Every hunter remembers the humorous episodes, though some may not be funny at the time. One such experience was when Denny and I were being accompanied by Ryan, a sixteen year old on his first hunt.

It was early morning and we drove Denny's white two door extended cab Chevy pickup to the area we had been in the evening before. Denny and I were in the front seat while Ryan sat in the back seat. We had driven as close as we dared to a very promising overlook. There was plenty of brush and moss rock to conceal our position at the rim of the drop off.

Denny and I exited from the truck, being ever so careful not to make a sound that would alert the elk, that we had a pretty good idea would be bedded down in the pungent smelling beds we discovered the day before at the bottom of the hill.

It was snowing as we stepped quietly, carefully towards the overlook. The early morning snow had added a fresh three-inch layer to the foot of snow already on the ground. The wind was nonexistent as the huge flakes fell softly to the ground. The air was thick and the snow muffled our quiet approach. We were almost to the edge of the rim, our eyes straining to get a glimpse of the elk in their beds.

Out of nowhere came the loudest, longest blast of an automobile horn that anyone had ever heard. It broke the silence of the ever so peaceful mountain scene and echoed throughout the hills all around us. Denny and I looked at each other in complete puzzlement, not believing our ears.

We looked back at truck to see Ryan leaning on the driver's seat trying to get out of the back seat. The front seat was as forward as it would go. The only thing stopping it from going any further was the horn in the middle of the steering wheel. As we looked at the scene it became very apparent that Ryan did not realize where the obnoxious noise was coming from either as he continued to get out of the truck with the horn blasting the whole time.

We knew that our early morning surprise on the elk was now a lesson in futility and there was nothing left to do but laugh at he situation.