Calderwoods: More elk hunting and fun fall colors

For my whole life my family has had a really fun and wonderful tradition every October of going out on the hunt. I have some great memories of getting together with aunts and uncles and cousins and spending some time in the mountains with them. For most of my childhood it was for the deer hunt, but in my teen years we switched to elk. It's my favorite time of year and I get chills of anticipation in the days leading up to the hunt. The best part about our annual hunting trip is that it gives us an excuse to go camping in the mountains at the most beautiful time of year. One last hurrah to our camping season. We were very happy this year to have our trailer and it's functioning heater because it was another cold year for the elk hunt. Lisa has even embraced this tradition and enjoys it now too. Maybe we shouldn't say that too loudly though ;)

Here she is in our trailer showing off those pearly whites and her excitement to be in the mountains.

We took Tucker's BB gun up with us and he had some fun shooting targets and showing off his marksmanship skills.

We got a campfire going the first night and made s'mores. They were a big hit.

My mom sneaking a s'more.

My dad brought a broken chair from his deck and we tossed it in the fire. Those suckers are incredibly flammable.

Saturday morning my dad and I got up before the crack of dawn and headed up to find some elk. He had the general season spike tag. I didn't have one because I already got my bull last month, so I tagged along as his spotter and potential pack mule if he got his.

Gorgeous sunrise views.

The aspens were so incredibly bright yellow. We timed it perfectly for their peak colors.

We went back to camp mid day and gathered up some more red pine needles, our secret recipe for big fires, and prepared for another big fire that night.

When the little boys weren't running around and throwing sticks, climbing trees, or chasing deer, they were in the trailer warming up and eating snacks.

This is the canyon that we have hunted for years and had quite a bit of success. We didn't see any spikes this year, but we did see 7 cow elk and one big bull, so that was fun. We have never viewed the success of a hunting trip on whether or not we fill our tags, but rather on how much fun we had and how good the scenery was. This year was definitely a success.

Here is a cool view of Soldier Creek and back where we hunt.

This year's camping season has drawn to a close and we are already planning our camping trips for next year. The kids are pumped for our April Moab trip.

Addendum to post by Lisa
This is what I spent my time doing while the men were out hunting and the kids were playing. I cut out 52 crayon rolls. I almost have them all sewn together too. I was accepted to have a table for Swiss Christmas this year and 2 years ago I had 100 rolls and sold all of them. I'm hoping to make at least that many, plus about 25+ hooded towels.

After I finished cutting everything out I experimented with my hair and low and behold...I can do french braids! This is a big milestone for me. I'm sort of partial to my hair and struggled with having no/short hair last year. I get excited that I actually have to clean the drain in the shower because my hair is long enough to clog it now!