Archery, Mud, Dirt Bikes and Fishing – Father’s Day 2017 Montana Style

I am fairly new at this "DAD" thing. I have only been doing the job for 4 years now. I can't REALLY consider myself an expert of parenting. But, this year's Father's Day was full of awesome memories, and will be a tough one to top.

I teamed up with the coolest Dad in western Montana for a weekend packed with fun. Our RAD DAD 2017 winner, Marc Winn, joined me for a trip to Clearwater Junction. The Five Valley's Archery Club was hosting their 38th annual "Bear Shoot." This 3D archery tournament consisted of 80 targets over the course of 2 days. Targets included everything from elk and deer, to dinosaurs and even mutant mosquitoes. With 2 four year old boys on our shoulders, we tested our patience as fathers, and made the hike from one target to the next.

Day one consisted of 40 targets, which took us nearly 5 hours to complete. Needless to say, we were exhausted after only completing half the course. We set up camp and prepared for the next day's round of targets. During our camping trip, we managed to let the patients run the asylum, and do some old fashion playing in the mud, followed by a little dirt bike riding. After countless servings of s'mores, our campers finally got to sleep.

Day two was much easier on us Dads, as we knew what to expect out of our tiny archers. After getting a late start, our goal was to complete the course in a much faster time than we did the day before. This involved us sounding like personal trainers when it came to keeping our 4 year olds moving at a decent pace. After miles of hiking and shooting 80 arrows, we finally completed the course. We raced back to turn in our score cards and hope for the best. Little did we know, but my boy managed to take 2nd place in the shoot. I nearly cried, I was so proud.

To top it all off, we managed to squeeze in some fishing at Harper's Pond, followed by pizza and a movie. I COULD NOT HAVE ASKED FOR A MORE PERFECT FATHER'S DAY.