The "get away" feeling

[Jordan Selsor]

The town of Hatfield Missouri that we are outside of has 3 residents right now. A husband and wife, and the son that lives across the street. They have no other residents, but they do have a fire station that no one has opened the door on in 15 years since the only fireman died. They say there is a fire truck in there of some sort. But no one knows where the key for the door is.:D

It is the perfect place to live if you ask me!

Now that's funny!

 

[tooln]

I live in a small town 17 miles from my property. Every time I go there it's a mini vacation even if I work my a$$ of while I'm there.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I am with you. My place (1hr from home) is going to be kept as my "get away". I need to escape at times to slow my mind an life down. I work my balls off during spring an summer with the lawn/landscape business. My phone is blowing up constantly. Much of my business is in town as well so it would only cause longer days if I lived on my place. Plus we have 3 young boys. Living that far out would only cause us to run ourselves ragged with school an social activities. I think it's important for kids to be socialized. I got cousins that were raised in the sticks an they lagged behind in maturity IMO. But when life slows down an I get old an hate people I will most likely move down there;)

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I live in a small town 17 miles from my property. Every time I go there it's a mini vacation even if I work my a$$ of while I'm there.

That sums it up![/QUOTE]

 

[BJE80]

T-minus 30 min till I leave. I'll be filling my shoes tonight. :D

 

[sandbur]

Yah hunting camp back in the day was a real learning experience. My dad started hauling me with at 11 years old. We would head up north to Talmoon MN in an old bread van with all my dads drunkin buddies in the back. There were never any deer back then but it didn't matter to these guys. My old Man and his buddies just wanted to hit the bars like the Snowshoe Inn and the Cannibal Junction anyways. The locals would welcome them in and then try and start trouble with them. Then I got a front row seat at the bar sipping on my Orange Crush, to the old man and his buddies beating the living piss out of these guys. Mostly Bowstring Injuns, that were drunk. Must have been fun for all, because we went back year after year for the revenge of wounded knee my pops called it!:eek:

I've hunted just north of that country.

 

[sandbur]

Sounds like my college days in Bemidji!

I was there, too. 72-75

 

[Native Hunter]

I live in a small town 17 miles from my property. Every time I go there it's a mini vacation even if I work my a$$ of while I'm there.

I would consider that to be about perfect. I'm 20 from mine. Just close enough to be easily accessible, and just far enough away that it still feels like getting away from home. And yes, when I go there I work like a dog, but feel like the happiest man in the world.

 

[sandbur]

i live on the land and thoroughly enjoy it. I used to see deer from my windows every evening. Even an occasional bear or wolf.

I also have hunting land 80 miles away. I no longer have a cabin there as it got torched. A fishhouse works for now. Trespassing is always a problem if you do not live there.

I spend some days up north at camp and home is also a deer camp for deer season. I get everything done around home and the 2-3 days before rifle season are for bow hunting and then I have all of the rifle season off. Honey do lists are all on hold.

I miss living on the lake, but the money is not there for a lake home/cabin and hunting land both.

 

[NWWI]

I love having my get away. I like to turn off the phone, no TV reception and stars in the sky every night. If you don't come back to camp exhausted every day, you didn't play hard enough! There's nothing better than falling asleep at 8 pm because the next morning comes quicker!

 

[Natty Bumppo]

There is nothing like getting away. We have a family deer camp in Vermont about an hour away. Little has changed there since the 70's when it was built. Going there is literally escaping to a different place and a different time. No power, no cell phones, outhouse, wood stove, and a lot of Jack Daniels.

However, I do also live on the land that I hunt here in Mass. My land borders a huge State forest and is big enough that I can head out my backdoor and be gone all day and not see a living soul. Having lived here for 13 years I am still discovering new places, new apples, new trails, etc. So, while not the same as heading to VT, I do find that "get away" feeling whenever I head out the back for an adventure.

 

[Bill]

you guys are spoiled :)

I pulled the stock fuel tank out my F-250 and Put in a 55 gallon replacement. If I stop once outside of Indianapolis to pee and refuel I can be at my place in about 18 hours.

Good cameras, 2 good neighbors and another that I let hunt and trap fur bearers keeps the nonsense to a minimum. Though I have had some issues over the years.

Honestly though in the last few years that drive has wore on me. I fly to St Louis and get a puddle jumper to a town near by where my truck is parked for free. Cuts the total trip down to about 5 hours if I get the layover timed right.

I spent 20 years hunting with 6 guys out of a 12x20 shack in SE Pennsylvania. No electric or running water. Been on quite a few pack in tent hunts in WY and CO

For me Deer camp isn't what it used to be. Today we have satalite TV and WiFi.
I'm glad to have had those experiences but I like the way I hunt better today. Nothing beats coming in to a hot shower, a slow cooker meal, Fox News on the tube and a stiff drink.

 

[OkieKubota]

Enjoyed the get away feeling from my house this morning. We have a locked gate and a long driveway and no landline. Cell phones silenced or turned off depending on our whim. Deer browsing the plots in front of our house and I can surf the web and then just mosey outdoors and transfer some move some red cedar seedlings to areas I need to be thicker or fire up the saw and do a little tsi or plot out and Mark where my tree order for this spring is going to be planted.

Rainy day today so going to town later to pick up a few fruit trees to plant later this evening or tomorrow depending on my whim.

Left work yesterday at 4:30 and was on our 80 at 5:00 checking trail cams and traps. Lots of activity over the past few days in there by the deer and it looks as if they have taken to my hinging without issue. Can hardly wait until we live on that full time so I can realize my whims at any moment and just get up, step outside, and do it...

 

[phil@thesidehill]

you guys are spoiled :)

I pulled the stock fuel tank out my F-250 and Put in a 55 gallon replacement. If I stop once outside of Indianapolis to pee and refuel I can be at my place in about 18 hours.

Good cameras, 2 good neighbors and another that I let hunt and trap fur bearers keeps the nonsense to a minimum. Though I have had some issues over the years.

Honestly though in the last few years that drive has wore on me. I fly to St Louis and get a puddle jumper to a town near by where my truck is parked for free. Cuts the total trip down to about 5 hours if I get the layover timed right.

I spent 20 years hunting with 6 guys out of a 12x20 shack in SE Pennsylvania. No electric or running water. Been on quite a few pack in tent hunts in WY and CO

For me Deer camp isn't what it used to be. Today we have satalite TV and WiFi.
I'm glad to have had those experiences but I like the way I hunt better today. Nothing beats coming in to a hot shower, a slow cooker meal, Fox News on the tube and a stiff drink.

Where in the hell in SE PA were you that you didn't have power or running water?!?! Or was that purposefully overlooked?

I hunted out of a state lease camp in the middle of the state forest and state game lands in NC PA growing up. The cabin was log and chink and was built by the CCC in 1933. It had two rooms, upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs could sleep 12 with room for a couple 2-3 downstairs. No electric, 2 hole chitter, running water provided by gravity and the small creek in holler. We did have propane lights, stove/oven, and fridge. We used a couple 100 lb bottles that we could transport to and from camp for refills as needed. The road into camp was 1 1/4 miles goat path....you could hardly call it a two track. When I first started going to that camp at age 12 we only lived about 30 away....but we continued to hunt from that camp even after my family moved to NJ and then MA. NJ were about 3.5 hours away and from MA were about 8 hrs away.....that really was getting away for my dad and I. It was awesome!

 

[Bill]

Where in the hell in SE PA were you that you didn't have power or running water?!?! Or was that purposefully overlooked?

Bradford Co. Outside of Wysox. It was 3/4 mile off the road. To far to pay for power lines.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Bradford Co. Outside of Wysox. It was 3/4 mile off the road. To far to pay for power lines.

That ain't SE PA....that's in my neck of the woods in NE PA....I can throw a rock into Bradford County....which borders NY state.

 

[Bill]

You're right. Don't know why I said SE. I remember the older guys heading to a bar in NY. When I was to young to go. When I got old enough to go they were to old.

It was just off 187 N before getting to town. Funny I've never done it before today but I Google earthed the place. Driveway is still there but I didn't see the cabin. It only sat on 7 acres but back then everyone could hunt anywhere.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

You're right. Don't know why I said SE. I remember the older guys heading to a bar in NY. When I was to young to go. When I got old enough to go they were to old.

It was just off 187 N before getting to town. Funny I've never done it before today but I Google earthed the place. Driveway is still there but I didn't see the cabin. It only sat on 7 acres but back then everyone could hunt anywhere.

Probably a chit ton of natural gas well pads around it now. I know the area pretty well. it's probably only 20-25 mins from where I live now. I have a few friends in the towanda area and some in wysox and wyalusing. My old man grew up in this area and he used to go to NY when the drinking age was 18. Some of your crew may have gone to a bar in south towanda called "Bucket of Blood" locally referred to as the bucket...interesting place.

 

[OkieKubota]

When I was looking for land an older gentleman who had a nice camp said keep if under two hour drive. He said the first few years you'll be gung-ho and drive there as often as possible. Work hard and drive home Sunday evening. Then after a few years it'll start draining you. You'll dread the longer drives home. Leave earlier. Start skipping weekends etc.

I purchased my property 90 minutes from home 5 years ago. I look forward to go there every chance I can. When at work I dream of being on my land. . I'm on my land almost every weekend. The drive home Sunday nights is still ok.
I know others that bought land 3 hours away and make the trip once a month if they're lucky now.

The people who bought the land along our east border for deer hunting live 1 hour and 15 minutes away and only made it down once the entire fall...it was fine with me. I would prefer all my bordering landowners to live somewhere else...