond in the yard of the cabin:

Rob is watching them closely. Some of these horses have been known to have a fondness for red vehicles, and Rob's got a red 4-wheeler sitting out. Watch out, Rob! They're gonna eat your wheeler!!!

Look at those beautiful blondes! The wouldn't harm a flea!
Evenings at this hunting camp are a little cushy. While some hunters sleep high in the mountains so they can be closer to the elk in the morning, these guys stay in and watch Man, Woman, Wild. (Have you seen this show? HILARIOUS. It's a married couple version of Survivorman.)

And then we get up off the couch and venture out to this view:

Sunday was extremely boring.....The guys left around 5am. I slept til about 8:30, made myself some pancakes, and waited around the whole day. There was nothing to do! I fed the horsies more carrots and watched TV. Jake got back around 3pm! He didn't shoot anything, but that doesn't mean he didn't have some awesome stories to share with the guys!

I don't know what they're talking about, but Jake and his hunting buddy Dalin are very emphatic storytellers. Their audience is CAPTIVATED, can't you tell?

That was about it for this past weekend. I think I'll skip the drive out this coming weekend, but I have a feeling that after two unsuccessful hunts, they'll try out a new area. Jake is duck hunting after work with his friend Pete and I'll be eating Mexican food at our Board Meeting....Tomorrow night is our friend PJ's "golden birthday". Tonight I am going to try to make this for lunch this week as well as some very easy peanut butter cookies for PJ's party. Not because PJ loves PB, but because I had some recently and they were awesome! (Sorry, Peej....).

Until next time friends....

Surviving in the Wild West

I am going to start my very first blog post with this: We have a rotting antelope skull in our barn.  You're welcome.

Jake drew an Antelope tag this year and left me alone last weekend to hunt one down. He was successful and had a nice buck down by Saturday evening.  Rob, Jake's friend and co-worker, was also part of the draw, but unfortunately his truck broke down so he couldn't meet up with Jake.  But, being the wonderful person he is, Jake drove nearly 2 hours out of his way to pick up his friend so he, too, could get his trophy animal.

Jake also picked me up. This was Saturday afternoon. We drove out to the National Forest and I was excited and nervous to join these guys on the hunt. I had never before been on any type of hunting expedition in my life. 

Unless you cound mushroom hunting! That was very successful - see photo. om nom nom...yummy. 

Anyhoo, Last year, during elk season, Jake would come back late on Sunday, after a weekend of what sounded like torturous hiking over mountain after mountain after mountain....on a fruitless search for that big, elusive buck. So, I am thinking we will be hiking all day, up and down steep slopes; or, sitting in one spot, quite, motionless, waiting.  Boy was I wrong.

If the usual hunt is anything like my experience last Saturday, count me in. (My feeling, however, is that this was just a lucky break!).

Driving along the gravel Gros Ventre (prounounced "Groh Vaunt") Road, we pulled off on a little forest service road that wound its way up a hillside and stopped at a feedground in the middle of a beautiful meadow. The boys got out their scopes and searched the surrounding sage-covered hillsides for any sign of antelope.  Rob spotted the first herd - one male and small harem of three females.  As they discussed the size of the male, another herd came into view, much closer this time. They were on the next hillside over, grazing and completely oblivious to us.

The hunt was ON!

I envision tracking down an animal something that involves slow moving, sneaking, quietly creeping....I resolved to follow these guys' every footstep and not be in the way.  The antelope herd closest to us began to move downhill in our direction. Jake whispered to Rob, "They're on the move! Go go go!!!" and Jake and Rob took off. Running. Running? Surely these delicate creatures would hear us cumbersome humans running through the woods in their direction? No? Apparently not.  We ran some 20 yards then they boys slowed down and squatted, taking small steps and eventually belly-crawling up a hillside. The antelope were just on the other side. All the while I was following, mimicking Jake's every move ahead of mine.  As I am belly crawling up the hill, he motions for me to stop. What! I wanted to see what was going on! I wanted to see the animal up close! He was afraid if we got any closer, we'd spook them and Rob wouldn't get his shot. So, I hunkered down and waited to hear the rifle. I didn't have to wait long. Antelope down!

We stayed out at a ranch that night, celebrating with beers, bonfires and new friends. 

All in all, it was a pretty cool experience. The whole ordeal took less than 30 minutes it seemed. Pretty simple, this hunting stuff. And we had antelope steaks for dinner last night. I made mashed potatoes and asparagus, and boy, was he delicious! I am looking forward to an elk! Not the hunting part, I probably won't partake in that again. Just the eating part. Especially the breakfast sausage. Mmmmm......

But for now, corn and summer squash soup for dinner and hopefully watching Date Night tonight with my honeybunny. Life is pretty good.