2005 has been a very busy and exciting year for us.  To top it off we drew Arizona Elk tags.  At the end of deer season we jumped on a jet a flew down to Arizona to hunt Elk with a fellow outfitter and good friend Van Hale.  Van and his staff did an exceptional job on getting both of us Elk.  The weather was mild (60 deg F during the day and down to 30 deg F at night).  We had to work hard for our Elk.  Sharron harvested hers on day 7 of our 8 day hunt.  The unseasonably mild weather was making it a tougher then normal hunt as the Elk weren't moving down from the mountain tops.   We spent hours glassing the mountain sides looking for the right Elk.  Chris harvested a beautiful 359" Elk and Sharron a 310" Elk.  It was the first Elk either of us had every shot and they are great trophies.  The camp was very clean and comfortable, the guides were very fun and professional and the cook was very personable and cooked us up some great Mexican food.  Van uses Mules, ATVs and Trucks to get you into the different hunting areas.  We also did lots of hiking, which was some well needed exercise.  If you are  interested in doing an Elk hunt we highly recommend you give Van Hale of Trophy Outfitters Inc. a call (www.trophyoutfittersonline.com).  At the end of December Van invited Chris to New Mexico to hunt a Landowner's Elk Tag.  Chris harvested a 390 class Bull Elk (Photos 9 and 10).