Did your hunter of a husband ever put you in for a deer tag while telling you that you probably wouldn't draw the tag anyway but then you actually draw the tag and find out the hunt is in Northern Wyoming... in NOVEMBER! Who goes to Northern Wyoming in November? (No offense Alice & Caroline!) :)
Well, guess what!? I drew a deer tag in Northern Wyoming. And yes- it was in November!
On Thursday, October 30th, after doing our civic duty (we got up at 6:30 am to go early vote), Mike and I left the kids with my mom and drove for 9 hours to the little town of...
We had reservations at the Oasis Motel. It wasn't a Marriott but I was impressed with how clean and nice the rooms were.
The sign says they welcome hunters (me)
and they still have official "keys" for their rooms.
No swiping a flimsy plastic card here!
Friday found Mike waking me up at 6 am (I thought this was a vacation!) to look for deer in my hunt area. That afternoon we met up with the ranchers who I had talked to earlier in the month, and who had said I could hunt on their property (3,000 deeded acres). They called themselves "common ranch folk"- I think they are the salt-of-the-earth (that's a good thing!). We spent the evening glassing around their property where we saw a lot of good deer and just as it was getting dark- what looked like a great buck!
Early Saturday morning found us back out at the ranch looking for the buck but not really expecting to be lucky enough to see him again. I was pretty excited to see the buck was still there! After working our way behind him... (details not for the faint of heart)... two weeks ago this morning I got my first (will there be more?) out of state deer!
So, I now faced the decision of loading up and driving back home 3 days early (we had planned to stay until Tuesday) -or- staying a few extra days for fun.
I have some pictures of the fun!
Meeteetse has a population of 351 and they have no fast food or grocery stores. They do have the Wea Market (pronounced "wee" and also "wee" in size), it is in the one gas station. They also have a 9-hole golf course- go figure! We ate where the locals eat- The Elkhorn Bar (and Family Dining). I loved that they still have board walks and hitching posts on the main street!
I was extremely surprised to find a Chocolatier in such a small town.
I was extremely grateful for the dark chocolate covered Oreos! This cookie's companions were not available for the photo shoot. They didn't make it back to the Oasis.
(They were definitely worth $1.00 a piece)
You have to take a peek at this web site!
Mike & I toured the museum that had a lot of old quilts, and I was impressed with the size of this Cathedral window quilt.
If you're ever driving through Meeteetse, the museum is worth a 20 minute stop- and it's free! They had a lot of old photographs showing the way life used to be on ranches. We really enjoyed it. We also visited the old-time bank that had "never been robbed". The curator there had way too much time on his hands and not enough tourists... we were lucky to get away!
(anyone know where I can get a copy of this print?)
Sunday we attended the Meeteetse ward. There were a total of 39 people in sacrament meeting. That included Mike & I and the other 4 people visiting. We owe the Bishop there an apology. I couldn't get Mike away from swapping hunting stories with the Stake President, 1st Councilor, and a quarter of the adult congregation, so Sunday School was late starting. The ward had such a nice feeling and were so welcoming and friendly. When they said come back anytime we knew they meant it. (They offered us jobs if we would move there) :)
We spent some time looking at deer even though the hunt was over.
This one wasn't hard to find.
Don't let your husband have the camera while you are trying to relax and watch tv after a hard day hunting, eating, touring...
We finally decided we should probably go back home and get the kids. So we got up early Monday and, enjoying the Wyoming sunrise, headed home.
Although it wasn't Hawaii, it was the most fun I've ever had on a hunt! The unseasonably warm weather, early hunting success, and fun things to see made me think about visiting Northern Wyoming again soon.
Have you seen the weather forecast?
Maybe I'll wait until spring.
