I wish I would be better about my blog entries, but this past weekend is simply one I can't let go by without documenting. About a week ago, Dan and I decided to buy a flight and head to South Dakota, visit his dad and go hunting opening weekend. Both of us were just needing the peace, quiet and beauty of The Ranch.
(In order to get a good price on the tickets, it required us to pull into The Ranch around midnight on Friday and leave from The Ranch at 3 am on Monday morning. A small price to pay to have Jack experience his first hunt.)
Unfortunately, we didn't get to The Ranch until well after 2 am because our luggage was left in Denver, and we needed to buy things for Jack and ourselves which were in the luggage. (It was returned to us the next afternoon...God bless the worker who had to find us...it was about a 2 hour drive into rural SD for him...) Dan and Kelly slept for about 2 hours before some family friends, Bob Spears and his two boys, Lane and Connor, joined them to head out. When they got back later that morning they had seen tons of deer and had had a wonderful morning. I just loved hanging out with Jack...no distractions, didn't turn on the TV, just enjoyed the quiet time with the little guy. After the boys had a bite to eat, we headed out again with Jack. Dan parked us near the hay yard, as it was pretty cold out, and we got to glass for deer and enjoy the sun going down over the fields. About 4 we saw Dan coming back, and on his way back, he encountered a buck he couldn't let pass. When joined back up again and took pics to commemorate "Jack's first buck." --Dan's wish was to get a good buck for Jack, so it was so special to see him hold Jack and smile that beautiful smile of his. --The Spears were also lucky. 15 year old Lane shot a buck himself. They had donned it "The Caribou" when they had been out looking the day before because of his unusual rack, so the conversation that night was full of fun stories about the day.
Later that night, we all just visited, enjoyed some nummy chili that Kelly made, and headed to bed around 9pm.
The next morning, the boys were out again. Kelly and Dan said it was the most fun they had had hunting in a long time. I love the way they hunt. They will choose a good spot and just sit there waiting for hours...just enjoying the quiet. They rarely shoot anything (this was Dan's first buck in about 10 years); they just enjoy the journey.
When they returned, Dan's mom came over and we all just hung out and enjoyed watching Jack. He rode on his first rocking horse, had Nona feed him and he played with his new favorite toy, paper. It was so wonderful to see him with his grandparents...it's one thing I miss about being so far away from our families...I miss our parents and seeing Jack with them more often. But he had a blast and so did we.
That afternoon, we bundled up our little guy and headed to what has now become one of my favorite spots on the ranch. It was atop the ridge of one of the draws where Kelly and Dan had spotted a good white tail. We all sat on the ridge, looking for deer, chewing on jerky, and watched the sun make its slow descent over the hills. It was a beautiful memory. Jack was so good; he sat there quietly for over an hour just enjoying the outdoors. I think he's going to be a good hunter like is daddy and grandpa.
As we headed back, Dan spotted a great buck. Kelly got out ready to shoot, but by the time he was set up it was too dark to hit him. I must admit it was pretty exciting for this city girl. :)
That night we visited again. Kelly sang Jack all the songs his dad used to sing to him. The boys recounted their stories from the weekend, and we enjoyed the last night away from it all.
We were asleep by 8:30 and up again at 2:30. It's going to be a long day for Dan at work, and Jack and I are trying to rest up today at home before I go back to work tomorrow, but it was all worth it. I love the look Dan gets when he's out on The Ranch. Jack gets the same look...capturing it on film is a memory I will hold dear always.
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