Hitchhiker
Changing with the times vacation. By Brock Ray n July, Anna and I pulled a travel trailer to a public campground in the mountains of western North Carolina. Our children in tow, we took along shing gear, bicycles, and archery gear. At the end of the week we returned to Alabama, concluding our rst such family camping trip. We will do it again, and soon, too, I anticipate. Ironically, this trip took the place of a more expensive vacation we had planned in Colorado. As the trip to the Rockies drew near, it became clear we were hard pressed to be away from our home businesses for the two weeks needed for this trip. We scaled back, looked closer to home, and discovered a wonderful vacation outing that we all rated as our best ever. It seems everyone works harder and longer these days, and time is just as scarce as extra money for family recre-ation. However, if you are determined to spend time outdoors with your family enjoying God's amazing won-derland, this big ole country is spangled with close-to-home, largely overlooked destinations. We had a great time and all of us are eager for our next budget vacation. I www.interstatesportsman.com I used to be squirrelly this time of year By Brock Ray L ong before I killed my first deer, or even saw an elk or bear in real life, at this time of year I would rise from my bed before dawn to go hunting in the nearby woods. Rifle in hand, I was on an eagerly anticipated bushy tail safari. Settling in darkness with my back to a big tree, I sat motionless while watching the woods grow visible before my eyes. My patience was rewarded, as my quarry emerged from tree holes unaware that a hunter lay in ambush nearby. These days going squirrel hunting just does not get the respect it did before the return of the deer and elk herds. I'm as guilty as most other hunters in the fact I focus on the more glamorous big game at the expense of the bantam-sized quarry that gave me my first tastes of being a hunter. Thinking about it, I almost feel ashamed, sort of like going to the dance with the girl next door and then jumping at a chance to end up with the homecoming queen. I hunted pronghorn in Montana earlier this month, and next week I'm off to Colorado to bow hunt for elk. However, before I sit down to write the next Hitchhiker, I'm going out my back door, up the hollow behind my house, and I'm going to reconnect with squirrel hunting. I need to get back that old squirrelly feeling now and then. www.42outdoors.com