Bucket Lists

I am willing to wager that everyone in this world has a bucket list, a pipe dream, a hope or want of some sort. 

There may not be a physical bucket or even a written list for that matter, but maybe just a mental note, or better yet, a lifelong, heartfelt passion.

Now I've heard it said, there are three kinds of people in this world, those that can count and those who can't. And when it comes to bucket lists, people are different as well, with some people being more task oriented and just wanting a list that is easy to check off. Others are inclined to have lofty goals that are hard to reach, but love the challenge along the way. 

I actually have a written list. 

As a gift, Jenelle gave an empty journal to me years back with the hope that I would record some of our adventures in it. On the cover was the title, Bucket List Journal. Inside the front cover was a blank bucket list with a place for 50 items, dreams, hopes, whatever. It was fun writing them down.

I started to journal with good intentions. I like to write, but due to laziness, I quit journaling after several trips. However, I do still look at that bucket list from time to time. Some were easily attainable. Others, not so much. I probably have too many for this lifetime, but having a written list has been an inspiration for me. I believe that God puts desires in our hearts, not so much to give us what we want, but to get us on the journey so that we can find the life he offers along the way.

One of the things on my bucket list is to harvest a bull elk with a traditional bow. The dream was instilled in me back in 2006. 

I had been invited to go on a hunt out west with my uncle Don and cousin Brian.  I had been out west several times, backpacking and hiking, and worked one summer combining along the east of the Rockies all the way up into Montana. I had never been hunting out there, but had always thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Anyways, I jumped at the chance. Don and Brian would be chasing after elk. I chose a mule deer tag as it was cheaper and at that time, Jenelle and I were living on a "new house, new baby" kind of budget. Since deer tags were cheaper than elk tags, I hunted for mule deer.

Don had a nice military type tent that we camped in and then we would get up about two hours before sunrise and follow a ravine a couple of miles up into the mountains and then we'd split up and hunt. We had radios to keep us all in touch if we needed anything. After splitting up, I headed up a draw and the first thing I saw was a giant bull with steam coming out of his mouth. Later that afternoon, I was in a brushy area and I thought I smelled elk. Well, actually I thought I smelled the barn, but there wasn't a barn within miles. Then I saw them. Three bull elk heading my way. The first one passed at seven yds. The other two were within fifteen. I could have shot them all with my recurve! A dream was birthed! The smell, the closeness of such a majestic monarch of the wilderness, stirred something inside of me that makes me want to go back.

The next day I took a mule deer buck and as we were packing it out, Brian tagged a bull. That in itself is an exciting story for another time.

It's during this time of year, that  archery hunters will head west in the quest for elk.  For most of us, it's a quest that can't happen every year. But hearing  stories from others and digging into memories past really gets the heart pumping.

This isn't my year to go, but there's the hope that that time will come again.

In the meantime I'll keep dreaming, hoping, and working towards that goal.

 I guess that when your heart is the bucket, the bucket list just won't go away.