Saying Goodbye To 2019 And Welcoming In 2020…
JANUARY – MARCH
Last January we were still in the woods trying to fill some tags that stayed un-punched, at the same time getting ready for all the shows we needed to attend. January-February flew by in a wink, as we traveled across the states meeting everyone & having a blast. We also had the honor & privilege to be part of the Wounded Warriors Outdoor Heritage Classic shoot down in Florida and all we can say is WOW! If you want to feel what its like to be in the presence of humble greatness, most patriotic, loyal and non-regretful human beings, then we invite you to follow WWO! Become a part how sharing our outdoor lifestyle can truly change lives. Without these men and women who risk everything for our freedoms, life as we generally know and live it would not exist.
March came in and we found ourselves heading back to Leithen Valley New Zealand with Rach and the crew and had another great hunt! Hoppy & Susan Kempfer, from Osceola Outfitters, joined us across the big pond, and for the first time Ralph actually did some sight-seeing… not sure if that will happen again!
APRIL – JUNE
In April, we did some turkey hunting and we were in full production mode for our shows, Archer’s Choice & The Choice on Outdoor Channel.
May and June found us chasing bears with our good friends the Venus’s at Trophy West Guide Outfitters in BC. Then back with Jeff Jerome from Deep in The Bush Adventures in Saskatchewan for some more bear hunting.
June also found us watching RJ graduate high school and him making the decision to work in the family business. Case Kempfer, Osceola Outfitters, surprised RJ by flying up to be here for his graduation. These two young men are going to do some great things in the future.
Between all this we headed back to Colorado a few more times to work on the property and cabin. Our saddest moments came this year as well, with having to put down both our dogs, Sparky & Boomer. Anyone who has a dog knows how hard this is, and many have said after doing it that would not have anymore. We on the other hand, cherish the time we had with them and look forward to bringing more into our family. We are some of ‘those’ who want to always have puppy’s in the house, greet you on the good days and the bad, get you mad as hell and make you smile from the inside out.
Yep, we will take the pain of losing a great friend and companion to cherish the great times we have with them each and every time. So, we welcomed our new family member into the Cianciarulo household…. Captain has arrived, and oh boy, is he a handful. Hoppy and the boys had a new bunch of Florida curs puppies, and let RJ select on.. or should we say that the puppy selected RJ.
JULY – AUGUST
July we were back down at the Osceola Outfitters, having fun chasing hogs, gators and trying to avoid getting bit by snakes.
August came and it was time to gear up, and we headed to Wyoming to hunt antelope with our friends at Table Mountain Outfitters, Scott & Angie Denny.
And while we were in WY, RJ and his buddies, Case & Keenan headed to CO for some western hunting and Hoppy tagged along to keep these guys under control. Not quite sure who was doing what…
SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER
September came and we met up with Chad & Terry (at the airport), and we all loaded up on the big bird and landed in Alberta to hunt with Shane & Wayne of Team Whitetails of Alberta . We saw a pile of deer and had a blast, and we will be returning there again in 2020.
We then flew back to Denver, got in the truck and met up with RJ & Keenan, then we all headed to western Wyoming for a mule deer spot & stalk hunt with R&K Hunt Company, Brett & his team treated us like gold! This was the very first time for RJ to hunt muleys and do spot & stalk! He was pumped, in a week he learned more, hiked a lot and both young men had an experience of a lifetime.
From there we all headed back to the cabin in Colorado and had some fun there chasing mule deer, antelope and elk.
While in Colorado Vicki had to head home to be with her Mom for a few days, while RJ, Keenan, Terry, Chad & I headed north to Montana, to go hunting with Jeff Jerome of Deep in the Bush Adventures on the river bottoms for whitetails. Oh boy what a hunt we had there! RJ shot his first Montana buck with his Hoyt and we were all jacked up. This was RJ’s first bow killed buck!
October came fast and with this being RJ’s first fall filming/hunting with us, Mom & I had the plan to take him to our good friends the Efford’s in Newfoundland at Efford’s Hunting Adventures. RJ got on his first moose and his first woodland caribou. It was awesome to share this great experience as a family, and oh the memories we made!
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER
November found us heading Ohio to hunt with Ty McCombs of Whitetail Outfitters of Ohio. We saw some monster buckeye bucks, but the weather wasn’t playing nice. Then we packed up and headed to Missouri to spend some time hunting with the great people at Northwest Missouri Outfitters, Dave Frampton and his family showed us a great time.
After Missouri, we headed north just a bit to hunt with old-time friend, Mike Pavlick of Golden Triangle Outfitters in central IL, as well as found time to do some hunting at home, that helped fill the freezer even more.
December found us back in the bluegrass state of Kentucky, with our dear friends, Ron, Hoppy & Chase, here we hunted, laughed, cried and had a ball. This is another one of those trips we look so forward to year after year. It’s just about getting together and having a great time.
Then back home again to sit in our own stands for deer, as we worked in the office midday, celebrated the birth of Christ on Christmas Day and sat some more stands.
ON TO 2020
And through it all we look back and have to pinch ourselves for we are so blessed being able to do what we do and share it with so many.For some, it’s all about the bragging rights of what they shot, however for us it’s about the places, the people and what we witnessed and whom we shared it with.
As we enter into the 20th year on our TV show, add all the years prior to that producing videos then DVD’s, we take a deep breath and close our eyes to imagine all the great times, the laughs, the cries and struggles, and the pain was and is there, but we all have to make a choice each and every day… That choice is wake up and be miserable or wake up, put a smile on your face and know that today is not going to kick your butt but rather, we are going to kick its.
We truly cannot thank all of you, and all our sponsors, enough for allowing us to do what we do. We have not and will never ever take any of you for granted, we know how to be humble and we live this outdoor lifestyle 24/7 with no regrets. Hunting is not about scores, inches or age, we truly believe in sound game management, leaving everything better than you found it, and trying to live life, making people smile rather than wishing you to leave.
Please look at your past, learn from the mistakes, reach out when needed and hold tight when it matters. Words can hurt just as much as a strike, we have a journey that we will only travel once, make it a great one, make it one for others to remember and most of all do it for all the right reasons.
2020 will bring more adventures, new horizons, the boys RJ & Case will be introducing MOVING FORWARD! We sure hope you all will witness and share their life learning experiences with everyone. Follow them along on their social media pages, Facebook & Instagram @rcmovingforward!
