And the LUCK continues

Our Bear hunting trip to NJ didnt' exactly go as planned. Mike and the kids and I left Ohio at a reasonable time, calculating that we would be in NJ in time to hunt the next morning since it only takes about 5-6 hours to get to there. But, our GPS had other plans. We were sent on a wild goose chase off route 22 in PA, weaving off and on the interstate and wasting 40 minutes of our time. Needless to say we got there a little later than planned.

We had made reservations in a local motel so that we wouldn't have to stay at my parents and kick some of my siblings out of their beds; so the first night there Mike and I headed down to the motel to check in and pay the motel.  At the sight of our room, we changed our minds. We would just kick my siblings out of their beds and stay at my parents; the room was so disgusting that even standing in it made me feel like I would catch a disease. If we stayed we would probably end up abducted or something.

And of course it was raining. It felt like it was summer, it was nearly 60 degrees and it rained for the first three days we were there. The bears don't really appreciate strolling around in the rain. Besides the fact that there were probably 2 million deer hunters doing drives around the area, the bears were coming in the middle of the night to eat the bait that we scattered around. They didn't touch the corn but they loved the apples. Who knew bears would be so picky??? Only in NJ...

The fourth day it was sunny and WINDY and FREEZING...also not ideal bear hunting weather. When it gets super cold the bears find some hidey-hole and cuddle up until it gets a little warmer. Mike and I spent hours walking through the rhododenrons and azaleas out in the swamps looking for even a glimpse of a bear. 

The last day there we finally saw signs of life in the forest again...we saw several deer, running away. And we almost got shot. Good times.

Needless to say it turned out to be an unsuccessful trip and we didn't even SEE a bear, which was a huge disappointment. 

Now that we're back in Ohio I've been out hunting several times and my luck has yet to change. We put up some new deer stands and its snowed last night. Last night I actually saw a deer here, which is the first time in weeks I've seen a deer while hunting. It was a tiny little fuzzy fawn that was so tiny that at first I thought it was a rabbit. Someone had shot a doe near there that morning so I'm assuming he was looking for his mama.

Tonight if he comes back I think I may try to catch him. I went out this morning to see if he was still bedded down but there was no sign. He may have been eaten by the coyotes already, I doubt a fawn that tiny is going to survive the winter. 

Wish me luck tonight. It's gun season but I've been taking my bow out (which is legal) since I really would rather shoot one with my new Ross than with my muzzleloader. Maybe just MAYBE a big buck will walk by.