I tried thinking up a funny name for this... but i got nothing that could do this story justice. I just hope i tell it well enough
So going back all the way to early February, late June, our youth group started planning our high adventure trip for the summer. We had many great suggestions, Moab, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Black hills, Etc... Some of the kids were very unenthusiastic and luckily, didn't come and there was no way for lazy suggestions to be brought up. It was a productive meeting and we eventually decided on the black hills. Now i had mayyyyybe been suggesting places that would allow me to meet up with another bowyer or at least get some materials....
In the end we decided upon going to the Black Hills which was where i knew JW lived.
Now.... i was kind of in charge of planning what we were going to do in the BH and i immediately thought of JW. Now i admit, i was very nervous to contact him... i didn't know what to expect! But i knew he worked with Predatory birds, and to be honest I hadn't thought of any better idea... so i shot him a message. He got back to me and he was SUUUPER kind!! he said he would totally try to set up a Presentation for us! I gave him a call, and set him up with my group leader so i wouldn't be middle manning anything. after that call i was SOOO excited! i was like a little kid on Christmas, giddy and excited as ever! it was pretty great!
Cut to beginning of June, our group was packing up and we hit the road! we hit a place that JW suggested called Carhenge. It was the most Nebraskan thing ever and it made me proud to live here
. We got to camp on Monday and JW was going to meet us at a different camp on Thursday, so we did all the other things that we planned! We went fishing, hiking, scrambling, swimming and a bunch of other stuff! it was a great time, and a great distraction for me as my dad was having liver surgery at the same time. He was giving half his liver to our friend so he could keep on living as his doctor said he only had a few months. but anyway, that's another story.
Thursday came and around dinner time JW arrived! now i don't know if JW could tell... but i was freaking out! I calmed down a lot once i realized how kind JW was! now I'm not great at first impressions but it was really easy to talk to him, and man was he funny! I showed him my white oak bow that i made for the bow trade to show him and really felt better about it after he said the tiller looked good and that he liked the tips! He gave me a snake skin backing, some B-55 string, and a lifetime supply of beeswax. i swear, there is no way I'm going to be able to use it all! We traded stories until JW was ready to do the presentation on his birds and maaannn were the birds cool! I'm pretty sure my mouth was in the shape of an O the entire time! Everybody loved his presentation! He showed of a ferugenus Hawk, a blind screech owl, and an American Kestrel who thinks JW is her mate
. Every year it brings half of its dead mouse to try and Woo JW
. After the presentation i got to hear the famous story of the Bald eagle with cleavage... Now that is one heck of a story! JW stayed a little while longer, but of course, had to go. I had a BLAST with JW and i was a little sad when he had to go, but i got some great pictures and awesome memories to look back on. Heck! i even Journaled about that day! and i almost never do that!!!
well anyway, we went home a couple of days later, did some more hikes, fished some more... i got food poisoning from a bad "bison steak" which was basically a half cooked burger.... All great fun!!!
anyway! thats my fun summer memory! i hope i did the story justice! im not an amazing writer but either way i hope you can tell i had a Blast!!!!!
Thanks for the presentation again JW! everyone loved it and people still talk about how awesome it was!
