Got up this morning and put together a small pack with water and stuff for the trail. The plan was to scout and check one of the bowhunting only areas I had recently discovered near where I live. My son Robert asks if I made sure to put in the "Fruit by the Foot" for him. "We can't leave without it Papa" he states! Fine so, in goes the Fruit by the Foot.
We arrive and head into the tree farm I plan to hunt. About 1/2 mile in, Robert says he wants to stop and have a snack! I told him we just got started and he can't be hungry already!
He insists so, like a good Papa, I give in. No sooner did we get ready to sit down, and 35-40yds ahead of us, a cow elk steps out onto the road. I quickly hush Robert and he gets real excited to see her. Pretty soon, she crosses on up into the trees and 4 more elk step out onto the road. I'm watching Robert when it suddenly dawns on me, this is his first time seeing elk in the wild and that close. He is practically beside himself with a grin bigger than the Grand Canyon.
I send up a silent thank you to the Man for this day and opportunity with my son.
We had our snack while I soaked up all his excitement and thought there was no other place in the world where I would rather have been than right there with him. We later saw a blacktail doe and I found a couple of places to possibly put a ground blind in. Here is the place where the elk crossed in front of us:
All total: 5 elk, 1 doe, 1 excited youngster and 1 well, I can't explain how I feel!