A day in the life of a Cook: Wyatt's first elk

I was never quite sure how I would be or feel watching my son hunt an elk or any animal. I've never seen an animal actually killed by anyone, let alone my own boy. Wyatt seemed to have his reservations about it too. But let me tell you, when you see a potential target and the adrenaline is pumping and you can almost taste the yummy elk burger with everything on it in your mouth, I can barely hold in the words exploding through my brain.
"SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!"
Wyatt, Owen, and I all completed Hunter's Saftey last winter. Since Wyatt is now 12 he can hunt this year so Jason put him in for a youth elk tag. He drew it! The hunt opened on Sept. 14th and closed on the 22nd. We went camping over near Bononza by the Colorado border along the White river that first weekend but we didn't find anything. Then throughout the week we would go out to the Bird Refuge in Ouray, about 30-45 minutes from here, after Jason got off work. Parts of the Refuge are open just for the youth elk hunt and I'm not sure anyone really knew that because we never saw anyone else. Anyway, we saw a lot of elk there. The first day in the refuge everyone but Weston and I (who stayed back at the truck because, let's face it, 1 year olds are just not good hunting companions) hunkered down near the edge of a big field in the willows. Elk started bugling out in front of them back in the trees so they tried to call them in. Suddenly and unexpectedly a BIG six point bull stepped out right next to them about 50 yards away. I think Wyatt must have had a little "buck fever" because he missed. They got another shot off as the bull was running for cover and must have wounded him somewhere, probably the butt. They said there was quite a bit of blood for a while but then it just disappeared. We never saw that bull again, dang it. Not just that he got away but that we wounded him, I don't know how bad, and now he has to live with it.
Two days later Jason, Wyatt, and our neighbor Cam, who also works with Jason, went back to the refuge and saw an even bigger six point bull through some willows. Jason would have had a good shot over the bushes but Wyatt wasn't quite tall enough. They kept moving around to try to find a shot through the willows but when soon the bull was getting nervous so Wyatt took the best shot he could but missed again.
For some reason Jason had thought Wyatt's hunt went through Wednesday the 25th but looking at the tag again on Saturday night the 21st he realized it ended the next day. He thought he had really messed up because they had passed up so many spikes and would only have one more day to get an elk. It poured all Sunday morning and early afternoon but after church he took Wyatt back to the refuge, got set up in the same place as the first time, and had a spike almost immediately walk out about 200 yards in front of them. Wyatt went for it and downed the elk with one shot. His toughest shot yet and he connected like a pro. He called me so excited! He hadn't even walked up on it yet.
Max, me, and the rest of the kids drove out to help pack it out since they were about 1/2 mile from the road. It was a muddy, slimy mess and Basin mud is so clay-y that it just cakes and won't come off easily. My boots each felt like they weighed a ton. By the time we got there Jason and Wyatt had already hauled in the lighter hind quarters. Weston was asleep so he stayed behind in the truck with grandpa. Jason and I were able to haul the heavy front half out with a metal bar carried between us on our shoulders. Our shoulders are still sore!
I have to put in a quick plug for my Melaleuca laundry stuff. For some crazy reason, (I guess because that's just what kids do) Owen had worn his good school pants out there. In the process of getting the elk to the truck he had somehow gotten elk blood ALL over him. I mean ALL over him. I thought for sure that those pants were toast. Jason was also drenched in elk blood but he was wearing old clothes and did most of the dirty work so that was understandable. When we got home I put their clothes straight into the wash and miraculously every speck of blood came out, Owen's pants were saved, and Jason's clothes were still old but clean. (Sorry but since I'm a mom sharing this 'manly' hunting story, this part has to be included. Hope you'll forgive me Wyatt.)
So, anyway, the hunt is now over. Wyatt got his first elk! I'm a proud mama and I'll soon have yummy elk meat in my freezer! Thank you Wyatt!