Thirty Four Minutes

If there is a parent that takes advantage of having a daughter that is up for anything to spend time with her dad, it is me.  I have attended my share of girly birthday parties and daddy-daughter pedicures, but those were just my required deposits in exchange for time hunting with Emma.  And I finally cashed in when I took her on an antelope hunt in Wyoming this season, which resulted in 34 minutes in a blind, two days of sight-seeing, and a lifetime of memories.

Emma and I have been on several antelope hunts, but none have ended with a punched tag.  We have endured moth infestations in our camp, 106-degree heat and broken down trucks.  For all those problems, old Orion finally smiled down upon us and gifted us with a hunt that we never deserved.

Emma has been on many archery antelope hunts, and knows how to find good bucks.

I won this hunt in a drawing from Rocky Mountain Athlete.  It included a three-day guided archery antelope hunt with Four Horse Outfitters near Upton, Wyoming.  When I called Fonzy Haskell to make the arrangements, he didn’t hesitate when I asked if Emma could tag along.  “Actually, we encourage it,” Fonzy said.  With that, we planned out the hunt and got ready for the adventure.

We arrived late on a Thursday night and after sleeping in a bit and having a big breakfast we made it to the blind at 10:04 Friday morning.  Exactly.  After spending a few minutes organizing our chairs and the camera equipment, I sat on the cooler and Emma was already complaining about being hungry.  I grabbed two bags of Chex Mix and we talked a bit about how better to organize our stuff in the blind so we would be comfortable for the anticipated long sit.

I considered opening up a few more windows in the blind and happened to look out the back window.  A buck was about 80 yards away coming straight at us.  It was one of those moments where nothing seemed to click.  I couldn’t quite understand what I was looking at.  He wasn’t a brute, but definitely a shooter for the area I was in.  I told Emma, and her eyes got big and she whispered questions faster than I could think or answer.  After composing myself, I got us both calmed down and we worked together to get everything in position so if a shot presented itself we could make it happen.  And happen it did.

Sixteen yards from the blind, the buck bent to drink.  I mouthed the words, “should I shoot?” and Emma responded with a wide-eyed, enthusiastic nod.  I hit his sweet spot and he piled up 90 yards from the blind.  We were in the blind for all of 34 minutes and our hunt was done.  I didn’t even have time to finish my Chex Mix.

Sharing the best of moments with my favorite Sancho Panza.

We still had two days to fill.  I was so focused on hunting that I never thought about what to do if I tagged out early.  Lucky for us Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and a host of other national treasures are about a two hour drive from the hunting lodge.  We spent the next two days sight-seeing with Emma as the navigator and me the driver.  Wherever she pointed, we drove.

Devil’s Tower, the nation’s first national monument, looks much smaller in person.

I never dreamed that a 34-minute hunt would rank in my all-time favorite experiences, but this one certainly does.  As for Emma, she ranks it in her Top 5 vacations.  Ever.  And she wants to go back to get her own buck next time.

The Mud Room at Four Horse Outfitters is nicer than most houses I have lived in!