My son and I had tags for a remote elk unit in central Wyoming last fall. It's a limited entry unit and a tough one to get tags for, so lots of times those who have it will network and work together.

I met some new contacts and made a few friends on the mountain that fall, including three gents from Connecticut. Anthony and Michael drew tags and drove all the way from back east to hunt for two weeks in the unit, their buddy Mike came with them just to be camp "helper". I had contact with them online and shared some info and pictures with them over the summer as I scouted the unit. We connected in person in September while they were archery hunting, I don't archery hunt but was out there on my last scouting trip and had one of my sons with me and was glad to shake hands with these guys and put faces to names. My son and I had hiked and glassed all day then met in their camp after dark, they had a cold camp in tents and it was only 1/4 mile from my camper.

They were very nice guys, offered us dinner (which my son said yes to before I could decline...), and we had a great chat about the area and what bulls they'd seen. I was nervous about their camp, and I told them they were more than welcome to use my camper if it was on nights when I wasn't on the mountain - which they did for 5-6 nights when the weather got real nasty. Michael was a very nice, well-traveled guy who had hunted all over the world. He asked my son if we were Mormon and we had a good chat about some other LDS people he'd hunted with in Utah.

Both Mike and Anthony killed good bulls, and I helped them pack one out of the the thick timber where he'd been shot. They took their elk to a processor and a taxidermist I'd recommended then drove all the way back to Connecticut. They were nice enough to leave a ton of leftover food/supplies in my camper as a thank you.





I spoke with Anthony last week about another hunt in Wyoming we'd talked about previously, and he told me that "Michael is no longer with us". Sad stuff, and Anthony didn't open up too much, but said Michael had been shot by his wife. Anthony had just gotten back from hunting whitetails in Iowa and they'd spread Michael's ashes out there on a farm he'd owned. I didn't know Michael that well but he'd been very nice to us, was personable and friendly, and I feel awful for the way his life ended.

Sorry for the rambling, not really any point to this except to remind people life can be fragile or cut short at any time. Be a good friend, and be kind to others.



https://www.golocalprov.com/news/murder-suicide-linked-to-prominent-rhode-island-family