I had a Great Elk Season this past year! Now , some would say that this statement is really, really odd, but then they just don't quite get it. No, I did not shoot an Elk. No, I did not see any Elk. No, I did not hear an Elk bugle. No, I did not even make it to Elk Camp. So why, you say, can you say you had a Great Elk Season? Come to think of it, it is a pretty odd statement, isn't it?

I love Elk Camp, I mean, I really love Elk Camp. It seems that I just simply survive from one season to the next. I even dream about Elk and Elk Camp and huntin' Elk and, well it's a bit of an addiction, I spose. My screen name is usually Elkaholic, I have a window sticker on my Durango that says Elkaholic. Actually, there are two stickers, the other one says "I'd rather be Elk Hunting". So, yeah, it's a little, or a whole bunch, odd that I wasn't in Elk Camp

Why on earth would a feller that rambles on so much about Elk Camp miss the one opportunity of the year to actually be in Elk Camp? You know there were a number of reasons. Some monitary, some work related and some, we'll just leave em to your imagination, that just made it clear to me that I needed to stay home this year. What it came down to was simple, it just wasn't meant to be. I struggled with it, thats for certain. I argued with myself and tried to convince myself and came up with excuses to go, but in the end, I found some peace in the decision to leave the gear in its place and stay home.

So, once the decision was made, I had to let my hunting partners know of my decision. That was the toughest part by far. You know, I love these people and I flat out love being in Elk Camp with them. Yep, it was tough!! They seemed to understand, asked if everything was alright, offered to help, told me I'd be missed, yep, they said all the things I expected. Thing is, I know them all too well and I know how I'd feel if I had heard the same news from them. Deep in my heart I'd be saying, No Dadgummit, you can't miss camp. you've got to figure out a way to get there!! But they didn't, and I wouldn't have either. Sometimes news you hear just isn't the news you want to hear, but you still know that you heard it for a reason.

Back to that question, Why on earth, for cryin' out loud was it such a Great Elk Season if you weren't even there? Here's why, because even though I was hundreds of miles away, my friends, no my great friends, made me feel like I was there. Heck, I got a call when the first Bull went down and I got to celebrate with Brad. And I got to hear all about him seeing two Bulls and knockin' one down and how the other Bull was headed toward the others and if he figured things right there would be two Bulls in the tree by that evening. Sure enough, he was right and soon after the first call I got word of Deb's Bull, ole number 2. Holy Cow, er, I mean Bull!! It had been many years since there was a two Bull Elk season and I sure as heck didn't have to be there to be just as bloomin happy as the rest of em.

Later that evening, after the Bulls were hung in the tree and the Elk Camp crew was in the Wall Tent sharing the tales of the day, I got yet another call. This one was the best yet!! I got in on the celebration again. I lifted a glass to my Great Friends and laughed til I cried with the best people on earth. Here's the thing, they took a part of me with them to Elk Camp. They took a piece of my with them as they hiked into the woods. There was a chunk of the Elkaholic with them when the Bulls were harvested, and there I was again at the end of the day celebrating in the Wall Tent. What more could an ole Elk Hunter ask for than to be there in a way that made me feel so much a part of Elk Camp that the memories will be just as real for me as all those other trips and treks in the Wapiti Woods.

To my hunting partners and Great Friends, I say Thank You, Thank You for yet another Grand Adventure. Until next season.....................