Going on a bear hunt... I'm not afraid....

OK, yes, I was afraid, and for good reason. I almost died like 900 times on this trip and I was only there for a day. I guess that is part of the excitement of hunting... kill or be killed? Last week I accompanied Jason for the first day of his three-day bear hunt in Mackay, Idaho and I learned a lot of things. #1 was that I am not a hunter and, sorry honey, I probably never will be. But it was incredible to be out there in the WILD and see so much beautiful scenery and a huge variety of wildlife, some of which I had never seen before. Like this rattlesnake, for example, which brings me to the #2 thing I learned: you just have to put yourself out there and hope for the best. Enjoy nature. Play with the snake before you kill it. Try to make its last moments enjoyable. This is one of two rattlesnakes we saw on our hike up to the bear, and it is not dead in this picture. I repeat, it is alive and rattling away and someone (not me) is touching it. Right after this picture was taken, he reached down and cut off the rattle (9 rattles, one for every year of its soon-to-end-life) and handed it to me!!! It was a little awkward, really, and I tried not to make eye contact with the snake. Um, sorry about your rattle? Good luck with everything else? Please don't bite me? See you later...

This was definitely a new experience for me. In addition to the bear and the snakes, I also saw a moose, lots of deer, elk and antelope, and a pack of wild horses. I didn't even know wild horses existed any more until Will, the hunting guide and rattlesnake tamer, pointed them out, galloping along the horizon. It was very cool to see. So #3, sometimes you just have to go along with something, even if you don't really understand it, and it might actually be be kind of fun. I mean, just look at this picture (I had to do a little fancy footwork to make it upright, thanks to blogspot not having a "rotate picture" option). I'm wearing camo, carrying a bow (which belongs to Jason's friend who just shot the bear and is dragging it down from the mountains you see behind me), and I'm also leading/being dragged by a dog. If you know me, you know I am not exactly a dog person, but I didn't really even mind this one. I even gave it a few virtual pets (I wasn't about to actually touch the filthy little sucker).

So you see, even someone who is opposed to the sport of hunting can enjoy the experience. I really loved seeing the bear in the tree only a few yards away (he was so cute, I mean just look at him), and although what happened next made me cry, I have since found this little organization called PETA which stands for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". I think I might join, because I am a person who is for the ethical treatment of animals, and even though I do support my husband in his hunting, I kind of want to, I don't know... make it illegal. Just kidding, Jason, it was great, and I loved being there with you. And congratulations on your bear. I wish I could have been there the day you got it. I'm just proud that I went hunting, I lived to tell the tale, and I didn't even have any ticks when I got home! Now that is my definition of a successful trip.