My dad has given me the inspiration for a lot of the shows I’ve done for The Great Outdoors over the years. I’ve given him credit for a lot of them, but usually only the ones where we ended up in some sort of catastrophe on an outing.
That’s really not fair to him, because he’s also responsible for every single successful outing I’ve been on throughout the years. Even when he hasn’t been with me, the things he taught me are, and he’s taught me more than anyone else over the years.
He taught me how to read a map and compass. I give him a hard time on this show about getting us lost, but we’ve never really been in any danger. We’ve been in situations where we weren’t sure exactly where we were on the map, but that’s just part of exploring. You don’t find new things to see and new places to go if you don’t get a little misplaced from time to time. And every time we did get turned around and confused about where we were, he always got us back. That’s because he’s not just good with a map and compass – he’s incredible with them. And he’s done his best to teach me all he knows about using them.
He also taught me how to set up a comfortable and functional camp site. How to keep the bugs off me even when they’re bad. How to look in the right places to find deer and elk. How to clean them and get them out of the hills after making a good shot – which he also showed me how to do.
Though I don’t say it enough, I’m proud of my dad. He’s great at everything he does, and I hope to know half of what he knows by the time I’m his age. He’s already given me a head start by trying to teach me. If I didn’t learn it, it’s on me, not on him.
So thanks for all you’ve done for me over the years, Dad. I love you. Happy birthday. Now let’s go fishing.
