wabbit huntin’

For two years now, Taylor has been obsessed with the desire to “live off the land”. He wanted a full week, out in some wilderness, to hunt and camp – living solely off what he found in said wilderness. Todd, appreciating a well-planned meal, has not been so much on board with the idea (being that he would have to accompany Taylor) and has put him off for the two years. Taylor, being inspired and encouraged by the likes of Survivorman and Man Vs. Wild has been a bit more insistent as of late. Finally, to kick off Spring Break, Todd conceded to one night of living off the land. He recruited his ultimate outdoorsman friend, Aaron, to join in on the “fun” and bring his two boys.

So, I sent my boys off with not even so much as a bottle of water. I tried to send an orange with Taylor and he refused, saying, “Mom, that’s not living off the land!” Okay then! Todd did manage to sneak some hot chocolate packets, much to Taylor’s dismay. They left, armed only with their fishing poles, guns, tents, and Taylor’s high hopes.

Since I wasn’t there, I can only relay what I’m told happened. But here is what I KNOW: I sent them off at 9 am Friday morning and by 2:30 Saturday afternoon, they were calling me from a restaurant. HEHE. Apparently, the fish were scarce and small, as well as critters that could be shot and eaten.

Here’s a brief run down of what I'm told:

Taylor, before he left, was aching for some rabbit stew. No, he has never had rabbit stew – but it just sounded soooo right. So, I’m picturing an Elmer Fudd scenario of Taylor out huntin’ wabbits. Of course, Elmer Fudd never gets the wabbit, and neither did Taylor. By morning, Taylor was awfully hungry, and was happy to have some of the smuggled hot cocoa – made with boiled river water, yum!

Taylor, did, however, get a kill. A teeny, tiny bird. He then proudly de-feathered it, stuck in on a stick, and roasted it over the fire. Todd jokes that once cooked, it was about the size of a chicken nugget. Taylor ate it and was thrilled about it. It was a neat “first” for him.

At one point the mountain men went for a hike through the dry desert in search of food and Indian ruins. On their return trek, the grown mountain men entertained the idea of a short cut. The plan was for them scale the mountainside, get to the tree, and jump down from the tree down into the canyon. Easy! So, Aaron gave it a try, while the boys sat safely elsewhere. When they finally came to their senses, they ditched the idea and went “the long way”. When Todd showed the pictures to me, I couldn’t believe they thought it was a good idea for them, much less the 3 boys!

I think in the end, Taylor was glad for the experience, and at the same time glad it was over. He was hungry! I think he may be fine to live vicariously through Survivorman for a while. To read Taylor's take on his adventure, CLICK HERE.