Thursday I drove all over the place trying to find another place to camp. Finally found and decided on, a small, privately owned biker's camp. The place was nice, with outhouses and an outdoor shower, included firewood, they sell beer and ice on-site, and for $5 more per night, the lady would make breakfast for ya. $10/night without breakfast.
The couple that owned the place were very nice and would later introduce me to a few locals (also, all very nice people) in an attempt to help me on my quest. One of the locals, Joe "the bear man" said that he had not been having any activity on his bait sites (only allowed on private land here in OK), either.
Friday morning as I set out again, the lady asked me if I'd like to air up my tire before I left. I had failed to notice that my driver's side front tire was nearly flat! I took them up on the offer and then drove 35 miles east to Mena, Arkansas to get my tire fixed, where the big-box retailers took an hour and a half to repair the tire with only 1 person ahead of me in line and no one else needing service after me.
The afternoon hunting in several other places also turned up no evidence that bears inhabit the areas.
Saturday evening came and my frustration level was high, and funds getting low. I talked to one of the wildlife guys again and he told me of a couple of other places to try, however the weather prevented much activity on my part (wind, rain and thick fog).
Sunday was going to have to be my last day down there (since I was out of money before I was out of vacation time). About midday, I finally found a pile of scat full of muscadine seeds. It wasn't fresh, but it was all I had to go on, so I found a spot, set off my can of bacon flavored scent attractant and waited with some calling thrown in for good measure. Again, no "luck".
So I took a few pix with my phone of the sun setting in the mountains, and went home. Tail between my legs, I was whooped.
Shortly after getting home, the Jeep caught fire again. Found out that it was the pressure hose from the power steering pump spraying fluid onto the exhaust manifold (and everything else), that was causing the fires. Thankfully only about a $25 and 2 hour repair.
All in all, it was still a good trip. No first big game kill, no meat for the freezer, and no bear skin rug or bear claw necklace, but I saw some more of our beautiful country, met some good people and found some of the solitude that I was looking for.
Here's to hoping things are going better for all of you, to hoping that the rest of the deer season goes better, and to NEVER giving up!
Thanks for reading my lame story. Lol.
-Tony
Topic: No "luck" in the bear woods (Read 383 times)
