Our First Bow Hunting Experience

Okay, I am all about trying new things, but this was way beyond what I ever thought I would be able to do....bow hunting. Jordon is a manly man and likes to do manly man things; I like to wear makeup, shop online, wear high heels, and craft. So, when I told Jordon that I wanted to go hunting with him, he didn't think I'd be able to last. Well, he had to admit afterward that he was wrong, because I actually had fun! Granted, it can get pretty boring staring at a pond for 6 hours straight, but we had awesome company and a good trial run of what deer hunting is like.

[Note: For you meat eaters who are against hunting...just know that the meat you buy at the grocery store comes from animals that are treated MUCH worse than the animals that are hunted in the wild. Grocery store meat isn't as healthy either.]

We had to get up at 4 in the morning to get ready for our hike up the mountain. Literally, UP the mountain. There is nothing fun about hiking straight up a mountain at 4 in the morning. But then we got there and got to watch the sun rise, which was pretty neat. 

My cousin, Nicole, and her husband, Chris. 

It actually wasn't so bad dressing up in camo; it made it easier to sit in the dirt without having to worry about ruining my clothes or looking bad!

I had too much fun messing with Jordon while he used my phone camera to apply his face paint...

These were the first animals that we saw, and I was DYING! Deer are so funny when the run. They run like bunnies and it is so entertaining to me! I laugh every time I watch this.

This is the deer that Jordon got the chance to shoot at. I don't think you are able to watch the full video, because it is condensed on my end. [However, if you are able to watch the whole thing, there is nothing really to see after 0:54. That's when I forgot to turn off the camera while I grabbed another arrow for Jordon, so there's nothing to see.] He nicked the deer's leg the first time, and then shot right under his belly the second. For his very first time though, I am pretty impressed. He actually aimed pretty well for how crazy his adrenaline was going. I was even shaking and I just had to sit there! 

When they got Jordon's arrows back, they found that some of the blades had broken off. I am proud to say that I was able to save the day with some eyelash glue. It looks like being a girly-girl pays off in the wild!

Although the sitting around and waiting part got pretty boring, at least we had something pretty to look at. Being up in the mountains in silence can be pretty peaceful. We got to see a few different types of animals come in, and it was fun to watch them in their natural habitat. 

We came back to our campsite around lunchtime, and Chris' brother drove down to show us what he got on his hunt. This is the part that I thought would really affect me, and I'm so surprised that I was able to handle it! There were a few parts of the process that bothered me, but I think I composed myself pretty well while they skinned his elk. I didn't take any pictures of them skinning it though; it is pretty gross. 

After lunch (I could only munch on some vegetables after watching an elk be taken apart), we went back up and built ourselves an even better blind.

This time around, though, we had even worse luck. For 6 hours we saw nothing buy cows that refused to leave. We had to scare them away multiple times. 

Since we had 6 hours of pretty much nothing, we had to find ways to entertain ourselves...

When the sun started to go down, we slowly hiked back to our campsite. FINALLY we saw some bucks that were headed up to the pond, but we ended up spooking them a little too much and couldn't get them in time. I'm actually kind of glad Jordon wasn't able to get one of them because it was already late. Tracking it, gutting it, dragging it to camp, and skinning it....would have taken us ALL night. 

He makes camo look goooooood!

I'm really glad I got to go and spend some time with Jordon and my cousins. Since I've met Jordon, I've tried a lot of new things that I never thought I would be interested in, and I'm grateful that he has gotten me out of my comfort zone so many times. He helps keep our lives interesting, and I really appreciate him for that. I found myself a keeper, for sure!

Clearly, he slept extremely well the night we got home!

Misti's favorite thing is when he gets home from a trip and dumps his clothes on the floor. Might I add that him dumping his clothes on the floor is not my favorite thing....

**Thanks Chris and Nicole for a fun weekend, and for sharing your secret hunting spot with us!**