I feel like I have been on a blessed journey my entire life. Sometimes I felt I had a clear purpose and was on a path in the right direction, but then there were times when life took a turn, and I wasn’t sure I had a purpose at all. In the end, those unanswered prayers turned out to be miracles. I just didn’t know it at the time.
The first five years of my life were spent in Emblem, Wyoming, population, 10. Yes, ten. My father worked hard to pay the bills, and we lived paycheck to paycheck. My dad was an alcoholic, and my parents divorced when I was five years old. My mother remarried my stepfather, Martin Mayland, who owned a large ranch on which I grew up enjoying hunting and fishing; but more importantly, I worked hard, cared for land and livestock, and assumed responsibility beyond my years. My parents instilled self-confidence and a strong work ethic in me from a very young age.
It was my dream to become a Wyoming Game Warden someday. The thought of wearing that red shirt and enforcing wildlife regulation was all I thought about. Except I wasn’t good at school. I acted out when I was bored and spent the majority of many school days being disciplined for poor behavior. I just didn’t apply myself because I hated it. I did graduate high school, but I had no thoughts of college. My brother, Wade, talked me into playing football at Chadron College in Nebraska after high school. Since I had to enroll in courses to play on the football team, I ended up with a BS degree in industrial technology.
I always wanted to be a game warden, but my college advisor talked me out of it because there were few permanent jobs at that time. I worked as a substitute teacher upon graduation from college; but when a job opportunity came open in the Game and Fish Department, I jumped at the chance. It was an uphill battle, to say the least. I eventually got hired by the Wyoming Game & Fish Department and spent the next twenty-five-plus years living a life that many couldn’t even comprehend. After twenty-five-plus years of experience and stories with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, I was inspired to write a book explaining my journey starting from childhood to the point of finally getting hired as a game warden.
All the stories in this book are true—at least the way I remembered them back then anyways! This book will tell you my early journey of what I went through to finally become a Wyoming game warden. I would much like to continue writing true stories of a Wyoming game warden as I have twenty-five-plus years of wild and crazy stories stored in my head I feel like I have lived a very blessed life with many crazy adventures and stories. Now it’s time for me to share some of them!
Thanks for taking time to drop by.
