We arrived at SNR Friday night. It didn't start off too well. I didn't understand that we were supposed to bring all of our own bedding. Yes, sleeping bag was on the list of things to bring, but it was sandwiched in a list of things that included compass, toilet paper, and knife. I thought it was to keep us warm in the blind. Oops. Luckily, I'm married to (seriously) the greatest guy in all of the world. He packed up pillows, quilts, and sleeping bags and brought them up for Beth and me. He also handed me a flask full of American Honey.
After that little hiccup, the weekend was perfect. Friday night, we met everyone at an old hunting lodge (Adlyne Freund) where there was an enormous fire going. We introduced ourselves, met all of the hunting guides, and ate an amazing meal of grilled venison. Some of the guides were MDC employees, others were MDC volunteers who mostly taught in the hunter education program.
I met my guide, Don, an avid bird hunter who owns a German Shorthair named Reba. We were selected to go on the am hunt. Our directions were to meet back at the lodge at 4 am for breakfast and then we would be in the woods by 5 am. While that IS early for me, I do love the mornings best.
Beth, Sue, and I shared a room. It was hard to sleep. We giggled a lot for a lot of different reasons. Four am came around and Sue and I got ready (Beth was going on the pm hunt). After breakfast, we piled into a car and crossed the Meramec River to go to another part of SNR. It was still dark. Don and I were led WAY down to a blind on the edge of the woods. The Meramec was to our east and a large cow pasture to our south. All of that mooing... The cows were one hundred feet from us. It added a new dimension to an already interesting experience.
Once we were settled on our little seats and had our gear situated on the leaf littered floor, it got very exciting very fast! We had to wait until exactly 5:26 am before we could take a shot. The anticipation of what was to come had me wide awake.
I spotted two deer that morning. They were moving fast and offered no opportunity for a shot. We stayed in that blind until after 10 am! That is a long time to sit in silence with a complete stranger while waiting to kill something. Don was cool though. He even gave me his phone number so we could get together and go bird hunting.
When I got back to camp, I was so ready for a lengthy nap. I found out that Sue got a doe late in the morning. We watched her gut it under the watchful eye of Len, one of the seasoned guides. After a yummy lunch of venison sausage, bratwurst, and dutch oven pineapple upside down cake, I scored big. Kurt, the MDC guy who puts this whole thing together, offered to take me out for the pm hunt. Beth encouraged me to go and so I did.
I'm so glad I did! Kurt is so funny, easy going, and knowledgeable. Plus he talked way more than Don! Getting to our blind (a different one from the morning), was an adventure in itself. Lots of mud and standing water, a huge soybean field to cross, and then a blind set up at an awkward angle perched above a stream that joined the Meramec River. We decided against the blind and opted to sit against some trees at the top of the hill. We moved a couple of times and waited. Again, the anticipation was so strong! I envisioned a deer coming through the woods at any moment. I believed! I waited! I was SO excited! We talked! ... and nothing.
We decided to head back to the car. It was getting too dark to hunt. We had another adventure crossing the muddy, watery, soybean field. On the way out, I spotted a huge deer running away from us. Kurt told me to take a shot, but it was getting darker by the second, the deer was about 300 yards away, and finding it in my scope proved to be difficult. I was a little disappointed.
When we got back to the car, we found out that Jennifer got a doe. The doe took off so we all joined in tracking her. Glen threw us all in his Mule and off we went. Kurt held the barbed wire fence so I could cross into the area the doe disappeared into. I spotted her! She was a tiny thing, laying beneath a black locust tree. Alive. This was turning sad fast. Her insides were hanging out of her abdomen. My sister's guide, Joe, had a handgun and shot the doe again. And again. And again. I think Jennifer hit her two to three times with her rifle. Goodness, I had to walk away from this. It became a little too much for me.
We left Jennifer and the others to gut the doe in the field. We returned to the lodge and discussed the evenings events. We again, had another fabulous meal. Tonight was steak, dutch oven veggies and rice, and dutch oven cherry chocolate cobbler. I ate so well this weekend. I came home full.
It was a short weekend (it ended Saturday night). We told Kurt that next year he needs to extend it through Sunday. In the end, I met some really fun people and had a great time. While I didn't leave the woods with my first deer, I left with two new friends in Don and Kurt and an experience that I will treasure always.
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