We haven't done the deer hunt for a few years now. The past 3 years Jake has only done the Elk hunt. And due to Emery being just a few days old 2 years ago, and her first birthday last year, I haven't even gone and camped. Actually now that I think about it the year Emery was born Jake didn't get a tag. But don't think he didn't think about it! I "x'd" that idea quick. But this year Jake, my Dad, and my brother all put in for a deer tag. My dad still did Elk but we only did one. But sure enough they drew out for Manti-La Sal. So opening weekend we packed up and headed to Manti canyon for deer camp. There was also my aunt and uncle Chris and Karen and all of their kids, they had already done the Muzzleloader deer, Archery Deer, and Elk hunt. This hunt they only had one tag in their family and that was Ashley, there was also my uncle Todd, his daughter Kylie and son Tyler, aunt and uncle Richard and Tiffani, their two kids Rich and Jessica, and Grandma and Grandpa! All together 8 deer tags. So we packed up, as you can see Emery was loads of help, and headed out on Thursday. We got off way later than we originally planned and then we had a few stops to make along the way so we didn't get to Manti until after 8:00. Lucky for us that is where my Grandma and Grandpa live so we were able to crash there for the night! In a nice, warm, comfy bed! Sounds nice right? Don't be fooled. Sweet little Macie slept from the time we left, 4:00 to the time we got there 9:00. She stirred for just a second but then slept until we went to bed at 11:00. We woke her up, got her in pajamas, and she instantly fell back asleep until 1:00 AM. Lost track? That is 9 hours of sleep already and it was only 1:00 AM. She was DONE sleeping. She woke up and would NOT go back to sleep. I tried from 1:00 until 3:30 and she was still bright eyed. I was so tired I woke up Jake at that point and told him it was his turn. He stayed with her until 5:30 allowing me to get some sleep, although be it very interrupted by Macie, at 5:30 I just got up and we were both with her. at 6 Jake took her upstairs to my grandma and mom and we both laid back down until 7 when Emery woke up and I could hear Macie upstairs waiting to eat. We were soooo tired. But luckily all the nights in the trailer went better. Macie would still get a little cold, but she didn't really wake up, she would just toss and turn.
Friday morning we woke up, the guys went to do some target practice with their rifles, then we headed up to camp.
Emery is obsessed with both "pa-pas" She calls my dad papa and my grandpa "papa that". It's pretty funny. We assume she is trying to say that papa, but switches it. She was very helpful get trailers unloaded and set up...papa even let her drive his truck again. It is her favorite thing in the world.
We camped at Mud Flatts in Manti Canyon. And true to it's name it was mud-dy! All of our shoes were coated in mud within minutes. Luckily after a few hours of the sun shining it dried out a lot and it wasn't as bad the rest of the trip. Emery's boots would get so heavy she couldn't walk so we had to constantly clean them for her.
Later Friday evening before dinner we went on a little hike to and around a Lake. Emery absolutely loved her new backpack Jake got her.
And was facinated by the snow.
The "big wa-wa" Emery called it. She tried saying "yake" but reverted back to big wa-wa most of the time.
This girl is a cuddle bug! We love it.
The rest of the night was spent sitting around the fire, everyone coming to camp, having dinner, and catching up.
Saturday was opening day of the hunt and they got an early start. Not as early as they usually do during the Elk Hunt but early. They all met at 5:50 to get going.
The rest of us hung around camp, eating, eating some more, and eating some more. I am quite sure I gained about 5 pounds. 
This girl will do anything to not have to look at me to get her picture taken.
At about 12:30 all the of the hunters came back. And only one had been successful! Ashley got her first buck. A nice 2 point. Every one else had either seen nothing or only does and fawns.
Emery decided it was her turn to go on a ride.
After some lunch and a nap they headed back out. They were gone a few more hours but still weren't successful. We had dinner, and sat around the fire like usual for the rest of the night.
Saturday morning they were up and at it again. Macie and I were the only ones in camp. The night before everyone else had gone to my grandma's to shower and sleep there. My mom took Emery. So it was just us for a couple hours.
At about 10:00 everyone else showed back up. We played around all morning while the guys hunted until about 3 that afternoon, but again with no luck. Then we cleaned up camp and headed home. It went by WAY too quickly. I'm bummed we didn't get much camping in this year, but I know we'll get lots in next year. But we had lots of fun the times that we did get to go!!
No comments:
Post a Comment