Good afternoon!
I've been blessed as a child and an adult in so many different ways, I could never sum it up in one single thread.
Growing up as a child in Central Florida, I was exposed to the outdoors at a very young age. My parents exposed me to the joys of fishing, crabbing, shrimping, duck hunting and at an older age, deer hunting. We enjoyed these activities all over Central Florida! As I got older, we moved to Tallahassee where my Dad continued to fish and hunt. Even though we lived a few hours away from extended family, we still managed to enjoy the outdoors. We camped majority of the weekends throughout the year from the Gulf Coast up the hills of South Georgia. Wherever we went, there were activities to enjoy. My father continued with his education and career, and it provided us with the opportunity to relocate to Wyoming. Talk about a culture shock! Hahaha!!
My parents did an amazing job raising my sister and I and continued to expose us to the outdoors along the Rocky Mountains. Obviously the environment changed, and so did the sports. Instead of fishing for bass, we learned how to catch trout. Instead of hunting ducks and deer, we learned how to hunt for antelope, big whitetail and elk. During the six years we lived in Wyoming, I don't recall my parents buying meat from the supermarket. We always seems to have a freezer full of meat.
Once I graduated from high school in 1991, we again relocated. This time we exchanged the winter clothes for swimwear and landed in Southern California. My parents were both busy with work and my sister and I started attending college. As we grew up and started our own families, the times hunting and fishing with my parents dissipated.
I hunted a little bit during the years, but never managed to harvest a deer. Every time I've drawn a tag and headed out to the woods, I've seen nothing but bright orange dots across the hillsides. Hunting California deer is a lot different than hunting in the Rockies or the Southeast. There's a lot of hiking involved to try and find some open range. For a number of reasons, I quit hunting and started spending more time fishing. Freshwater and saltwater....it didn't matter. I was always happy to wet a line!
But last year, I felt a strong tug on my heart.
My father and I hadn't been out hunting together since I was a teenager. We'd been fishing together and have spent time at his bow hunting range.....but hadn't returned to the woods. Even though we are both a lot older, my goal was to change that.
I looked around and stumbled across a website for the Dunton Ranch in Northern Arizona. I thought this might be perfect for us due to the location of the ranch. It's within two hours driving time of Parker, and close to several butchers in Kingman. I placed a few calls and made the reservation. I gave the scheduled hunt to my Dad for Christmas this past year and told my parents to block out this weekend.
As the months passed by, I kept in touch with the folks at the Dunton Ranch and confirmed our date. I'd chit-chat with my parents and casually remind my Dad that April was fast approaching.
Finally, the weekend was upon us!
I headed out to my parents house Thursday morning and picked them up. The three of us drove out to Parker and enjoyed dinner at Pirate's Den. The food was great! If you haven't tried them yet, try the brussel sprouts!
After dinner we headed back to their place and tried our best to get a good night's rest. I struggled....I was so excited I could barely sleep.
I woke up at 4:00 without an alarm clock and laid in bed, waiting for my parents to wake up. Once they started getting up, I walked outside and snapped a picture of the Colorado River....
I've been blessed as a child and an adult in so many different ways, I could never sum it up in one single thread.
Growing up as a child in Central Florida, I was exposed to the outdoors at a very young age. My parents exposed me to the joys of fishing, crabbing, shrimping, duck hunting and at an older age, deer hunting. We enjoyed these activities all over Central Florida! As I got older, we moved to Tallahassee where my Dad continued to fish and hunt. Even though we lived a few hours away from extended family, we still managed to enjoy the outdoors. We camped majority of the weekends throughout the year from the Gulf Coast up the hills of South Georgia. Wherever we went, there were activities to enjoy. My father continued with his education and career, and it provided us with the opportunity to relocate to Wyoming. Talk about a culture shock! Hahaha!!
My parents did an amazing job raising my sister and I and continued to expose us to the outdoors along the Rocky Mountains. Obviously the environment changed, and so did the sports. Instead of fishing for bass, we learned how to catch trout. Instead of hunting ducks and deer, we learned how to hunt for antelope, big whitetail and elk. During the six years we lived in Wyoming, I don't recall my parents buying meat from the supermarket. We always seems to have a freezer full of meat.
Once I graduated from high school in 1991, we again relocated. This time we exchanged the winter clothes for swimwear and landed in Southern California. My parents were both busy with work and my sister and I started attending college. As we grew up and started our own families, the times hunting and fishing with my parents dissipated.
I hunted a little bit during the years, but never managed to harvest a deer. Every time I've drawn a tag and headed out to the woods, I've seen nothing but bright orange dots across the hillsides. Hunting California deer is a lot different than hunting in the Rockies or the Southeast. There's a lot of hiking involved to try and find some open range. For a number of reasons, I quit hunting and started spending more time fishing. Freshwater and saltwater....it didn't matter. I was always happy to wet a line!
But last year, I felt a strong tug on my heart.
My father and I hadn't been out hunting together since I was a teenager. We'd been fishing together and have spent time at his bow hunting range.....but hadn't returned to the woods. Even though we are both a lot older, my goal was to change that.
I looked around and stumbled across a website for the Dunton Ranch in Northern Arizona. I thought this might be perfect for us due to the location of the ranch. It's within two hours driving time of Parker, and close to several butchers in Kingman. I placed a few calls and made the reservation. I gave the scheduled hunt to my Dad for Christmas this past year and told my parents to block out this weekend.
As the months passed by, I kept in touch with the folks at the Dunton Ranch and confirmed our date. I'd chit-chat with my parents and casually remind my Dad that April was fast approaching.
Finally, the weekend was upon us!
I headed out to my parents house Thursday morning and picked them up. The three of us drove out to Parker and enjoyed dinner at Pirate's Den. The food was great! If you haven't tried them yet, try the brussel sprouts!
After dinner we headed back to their place and tried our best to get a good night's rest. I struggled....I was so excited I could barely sleep.
I woke up at 4:00 without an alarm clock and laid in bed, waiting for my parents to wake up. Once they started getting up, I walked outside and snapped a picture of the Colorado River....
We unloaded all our meat and sorted it out based on what they wanted. Thankfully, they didn't send me home empty handed. I got a good mixture of goodies from breakfast sausage, bratwurst links, ground pork, bacon, pork chops and roasts. I was surprised with what I was able to bring home. Thank you Mom and Dad for sharing!!
