I had a rifle tag again this year to the same unit we hunted last October. We decided to continue with the tradition (or more so try to still encourage making this a tradition) of camping with whatever family members wanted to/were able to. Ashlee and Taylor both had a tag for the same area so they were game to try and come as much as could. So- Russ's dad came for a few nights, Channy came and stayed, Jake and Ashlee's family camped a few days, and Tanner made a day trip up with Taylor and Alli.
Wait! I need to mention--- The Sunday before the deer hunt started we found a toy hauler for sale on KSL. Long story short- we bought it! it ended up being a crazy week of buying it, cleaning out our old camp trailer and transferring items to the new trailer, all while grocery shopping & packing for the trip oh and both of us working full time! It was wild. But SOOO worth it!
Back to the deer hunt!.....
We got all loaded up Wednesday and headed up the mountain. Luckily, Ash and Jake had gone up and secured our camp spot the night before. It was the perfect spot too! Off the road, and all to ourselves. Just how I like it :) We spent the day setting up camp, and did some 4 wheeler riding spotting that night to scope out any deer. Didn't see any, but went back to camp to hang out with the Brandt's who had come back up for the night.
Thursday morning started early out looking for deer. We took the little red Toyota (Mark, Russ and myself) with Ash in their side by side. Russ ended up seeing a buck that looked pretty promising so we tried to stalk in on it but was unsuccessful by the time I had to go back to the truck to get my gun :(
I was pretty bummed but it was still encouraging to have seen a buck! Back at camp we made a big breakfast and played with the kiddos on the swing that was built in our camp.
Russ had naptime and was so tired that he didn't even realize we had stuck a foot in his beard.
It started to rain so we had an a little camper time that afternoon. Luckily with our new toy hauler were able to have a freezer full of treats :) The rain let up eventually so were able to go out scouting that evening.
Friday morning- we went back to the same mountain side where we'd seen the deer the day before to try and spot it again. We were unsuccessful so we scouted out a few other locations before picking Channy up at a crossroads and headed back to camp for breakfast.
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| My hunting guides |
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| Russ rode in the back of the truck to get a higher up view to spot deer. |
We hung out at camp, ate breakfast and lunch etc... then before we knew it we were back out scouting again that evening (once again with no luck).
Saturday was family day! We got up early again and met up with Taylor, Ali, and Tanner who joined us out on our search. Unfortunately all we came up on was some grouse (which isn't totally bad news), and Taylor lost his wallet and knife. Of course that day included some hanging out at camp and trying to help Taylor find his belongings. But unfortunately it was also the day that everyone was leaving.
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| When your bro-in-law matches your pink stitching clothes |
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| Preggo mama may have snuck in a dirt bike ride on my new whip... :) |
By late Saturday afternoon everyone but us had packed up camp and taken off. Channy decided she wanted to stay the last night with us and thank goodness she did! Russ, Channy and myself decided to load up on the 4-wheeler and go for a ride to see if we could see anything-after not getting a deer again all week I didn't have high hopes....but then suddenly Russ spots a pretty good buck right off the side of the trail. The deer spooks as Russ and I start to load the gun and get off the wheeler. It ran down the hill a ways and Russ and I took off after it. I missed my first shot but quickly reloaded and took another shot. Suddenly the deer dissapeared from our vision. I was feeling discouraged-I finally got to get a shot off on a deer and it was my first time shooting my rifle standing up and I felt like maybe I hadn't got as good of a shot as I thought I did. We were walking around looking to see if we could spot where he'd taken off to when Russ spots him down behind a bush. I got him!!!!
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| Channy snuck a shot from the 4-wheeler of me shooting my deer |
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| One of my favorite pictures-Russ demanding a high five as Channy is recording video and also trying to get the first picture of me and my deer. |
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| This pregnant lady couldn't handle gutting her deer :( Thankfully Channy stepped in and helped Russ gut it but also helped him drag it out. THANKS CHANNY!! |
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| You might be a redneck if.... We had to take a picture of how we rode back to camp from the area where I killed my deer. We may have gone 2 MPH the whole way but we made it! |
I made dinner while Channy and Russ got the deer hung in the tree for the night. We let it cool and drain all night while we passed out exhausted from the days events. Sunday Morning we woke up made one last big camping breakfast before packing up camp. It was an amazing week and so much fun! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband-Thanks for being my hunting guide lover and for sharing all these adventures with me. We're also blessed to have amazing family members to share life, and make memories with. Until next year deer camp!!
