Amanda's first hunting trip

For those of you who have children, and especially teenage girls, you know exactly how challenging it can be to stay close to them and feel as though they are hearing us as parents.  I have two beautiful daughters, one who has recently started college and an aspiring interior designer. The other a 14 year old who just started high school.  I've been a lucky as a father and only had to endure a little of the teenage angst years.  My girls were so cute and sweet prior to puberty kicking in and to be honest, when my oldest daughter started testing her boundaries, I really wasn't sure how to handle it.  With my youngest, and I think many parents can relate to this, she received the benefit of my mistakes with her older sister.  I still have high expectations and requirements for my youngest, Amanda, but I've learned to be more calm and understanding in the process of teaching her.  The benefit has been I have an absolutely wonderful relationship with both my girls but now my youngest is entering what is arguably the most important time of her life, I have an opportunity to relate and teach her things that will help her cope with life with a little grace and strength. 

Amanda  has grown up in the rare air of Colorado and what can be described as a somewhat odd culture made up of people from around the country.  The local culture in Colorado is a strange mix that ultimately centers around outdoor sports... which is great, but not very warm and inviting as a culture that has evolved from a long history, namely that of Southern Culture.

Amanda has developed an increasing fondness for the south, and in particular, my home town Little Rock, Arkansas.  Amanda, like many "babies" of the family, has no trouble making friends and being the center of attention.  Ever since she was a toddler, she has displayed the ability to laugh and make others laugh.... not always at the most appropriate of times, but by golly, she knows how to live with a smile on her face.  So it should come as no surprise she has made many friends during her frequent visits to Little Rock over the years.

This past summer, Amanda started cycling with me and some of the friends she has made over the years.  It took a few weeks, but she adapted to the oppressive heat and started to enjoy the thought of going out with good friends and basking in the after fatigue of a hard ride.  Ever since her return to Colorado, she has been begging for a road bike and has somehow talked Triathlete legend and 348 time winner of Ironman Hawaii, Dave Scott, into coaching her, for free!  This girl has skills... she will one day be a great "something" based solely on her ability to talk people into doing what she wants.

Now, for those who know me, I have two seasons in my life... Cycling and archery hunting.  I'm smack dab in the middle of archery deer season right now, which, oddly enough, happens to be at the end of the season too.  It won't be long and I'll be throwing my leg over the bike and logging the miles once again.  But for now, its me, a tree stand and by trusty bow, trying to bring home some venison.  

Amanda flew to Little Rock for the Thanksgiving Holiday this past Thursday night.  No sooner had I rousted her out of bed Friday morning and we were off to hunting camp.  My goal was to spend some quality time and teach her a little about the hunting heritage and how it benefits not only ourselves, but wildlife in general. I was a little surprised when she said she wanted to actually hunt and not just go to hang out and ride 4 wheelers.  

Who knew Camo could look so beautiful

So, our first night in the blind and the deer were not liking the windy conditions and waited until the last possible moment to come out to feed.  We had three does come within 150 yards and I prepared Amanda to take her first shot on a deer.  Once she had a clear and safe shot, she hesitated and the deer moved into a bad position. She said, "Dad, I'm scared."  I reassured her that we all had those feelings when the moment of truth came and that it was normal to feel that way.  I also let her know that she didn't have to do this if she really didn't want to.  Her comment was, "Dad, I'm scared of the noise the gun makes, not of shooting the deer!"  Well, long story short, the three deer wandered out of sight but no sooner had they left our area when two more came in.  The biggest of the two does presented a perfect shot for my little girl, who I affectionately refer to as "Peanut." With a little coaching and encouragement, she overcame her fear of the noise and recoil, and squeezed the trigger for what was an absolutely perfect shot.  We watched the deer fall after only two seconds and I now prepared myself to console my daughter for what was inevitably going to be some remorse, which is totally natural.  I looked at her and I have never seen someone so happy and proud.  No doubt I was equally, if not more proud of her.  What I haven't mentioned to this point is, Amanda has never fired a weapon of any sort before tonight.  All it took was a little coaching prior to getting into the blind that night and she displayed cool, calm and a true hunter instinct.  More importantly though, we were able to share this moment together, which for me, will go down as one of the greatest days of my life.

  

Before our first hunt together

After the hunt and just before Amanda excused herself from the not so glamorous part of hunting.

We cooked up some of the Tenders last night for what was an incredibly delicious meal.  My brother and sister in law browned some Tenderloin medalions and served in a white wine reduction cream sauce along with wild rice.   "Great" doesn't begin to describe how good this was.  Also, for those of you who have never liked wild game because of the gamey flavor, I'm here to tell you that gameness is a function of how the animal is processed.  Treat it like a butcher would and you'll get the same result.  Treat it poorly and you'll get the same poor taste.  We know how to handle our deer and we treat them with the respect they deserve.  We're rewarded with a low fat lean meat that has eaten only natural browse and have never had an injection of anything to keep them healthy and artificially increase their weight.  What more can you ask?  

Dinner never tasted so good.  Subscribe to my blog and I'll be happy to send you the recipe.

We spent another night in the blind together to end a fantastic weekend and were fortunate to see a lot of deer.  Amanda learned more about wildlife and how we can successfully interact with our environment.  Now it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving with family and count the many blessings we are so fortunate to have.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.  Please drive safely and remember what is truly important in life, health, family and truly good friends.

Cheers,

JD