IT'S ALL GOOD AT DUCK CAMP

Hunters and anglers enjoy a good road trip.   Getting out and away for a few days of rest and relaxation does a body and soul well.  And so it is the reason I look forward to our annual duck camp held at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area near Great Bend.

The Bottoms is 20,000 acres of wetland heaven.  Unfortunately, the nature of the beast doesn't allow wetlands to be wet every year.  But in what could be considered the biggest save in history the Bottoms has water in a couple units thanks to a storage pool and other work done years ago for just such an emergency.  The fact it has ANY water at all after 50+ days of 100-degree-plus temperatures and no rain is nothing short of a miracle.

Our main objective at duck camp is to shoot ducks.  But it's also about big fires, good food and friends and maybe a power nap or two.  The aesthetics of such a place is almost worth the trip in itself.  We see many species of ducks, geese, shorebirds and other wildlife like deer, turkeys, snakes, turtles, skunks and raccoons. 

Our day starts at around 5 a.m. with a wake-up call and we're out the door of my camper by 5:30 a.m.  We launch the boat at about 6 a.m. and motor to our spot and set up with 20 or 30 minutes left until shooting time.  All the sounds of the marsh are amplified as the sun begins to glow in the east. 

Ducks were plentiful enough to make things interesting last weekend.  We shot pintails, gadwalls, widgeon, teal, coots and a few different species of divers over the course of our stay.  We'd hunt 'til late morning and then return to camp and cook a breakfast outdoors the Waffle House would be proud to serve. 

We'd clean ducks and tidy up our gear and camp.  The next couple hours might involve a good snooze falling asleep listening to the Cottonwood leaves rustle in the wind.  Now refreshed a fire was the order of business and a few snacks and drinks would precede some good eats.  After dinner the fire was stoked big enough to see from space as we relaxed listening to screech and great-horned owls, white-fronted geese and sandhill cranes. 

The next day we'd do it again. 

It's all good at duck camp.