We're Back!!

Jeremy and I have finally returned from our week long hunting trip. We had a lot of fun hunting in the middle of nowhere. (I am not kidding about that either.) The area where we hunted, reminded me a lot of Bear Valley (for those of you who are from the southern Utah area, you know what I am talking about) There was a lot of pinion pine, and sage brush. On the way there, it rained, and rained. I was getting a little worried, because I hate to be cold and wet. After arriving at our camping spot, it stopped raining for a few hours, so we were able to get our camp set up.

Our Deer Camp

This is how our days went:

Wake at 5:00 - Dress in 5 layers of clothing. Starting with a tight Under Armor shirt, another loose fitting Under Armor shirt, one thermal shirt, one t-shirt, and one camo coat. One the bottom, I had sweat's and then my camo pants. Top it all off with gloves, and a beanie.

5:30 a.m. -After getting dressed, it was time to pack the hunting backpack with the binoculars, water, etc... Then off we went on the 4-wheeler. The ride wasn't to bad, except it was below freezing, and my face froze.

6:00 a.m. -We arrived at our destination. We could drive the 4-wheeler most of the way, and then hike up a hill and find the perfect place to sit. From here we would glass (look thru the binoculars) the entire valley for deer. Some mornings we saw deer right away, and other day's we saw nothing. If we didn't see anything within the first hour or two, we would drive to another area and either hike around, or find another place to sit and watch for deer.

10:00 a.m. - After hunting for about 4 or 5 hours in the morning, we would go back to camp and fix breakfast. Then we would take a nap or drive into Ely.


Now let me tell you about the camping situation. We had a camper, but the generator wouldn't work, and we were worried about the battery dying, so we would only turn on one light at a time, and for the first few day's we weren't even running the heater (and it was cold!!!) On Monday, we went to Ely, (to buy a new generator) and found someone to fix the old one so we were able to finally turn the heat on. The generator still didn't work very well, and wasn't powerful enough to run the TV, Microwave, Etc... (I was bummed that I couldn't watch any movies) so we sat around the table with our one light on and played cards.

Can you find Jeremy :)

4:00 p.m. - In the evening we would bundle back up and hunt before the sunset.
7:00 p.m. - Fix dinner using my one light in the kitchen.
8:00 p.m. - Clean up dinner, and play cards. Call and check up on the kids.
9:00 p.m. - Off to bed

Sound's fun hey??? It actually was very fun, and very relaxing. It's so nice not to worry about what was going on in the world. We didn't even know OJ was found guilty until we got back to Cedar City on Friday.

WARNING!!! ANIMAL LOVERS MAY NOT WANT TO READ OR VIEW THE FOLLOWING!!

Now I can tell you about the deer I shot. After seeing several deer, but not being in a good position to get a good shot at them, I finally got the chance on Tuesday evening. It was a big 4 x 2, and was about 20" wide. It was almost sunset, when the deer came walking down the hill across from where we were sitting. Jeremy got me all set up, and I shot across the canyon (about 250 yards) and hit the deer right in the shoulder. It jumped and ran a few feet, then fell behind a tree. By the time we got back to the 4-wheeler, and drove around to where the deer was, it was dark. It was a lot of fun climbing the rocky hill, and trying to find the deer with flashlights. (I don't recommend shooting a deer at sunset) Jeremy cleaned him out and drug it down the hill, then we loaded it onto the front of the 4-wheeler.

Strapped onto the 4-wheeler

Not to bad for my first buck!!

Here's a funny story that Jeremy wanted me to write about. One day, we spotted 4 bucks at first light. One was a 4 point, One was a 2 point, and the other 2 were spikes. Jeremy let me take the first shot at the deer, (the 4 point of course) and I know I was right on target, but I ended up shooting below the deer. (I am blaming it on the scope. It must have rattled loose from riding on the 4-wheeler rack) After the shot I couldn't find the deer in my scope, and I was freaking out. (Jeremy is still laughing at me for freaking out) He was telling me to get ready to shoot again, but I was to flustered, so I let him take over. He missed, and the deer started running, and so did Jeremy. He ran over to the top of another hill, and took a few more shots at them. (by this time he realized the gun was shooting low) I was so mad that we didn't hit that deer, because I was soooo ready to be done hunting. After hiking around the hills for a few more hours we headed back to camp empty handed.

On Thursday after hunting all morning, we headed back to camp and decided to pack things up. (Logan was sick, and we needed to get back to him) We pulled the trailer back to Cedar City, then met Jeremy's parents the following day. It was so good to see the kids. I was amazed at how much Logan had changed in just a week. We spent the day in Cedar, then went to Jeremy's Grandma's 80th Birthday Party in Milford on Saturday. (I will post about that later)

Jeremy is heading back to the Panaca area this week to finish up his hunt. I'll let you know how he does. Hopefully he will come home with a buck that is bigger than mine.