Hunter Man!

This will be your fair warning... this post is not for the faint of heart. That means you, Mom! Given your reaction on the phone today, I'm guessing you're not going to want to see this!!




I'll try to take up enough space with the "talking" to make it so people have to scroll down to see the picture I'll be attaching....


Keeping in mind that part of the draw of Kodiak for Jason is getting back to what I like to call his "Northern Redneck" roots, he was in his absolute glory earlier this week. For those that don't know, he's currently deployed to St. Paul Island for SAR (Search and Rescue) stand-by for the Opilio Crab season. St. Paul is one of the Pribilof Islands, located in the middle of the Bering Sea, sort of North of Cold Bay (Jason's other favorite place) and West of, well, not much. It's very isolated and very small! Here's a little information, if you click on this link: http://www.naturescapes.net/012004/hf0104.htm



And, here's a map! This map came from this http://www.tsuru-bird.net/st_paul/ website. I just want to give them credit!

So, you can see, it's pretty much in the middle of no where! But, if you clicked on that first link, you'll also see that it's got a relatively diverse amount of wildlife, from fur seals to puffins, to caribou (or, reindeer). Here's where we pick up the story and incorporate the title of this post.

With being in the middle of no where and all, you can imagine that the guys might be just a little bit bored out there, and in search of things to do. For the group of guys out there this past week, hunting was that thing to do. Apparently, the caribou herd is a little large right now and the Native Corporation is concerned that they'll start to starve sooner than later. That means it's easy for the guys to get their tags for the caribou, and head out in search of the herd, which, incidentally, is not that hard to find.

Jason had some good luck his first real day out, strapping on some snow shoes and following the herd for a few hours. As he and his buddy sighting in on a couple of the hapless 'bou, something spooked the herd, and they took off. That is, they all took off but the juvenile male Jason was sighting in on. So, with one shot, he took his first caribou, which will likely fill out freezer for, and provide some of our friends some meat, until he goes back next year. He actually got a second tag to head back out before the season closes late next week, so there's a chance we'll have even more. Reindeer Wellington, anyone?? Seriously, though, Beth and Zach shared a caribou roast with us shortly after we got here, and, I have to say, it was quite tasty. So, if you can get past the obvious Rudolph and Donner and Blitzen references, he'll make good eatin'! Here comes the money shot - if you don't want to see a dead, slightly blood animal, don't look any further!!

Proud Jason with his 'bou!

I think it's safe to say NOW we're really assimilated to the Kodiak/Alaska way of life. He shot a strange animal - and my mouth is watering thinking about the meat! Anyone can go fishing to fit in - this clinches it!

That's the latest from here! I'd add something about myself but all I've been doing is trying not to die of boredom while he's gone!! I know, sad. That's it, though! Hope you enjoyed the story of Jason the Hunter Man!

Becca