A great gift idea - Youth Hunt Weekend

As many of you know, Alabama has a special weekend set aside for youth hunters prior to the opening of rifle season. This year the dates for the hunt are November 15 & 16. At Pushmataha, we are all about the kids that weekend and the parents are there because the youth hunters (age 15 and under) are required to sit with an adult eligible to purchase an Alabama hunting license.

Let me describe the weekend for you....The youth hunter and the accompanying adult arrive on Friday afternoon (this year November 14) and they are settled into one of our 15 rooms each with a private bath. Before you can blink an eye, the kids are outside tossing a football or fishing the lake that the lodge overlooks.

Friday evening a delicious meal of usually pork tenderloin along with chicken fingers for the kids along with wonderful side dishes, a full salad bar, and dessert is served. Before everyone can comment on how full they are, the milkshake machine is already being put to good use because it is just too tempting. Everyone heads to their beds because morning comes early.

Saturday morning everyone is served a true "Southern" style breakfast complete with eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and biscuits before heading out to attempt to harvest a deer. After the morning hunt, the guides pick up all of the hunters and return to the lodge for a great lunch of Mrs. Jewel's famous fried chicken. Around 2 p.m., all of the hunters return to the woods seeking the "big" one. At dark, everyone is picked up from the green fields by their guides hopefully bringing with them a nice buck that has been harvested. After a meal of steak and all of the trimmings, no one has trouble falling asleep!

On Sunday, the whole process is repeated, but obviously we don't serve the same food two days in a row. Lunch is usually turkey and dressing, ham, macaroni cheese, etc. and dinner is usually a barbecue. Everyone is welcome to spend Sunday night (without charge) since some people come from 10+ hours to hunt with us, but some sadly head back home.

Three nights lodging, seven meals and a great time to bond with your child - the cost $800 plus a 3 day non-resident hunting license if necessary - the memories made with your child - priceless!

What is so great about this weekend you might ask? We believe if you introduce kids to the outdoors and hunting at a young age; you have the opportunity to provide them a lifetime of enjoyment of the outdoors. This weekend is all about the kids and we have several that will return for their 4th youth hunt this year. The children get to meet other children from across the Southeast and many of them correspond via email, text messaging and internet throughout the year. We all (Earnest, Alan, Billy, Woodie, Bobo, Mrs. Jewel, Darrin, Mr. Ezell and Nena Beth) really enjoy having the youth hunters with us. They definitely don't lack enthusiasm in anything they do.

So why am I writing about youth weekend 4 months prior to the date? Well, there are several reasons:

1. Space is limited to 15 youth and 15 adults and we have already sold 6 spots leaving only 9 left (I can still add/subtract without my calculator!)
2. It is not too early too start thinking about this weekend. While talking to children and parents about this hunt at the Big Buck Expos we have attended, the kids think that it makes a great birthday and/or Christmas gift (Christmas in July anyone?)
3. There is a certain 9 year old boy that tomorrow will open a birthday present from Mom & Dad and discover he is one of the 15 kids coming on the youth hunt. Happy Birthday Garret!

Important facts to remember about Youth Hunt Weekend:

• Dates are November 15 - 16
• The cost for parent and child is $800-nonresident hunting license is $127-doe tags (if the child kills a doe) are $75 each
• The youth hunter can kill 2 deer a day one of which may be an antlered buck
• Only 9 spots remain for this wonderful weekend

Call me if you are interested at 1.800.906.9663 as soon as possible to reseve your spot; and of course, Happy 9th Birthday, Garret!

Nena Beth