There are many things that I have done with my family. My favorite activity is to go hunting with my dad. Hunting is a time when we can go and relax and have fun. I do not even think about school, and I can leave all of my worries behind.

When we finally decide to start our drive, it is usually long and boring. The drive takes about six hours so I get tired of being in the car. When we get there, we are so happy because our long drive has ended. We finally arrived, so I now could focus on if the deer would be out or not. I was excited to get there and see our friends who I had not seen in a long time. We were all excited to see each other after not seeing each other for a year. We were too late to go on the afternoon hunt so we just sat around and waited for our friend to arrive back from the afternoon hunt. It seemed like two years before he came back, but he finally did come and let us in. At night we would pull out the propane tank and the blowtorch and make a huge fire in the fire pit. Every night we would sit around the fire until one or two in the morning

When we would wake up, it would be early in the morning, and I would be very tired. Then we would get dressed and leave for the hunting grounds. On our way to the stand, we would stop at a donut store, and we would get a dozen donuts, for the hunt. As we would sit in the stand, the air would be cold and damp, and I would want to be in bed because I was so tired. But at the same time I was anxious and want something to walk out in front of me so I could shoot it. Once I was finally holding the gun I feel powerful and excited because it has come down to the time I have been waiting for all year. When we left the stand upset and disappointed that we had not shot anything we went back to the car to go home. Once we got home we made some lunch and relit the fire because it had gone out. Then it was time for my favorite hunting activity, 4-wheeling! It is so much fun to feel the open air in my face, and to feel like I am in a hurricane when I have the breeze in your face. It is also so cool to know that I am in control of such a powerful machine. While we are waiting for the next hunt, we will do yard work and work around the house. I was tired and bored, so I caught up on some much needed rest. Then after some much needed lunch it is time for my favorite hunt; the afternoon hunt. Once we loaded up the truck we left for the hunting grounds in hopes of coming home with a trophy-classed deer. Once we got into the warm stand we got everything situated. My dad took his spot in the chair, and I sat on the floor. I was really tired because I had not gotten much sleep the night before, so I laid down on the cold and damp floor and fell into a deep sleep. Then all of a sudden, I got a huge kick in the gut and heard my dad telling me to get up quick. As I stood up and peered over the wall, I was amazed at what I saw. I got up to find myself staring straight into the eyes of a huge hog. The hog was covered in mud and looked like he was wearing camouflage because he was covered in leaves and mud. When I finally got my gun up and ready I was so nervous because I did not know if I would hit it. Once I had my gun up and ready, the hog walked right to the center of the lane and looked right at me, and for that split instant, time froze. Everything stopped, and the face off had begun between the hog and me.

Once the hog broke the stare off, the race had begun. In a split second the hog made a mad dash for the tree line, and I rushed to re-adjust the cross hairs on a moving target. I had never tried this before, so I was extremely nervous. Then, in an instant, the gun went off. I was scared now because I thought I hit it, but my dad said I did not hit it. After a wait that seemed like an eternity, it was finally time to go and find my hog. Then the convoy of expert scavengers came in to find the hog. My dad had along his friend Jay, Jay’s cousin David, and the most important scavenger of all, the dog, to come look for the hog. To know that we had a reliable source to find the animal I just shot but can’t is very comforting to know that all hope is not lost. When we stepped into the trees we walked about ten feet and stopped right in front of a huge pile of blood. Then we walked a couple more feet and had the biggest sigh of relief ever. It was the moment I had been waiting for a very long time. I finally found my hog! When I found my kill I was so excited that I thought I could fly because I was so nervous waiting to find out if I hit the animal or not, but once I found it I was filled with so much joy. It was the moment I had been waiting for my whole life. The hog was in its final resting place, hanging up on the pole. This was the moment that I could finally relax because I knew that it was not going anywhere.
But then in the middle of the night we woke up the sound of black panthers trying to steel my kill, but then we scared it away and got ready to go home knowing that I had accomplished my goal for the year.