Arianna's Hunt Of A Lifetime

Several months ago the Sportsmen Portal team began a journey with a very special little girl that ended in success this past week. I am happy to report, Arianna Evans had the experience of a lifetime and came home from South Dakota with a beautiful Merriam turkey and more importantly, memories that will last her and her family a lifetime.

The Whole Crew at the beginning of our journey

We began our 24 hour trip to South Dakota last weekend with the entire Evans family, myself, Field Staffer Don Ott, and Gabe Deloach, a cameraman filming a documentary about the Hunt of A Lifetime organization. The trip began with the usual excitement as everyone was anxious to arrive at our final destination, Custer, South Dakota.

What a smile!

The Sportsmen Portal team was responsible this year for raising all the money needed to send Arianna on her dream hunt, and all proceeds were donated directly to the Hunt of A Lifetime organization. We would be tagging along on this trip to film Arianna during her hunt. With Arianna’s health, we knew that she would only be able to hunt a couple of hours each day, so Hunt of A Lifetime made arrangements with their representatives in Custer to show the Evans family the sights of South Dakota each day after Arianna’s hunt.

I have never been to South Dakota and I can say that it is by far the most beautiful state I have ever visited. From the Badlands to the Blackhills, the sights are breathtaking with the rolling hills to the steep rock cliffs. I should also mention, when we left Pennsylvania it was 81 degrees and when we arrived in Custer, South Dakota, there was 10 inches of snow with temps in the 20’s.

The Badlands

There are so many things about this trip that I want to talk about, but I am afraid I would be writing a novel instead of a journal entry. However, one thing I have to discuss is the main reason we were there, Arianna. This is the first time that I have had an opportunity to really spend time with her and I honestly believe that there is something extraordinary about this little girl. The most striking characteristic of Arianna is her genuine compassion and consideration for other people. She is so alert and cognizant of everything going on around her and her only concerns seem to be for other people and their feelings. You would think that someone who is as sick as Arianna, that she would tend to think mostly of herself, and that is not the case with Arianna. An example of this was when we were on our way to South Dakota, the family requested to stop at Cabela’s, as this is one of Arianna’s favorite places to visit. Of course we complied, but if anyone knows me, they know that I am very organized and always have a timeline with an itinerary. This trip was no different and we were beginning to fall way behind schedule. I didn’t say anything to anyone and while in Cabela’s I had the opportunity to push Arianna in her wheelchair and we were all by ourselves on our way to Whitetail Country and she looked up at me and said, “Jason, I am sorry we are running late, I hope you aren’t mad.” At that moment it really put things into perspective for me and I realized that I needed to take a deep breath and enjoy this trip for what it was. I said, “Arianna, don’t you be sorry, we can stay here as long as you want and do whatever you want.” How did she know that I was anxious to get going? I am not real sure, she somehow sensed it, but from that point on there was only one thing on my mind and that was making this little girl happy.

All in all it was a very good trip, but Arianna did get sick near the end of the trip. On Sunday night, she emphatically explained to all of us the she WOULD BE hunting on Monday. We arrived in Custer, South Dakota on Sunday evening and we would be hunting on Monday. The plan was to go see the area, set up the blinds, pick up Arianna and hunt Monday afternoon.

Hunt of A Lifetime made all the arrangements and where we would be hunting. We arrived at the small horse farm within the Crazy Horse park. We would be setting up near the farm where the turkeys appear everyday, and when I say turkeys, I mean large numbers of turkeys.

Arianna in the blind ready to go!

This is what we were greeted by each day, Crazy Horse

Monday afternoon was relatively uneventful, with many birds around, but just not willing to come in. It seemed as if the weather had made the birds unreceptive to calls and the presence of so many hens didn't make it any easier. I am sure the turkeys didn't like our blinds all that much either. Arianna was a trooper and stuck it out for 3 hours, but just got too cold. She was very excited for the next morning.

The one good thing about the snow was finding the turkeys

Tuesday morning Arianna greeted us with a smile at 4:30 am and ready to go hunting. The morning hunt started with the most vocalization of turkeys I have ever experienced. The woods exploded with gobbles and yelps before they flew down from the roost. It was more of the same, similar to the day before, with lots of birds around, but not willing to come by the blinds. It was very cold on Tuesday and Arianna stuck it out for a couple of hours, but then she was ready to head in. We moved the blinds to a different location in hopes of getting a little closer to those longbeards on Wednesday.

I should mention that each day after Arianna's hunt, the Hunt of A Lifetime representatives had things for her to do including, Mount Rushmore, visit the top of Crazy Horse, Bear Country, and much more. It was always fun to have dinner with the Evans family each night and have Arriana excitedly describe all the things she had done and seen each day.

My favorite photo from our trip

On Wednesday Arianna wasn't feeling well, but yet she was still there to meet and greet us with that warm smile at 4:30 am. We could all tell she was not herself, but she insisted on going hunting and we weren't going to stop her. We had turkeys all around first thing in the morning with a nice gobbler at 18 yards, but when it came time for Arianna to shoot, she broke down and didn't want to pull the trigger. Whether it was a combination of her not feeling well, a bad case of turkey fever, I am not real sure. Like I said before, Arianna is so concerned with those she loves and making them happy that I believe the most important thing to her is simply spending time in the outdoors and spending time with her father.

So after an emotional morning, we had a long talk with Arianna and explained to her, that this is her hunt of a lifetime and it can be whatever she wants it to be. We explained to her that we have all been there as kids that first time you harvest an animal and how emotional it can make you. I also explained that if she just wants to come out and watch turkeys that is ok. She explained to me that she did want to take a turkey home, but she didn't want to shoot it. She also expressed how much she loves to be outside with her dad. So I asked, "Arianna, is your hunt of a lifetime simply hunting with your dad?" I think you all know what the answer was, "Yes". So the decision was made that for the remainder of the trip when a gobbler came in range, we would ask Arianna what she wanted to do.

Unfortunately the day didn't get much better as Arianna ended up getting very sick with a high fever and had to spend much of the evening in the emergency room. We were obviously very concerned, first and foremost, for Arianna and her health with the possible reality that she may not get back out hunting. We knew she wouldn't be able to hunt Thursday and probably not Friday either.

We all met Thursday night for dinner and you could tell that Arianna was still very sick as she sat beside me the entire dinner just laying her head on me. I could feel the heat radiating from her as her fever still had not broken. We were sitting around discussing the possible scenarios for the last morning hunt and one was that Arianna may not be able to go. She sat up and looked at all of us and said, "I am going hunting in the morning!", then laid her head back down. I looked at her parents and they said, "If she says she is going to do something, she is going to do it." I said, "Alright then, we have one more chance to get it done, we will see you at 4:30 am." Upon leaving, I still wasn't convinced that she would be able to go, but I was hoping for the best.

At 4:30 we went to pick everyone up and sure enough, there she was, greeting us with that beautiful smile, ready to go hunting. I couldn't believe it. Her temperature had broken during the night and you could see she was feeling much better. There was a certain feeling in the air, with no pressure on anyone, but just another time in the woods with friends and family in a land that none of us ever imagined we would be hunting in.

The other aspect of this day was three members from the Evans family, Bill, Laura and son Tanner, would be hunting with Arianna around the farm. Myself and Bill would be in the blind with Arriana, Tanner would be with field staffer Don Ott and Laura would be with Hunt of A Lifetime representative Frank Schmidt spread out across the hillside. With Arianna's conditions and other young siblings it is impossible for the entire family to ever spend time in the woods together, so this was a special day for all of them.

On the last day of the hunt we were greeted with an additional 5 inches of snow. It was cold, but it sure was pretty.

We had received an additional 5 inches of snow the night before, so it seemed to really shut the birds down in the morning. There wasn't near the chatter as in days past and I was really concerned that possibly the birds had moved out. Soon however we would hear a few distant gobbles and yelps on the hillside directly above us. It wasn't long before we had some hens pass by and then we could see three bigger birds making their way down the hill. We all knew immediately they were gobblers and Bill asked Arriana very calmly what she wanted to do and she replied, "You shoot it daddy!". Bill raised his gun very slowly as the bird was coming in fast. Then like most times, the bird hung up about at about 50 yards. Soon however, he made up his mind to move through and Bill laid the hammer down on a beautiful Merriam turkey.

I immediately explained to Arianna that she had just got her Merriam turkey and forever that would be her bird. I explained that the easy part is pulling the trigger, the hard part is all the things that she did, getting up every morning at 4:00 am, sitting so still, being so quiet are all the things that it takes to be a great turkey hunter and she had just done it. I wish everyone could have seen the smile on her face knowing that she accomplished what she came to do. And maybe it wasn't exactly the way that I had envisioned or anyone else, but it truly was HER Hunt of A Lifetime.

Arianna was very excited and happy to get her Merriam turkey!

Soon the family members who all heard the shot came running to see Arriana's turkey. The day was a beautiful day with a brand new layer of powder snow covering the area and the entire family being there to share this day with their special little girl. Whether Arianna realized it or not, she once again gave more happiness to everyone around her than she could possibly imagine.

Arianna with her dad and her Merriam turkey

Of course, I was the one to get a little emotional, but I know that it meant so much to all of us at the Sportsmen Portal to give something special to this little girl who means so much to so many people. To all those involved in this day including the people who purchased raffle tickets, those who pitched in and sold tickets, those who donated cash and companies who donated prizes you should all be very proud of what you have done. I can assure you all that you have made one little girl very happy.

This photo speaks for itself

Me with the Evans Family

I would personally like to thank Arianna for touching me in such a special way and allowing me to share in such a wonderful experience. We truly did have a hunt of a lifetime!

Myself and Field Staffer Don Ott with Arianna, her dad and her turkey