Archery, Horses, and 5th of July BASH

Summer is officially here! Spring was full of fish stockings, electrofishing surveys, aeration systems, camping construction, and all sorts of fun stuff. Couldnt have been better or busier. At the end of this blog post I am gonna invite you all to a big 5th of July bash at the goose ranch, but first a little recap.

This months InFisherman Catfish guide 2014 we have a fun catfish article with Steve Ryan. Make sure to get a copy!!!



Each summer we host all kinds of various boys and girls camps, church groups, family reunions, etc at our property near Norris, IL... Our passion has always been to get families introduced to the outdoors! Now with the Goose Ranch we will be able to really get lots of families outside spending time together!!

This weekend we had a HUGE group of girls for a weekend church camp. Normally they stay at the Old School Center in Farmington, and come out to our lake during the day.... But the Old School Center burned down a month ago, so we set up a bunch of tents in our field so the girls didnt have to cancel camp....




New to camp this year was our Archery range! Lancaster Archery Supply, Martin Archery, and Presley's Outdoors teamed up to help us put on a super fun archery shoot for the girls. My boys Drake and Noah helped get everything set up, break in the new bows, and show the girls how to shoot.






They all had a blast... while it may have been the first, I guarantee you that wont be the last time many of these girls shoot a bow. I overheard many conversations about girls excited to start target shooting with their dads this summer!!

So camp was also full of all the usual fun stuff: swimming, singing, eating, fishing, boating, scuba diving, and another big fan favorite- horse back riding....  Horses have a huge advantage over all the previous fun items, because they inhabit the childhood dreams of most girls most nights while growing up...







So girls camp 2014 was a huge success. This weekend is high school boys camp... I already know I will be callin in to work sick from exhaustion on Monday......

So anyhow this Saturday, July 5th we are hosting a special family day out at the Giant Goose Ranch in Canton, IL. Normally the ranch is a members only facility, but for this day we are putting together an EPIC family day from 2 pm- 11 pm and we are inviting you all to come join us!

We will be having a big hog roast for dinner, archery shooting, fishing, hiking, pony rides for kids, jump houses and all kinds of other fun activities and of course FIREWORKS! Here are some more details and how to sign up for the event.

It is a free event for members of the goose ranch. For non-members the cost is $5 per person and for reservations simply email nate@hblakemanagement.com in advance. Just let me know an apprx number in your group. Pay and sign in at the Goose Ranch gate. Bring your own chairs and blanket for the fireworks. There will be film crew at the event so you will need to sign a waiver stating its ok to use any video and images as well.

The $5 entry fee covers admission and the hog roast, but also at the ranch there will be vendors selling fun items like ice cream cones, snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy, lemonade, etc with all the proceeds going to help out the Farmington Old School Center that recently burned down. One super cool activity is an extreme horse back trail ride that is available for $15 donation for riders age 12 and up. You will want to reserve your time slot in advance for this, just email nate@hblakemanagement.com for your preferred time slot.... Dads, you need to make this trail ride happen for your daughters and wives...