White-tail deer hunting season has once again found us making our way into the woods of northern Michigan. Once again the headline to this entry is going to be about the weather. The trip up to our hunting camp was uneventful except for a little mud along the way. The return trip home was yet another story.
The hunt was successful, with both of my sons getting a doe each. I on the other hand saw several deer the day before the opening of the season and then saw nothing else following that day. That was to be just the beginning of my luck.
Then it was time to travel home. This is when the REAL story begins. The weather was just at the freezing mark creating “Black Ice” conditions on many of the roads throughout the state. My oldest son decided to drive his girlfriend home in her truck and leave his pickup to be driven home by my youngest son, who had not experienced the thrill of driving a small pickup on the ice. That was until now. The first bridge he came to sent him into a tailspin with an oncoming car just nearly missing him before he spun uncontrollably into the ditch. My wife saw everything from the rear view mirror in her car.
She leaped from her vehicle to check on my son. She then proceeded to make calls to both my oldest son and myself. We were both ahead of them on our way home at this point. I pulled off the road into a parking lot, dropped the 5th wheel off and headed back to help pull my son out of the ditch.
I arrived at the scene and hooked the tow strap up to the back of my 4×4 pickup. As I was pulling the smaller truck out of the ditch, an oncoming car started to spin out of control coming across the bridge at us. As this occurred, a full sized truck plowed into the side of this small car. This action caused every airbag in the small vehicle to be deployed and then the car hit an embankment along the side of the road. My wife checked on the condition of those involved in the accident as I got my son back on the road. When we found everyone to be alright, I insisted that we had to leave. At this point, we were sitting ducks for the next spinning vehicle to come hurling over the bridge at us.
We headed back to the trailer to hook it back up. This is when my oldest son met up with us. He informed us that he had experienced the same spinning sensation coming across that same bridge earlier in the day.
On the normally 3 hour ride home we saw several accidents along the way, some of them quite bad. We saw lots of vehicles in ditches and a few over-turned vehicles as well. The later it got the more police vehicles we saw trying to slow people down. We got almost home to find that the expressway was closed at the last bridge we had to cross. We were directed through the median to the other side of the expressway and turned back. Traffic was backed up for miles. People were getting off at the first exit they came to and I saw several maps coming out. Most people were totally confused as to what they were going to do now.
Since we were close to home at this point, we knew how to get around the accident. We arrived home nearly 6 hours after we started. We were REALLY glad to be home!
It is that time again. It’s time to gather up food for the long cold Michigan winter. It’s time to go huntin’!
At Deer Camp this year we had a full house. Besides my wife and me, we had both of the boys and their girlfriends… OH and don’t forget Mo (our dog). My dad camped along side of us in his 5th wheel. He was joined by my youngest brother.
For dinner we went to the El-Bo Inn north of Atlanta, Michigan. This place had a 1-pound hamburger that I have to say I was barely able to put away. We were sad to find out that they no longer offer this burger. Even though the the menu and the sign outside both proudly display the text “home of the one-pound burger”. Go figure.
My dad and brother both had successful hunts this year. My father got his first buck in quite some time. He must have decided that he didn’t want anyone taking deer from his hunting spot anymore. As you recall my oldest son, Jason got 2 deer there last year.
As for our group, guess we are going to go hungry this year. It’s going to be a LONG winter!
Day Three
Today we decided to issue Jason a new gun to hunt with…..A SQUIRT GUN!
….Good Luck Now, Jason!!!
Day Two
Jason goes out again still a little cocky from yesterday’s hunt and guess what? Well, let’s just say another picture is worth another thousand words. There will be no living with him now!
Jason- Second Day (count ‘em again- NINE POINTS)
Opening Day
We went back to Hunting Camp to try our luck in bagging the big buck. My Dad could not make it to camp this year, so Jason decided to cover his spot for him. I need to set this story up for you. You need to understand that my father has sat in this same spot for several years and always came up short. So I am sure you see where this is going. Well a picture is worth a thousand words.
Jason- Opening Day- in Grandpa’s Spot (count ‘em- NINE POINTS)
We were back again at Hunting Camp for the second time this year. This time it is to bag that big buck. My dad would join us later with his motorhome. Since we setup camp on state land it is wise to get here early to reserve our favorite location.
This year the weather is the main headline. When we pitched camp the weather was beautiful, sunny with temperatures in the 60’s. We were walking around in T-shirts. When we went to leave it was another story. The weather had turned for the worst. We had gotten over 8 inches of snow and the temperature had plummeted into the 20’s. Wish I had taken a picture of my Dad’s motorhome with the front end in the air trying to get out after the storm. The trip home was horrible. The roads were all ice covered. It is never fun when you put on the brakes only to see your trailer coming up beside you in your mirror.
We setup an early Hunting Camp. We brought the 5th-wheel up for some bird hunting. We love to camp in the woods. It is just the most peaceful place to be. We never really have a successful hunt but, we do enjoy being here. The weather is great this year. It is fall so the trees look gorgeous, all those deep reds and bright yellows. There is a light breeze during the day and at night the sky is so clear that you can lay on your back in the meadow a see every star in the heavens. This is by far the most beautiful area on earth.
With that being said, I am sure you understand the reason why you will never hear a word about the location of this place in paradise. Sorry, its our little secret.
