The fall of 1982 marked a new phase in my own life. I had previously substituted as the hunting camp cook a couple of times on the Deseret Land and Livestock where Mesia was living. Her husband Gregg Simonds was the ranch manager. At the time, this 250,000 acre ranch was owned by a Chinaman named Ho Tung, and the hunting program was being started by Mesia as a new form of income for the ranch. My mother, as well as Mesia and Rochelle had been taking turns doing the cooking, but in 1982 the job became mine. It was a job I would keep for the next 25 years. During my tenure, the camp went from a cabin with 2 bedrooms and one bath and one kitchen counter to a new lodge with 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and 2 dishwashers. In the early years, I spent two weeks with eight men each week and by the end we had 30 each week for 5 weeks, and the price of a hunting tag probably tripled.
   It was a great time. Those first years, the job was like a vacation for me. Wynn's mom helped with the children, and I got to take off and have a week full of conversation with some very interesting men. I also got to go grocery shopping with unlimited funds. Not having to count every penny as I put items in my carts, was a real joy.
   Some day, I will write my hunting camp stories, but for now I will just say that when the leaves began to fall and the air turned crispy cool everyone knew that hunting season had arrived and Cecelie would be headed for Deseret. It was just a part of the season and rhythm of life, the natural thing to do when you get to live a Mink Creek kind of life.