Things began looking up for Fletcher and the boys when they found their rental car waiting. They cranked the shiny SUV, flipped the heater on full blast and got on the cell phone to their hunting guide, Blaine Anthony of Maine Safari in Fairfield Maine. The conversation went something like this. "Hey Blaine your hunters from Georgia have arrived. But we have a big problem. No guns. No cloths. Any chance we can borrow what we need from you?" Blaine didn't miss a beat. "Sure," he said happily. "Come on up, I'll be waiting for you." Blaine's friendly tone and his willingness to help find clothing and guns for the visiting hunters made the one hour drive from Portland to Fairfield an enjoyable one.

     Blaine and Steve Anthony operate Maine Safari. They have headquarters in Fairfield, Maine (about an hour north of Portland, Maine just off I-95). Blaine and Steve own and lease large tracts of land all over this part of the state and guide hunters for whitetail deer, black bear, elk, red stag, and fallow deer. The hunters from Georgia have hunted together for years and have traveled to various states and Canada provinces in pursuit of deer, caribou, moose, and black bear.

     Fletcher and Mark Seabolt own and operate Fletcher's Restaurant of Hartwell as well as Hartwell's Dairy Queen Brazier. Rick Lawson is Fletcher's step son. He grew up in Hartwell and has worked with Fletcher in the Dairy Queen at various times over the years. Rick currently teaches music in Brunswick, Georgia. His son Wes attends Coastal Community College in Brunswick.

      Hunting for this family, has always been a tradition and a hunt for elk has been a dream of theirs for several years. An internet search for potential elk hunting led them to the Anthony's of Maine Safari. Maine Safari offers elk and red deer hunting on a game preserve. These hunts are available from September to March. Hunting on a game preserve would be a new experience for the Seabolt party. Their communications with Blaine Anthony were reassuring. They would be hunting 400 acres of heavily wooded hilly terrain. It would be a challenging hunt. Just as Blaine and Steve advertised "This is not an easy hunt. If you are looking for an easy hunt, do not book with Maine Safari.

     The Georgia hunters arrived in Fairfield, Maine around midnight. Blaine Anthony met them at the lodge, showed them around, and came up with several items of clothing for their use.
      "Get a good night sleep, boys. I'll be here at daylight. We'll zero-in the rifles and head up country to the preserve."

     Still excited by their adventurous day of traveling, the Georgians talked late into the night. As they talked they admired the trophy mounts of whitetail and red deer that were displayed. Blaine and Steve Anthony do their own taxidermy work. The red stag mount were particularly impressive, each having distinctive thick horn formations and unique cape coloring ranging from light grey to dark brown.

     "There's a place on my wall for one of those," joked Fletcher. The others all nodded in agreement. They found the accomodations at the Maine Safari cabin to be excellent. The group was alone in one bunk house. Two bedrooms provided room for up to 6 hunters. A full kitchen stocked with plenty of food was at their disposal and there was a bathroom with a shower. There would be no roughing it on this trip.

     After a short night's sleep, the Georgia hunters awoke to a bitterly cold (zero degrees) Maine morning. They crunched through the snow into the back yard to try out the rifle provided by the Anthony's. Blaine described his deer hunting operation to Fletcher as they zeroed the rifles.
     "We go right out back about 2 miles. Big Deer. Yeah, most of the big heads on the wall in the lodge came from this area."
     The guides hunting talk and the bitterly made the Georgians anxious to get going on the days hunt. Finally, they loaded into Anthony's extended-cab truck, flipped on the heater to the max setting and headed north.

     An hour and a half later they arrived at the hunting area. Blaine placed three of the hunters on ladder stands while he and Wes walked downhill through the thick snow-covered fir boughs. Occasional misplaced steps caused Wes to slip on the frozen surface. It was tough going. Two hours later, the hunters gathered together again to talk. They hadn't seen a single animal. The half frozen stand hunters stomped their feet in place while Wes rested against a tree. His sliding trek through snow, ice, fir and blow downs had tired him considerably. Blaine suggested a new plan of attack.

      "The deer are holed-up in the back part of the property. Swampy area with acres of blow downs. They're bedded in there. We'll have to roust'em out."

     He directed Fletcher and Mark to move slowly down the hill through a fir thicket to the edge of the swamp. "Don't go in the swamp boys. Take a stand on the edge while me and Wes go all the way around and come in on the other side. Rick, you go down the old logging road and watch the clearing. Climb up in the revolving tower stand if your feet warm up. Good Huntin' all."

      The morning passed quickly. In the early afternoon Rick spotted several fallow deer from the tower stand. Of various coats and colors, these beautiful animals were wary and skittish, very much like Georgia whitetail. One male carried a heavy set of creamy palmated antlers. "On another day, another hunt I'd sure like to hunt you fellows," Rick thought to himself. "Maybe with a bow? In this thick cover, as wary as you are...you'd be a real challenge."

      The bitter cold was beginning to numb his feet again. Yes, the sun was up but the temperature was still low. As he contemplated coming down from the stand, he heard the report of a high caliber rifle from the direction of the swamp.

     "Must be Mark," he thought. Mark was shooting Blaine's remington 700 in .338 Win. Mag. Rick climbed down from the stand and cautiously worked his way down hill into the swamp. There was Mark standing over a beautiful red stag with thick wide antlers. Blaine arrived soon afterward and beamed with excitement. "He's a majestic stag, boys. A beauty."

     Mark grinned from ear to ear and described his hunt. "This big boy stepped out into the sun and he was just so beautiful...I couldn't pass it up. Yeah, I planned on taking an elk but this guy came along. I couldn't be happier. What a trophy!"

      As the week progressed the temperature rose and sitting on stand for long periods became possible, even enjoyable. The beautiful snow covered Maine landscape was inspiring as the temperatures rose, animal movement increased. The hunters saw their first red deer as a large group of various sized stags leisurely ate bark from some nearby trees. One particular dark-coated stag with eleven points attracted Rick's attention. His first shot hit the front leg. He missed a rushed second shot and began following a faint blood trail. Following a blood trail is always an intense emotional experience. As time crept by thing looked more and more discouraging. The blood trail dwindled to nothing. Guides Blaine and Steve were helping to trail the deer. They decided to go up hill while Rick continued downhill into the bottom of a stump strewed field. Time crawled. It seemed like hours.
     "Hey Rick!" Steve yelled from the top of the hill.
     Rick was thrilled and rushed up hill through the snow and stumps and thick fur boughs. The deer took three finishing shots to the chest from a borrowed , 30-06.

      Everyone shook hands all around. Steve, looking on with a broad smile, slapped Rick's shoulder and spoke eloquently. "This part never gets old. This is what it is all about."

     Fletcher and his grandson Wes were the last hunters to score. They were holding out for the largest Elk on the ranch. Guide Blaine Anthony and Wes continued stocking into and around the thick swamp bottom. As the hunt continued, a beautiful fluffy snow began falling. While Wes and Blaine hunted the bottom, Fletcher was slowly moving along the edge of a field. Suddenly a group of red deer and elk burst into the opening. Fletcher saw what he was looking for, tell wide spread antlers. He fired. The other hunters head a yell from guide Steve Anthony. "Hey, Fletchers got one down. Give us some help here." Fletcher had taken a huge perfectly symmetrical red deer stag. Wes and Blaine, having heard the commotion, returned to give Fletcher a hand loading the beautiful deer into the truck.

     After resting for a few minutes, Fletcher looked around at Wes and smiled. "I guess that leaves the big elk for you son." Wes grinned and looked to Blaine. They had been up and down and around and through every acre of Maine Safari's game ranch. His legs were sore and his knees were badly bruised. He had taken several bad spills on the icy ground.

     "How bout it, Blaine?" Wes smiled. "Ready to go get him?"
     They headed back down hill into the thick swamp one last time. Some hours later, Blaine and Wes stalked into position for a 250 yard shot on a big six by six bull elk. At the shot the bull flopped to the ground, legs flailing. The youngest member of the Georgia hunting party had taken the largest animal. He, his father, grandfather and uncle were very proud hunters indeed.

      After the hunt, as Fletcher and his boys were flying back to Georgia, Rick Lawson reflected. "You know, we will remember this hunt for the rest of out lives. Fathers and sons, brothers, grandsons. That, I believe, is what hunting is all about."

      Thanks to Maine Safari and the very accommodating Blaine and Steve Anthony, it was, indeed, a special hunt.