I write for different blogs across the web, everything from restaurant supplies to rare conditions and disorders. I have also done a lot of ghostwriting for electric companies, large eCommerce companies, celebrities, and other odd subjects that help make up a very impressive resume in digital marketing.
Out of hundreds of words written and stories shared for others, I never really thought of writing anything that was personal to me.
In Comes Mountain Girl Camp
As I was lying awake in the middle of the night at hunting camp one night, I was thinking to myself that if I ever leave this earth without writing down my recipes, my boys won’t have anything more than memories of mom’s cooking.
I know, deep thoughts on recipes and my boys when I should have been getting sleep for the hunt the next day, but it was clear as day what it was I needed to do. I had to take my knowledge of digital marketing and website design and mix it with my love of cooking and recipe development to build a place that my boys could visit when they left home and to remember home.
Mountain Girl Camp was my ode to that idea that came to me at hunting camp, cooking those foods we harvest, and the strength that is hidden in being the only woman at hunting camp getting up with the guys at 4 am to head for the mountains for the fall hunt. Mountain Girl Camp is my gift to my boys and hopefully something that you can enjoy along with them.
Love of Writing and the Outdoors
Beyond my love for writing in general, I also spend a lot of time exploring the great outdoors.
With my husband by my side, we raise our two boys to learn what our small Rocky Mountain community has to offer. From fishing and hunting to camping and backpacking, we enjoy the outdoors while trying to teach our boys what it means to live off the land with foraging and gardening. Yes, we have electricity in our house, and yes, we have normal jobs, but come Friday, we’re packing our bags and heading for the mountains.
My husband was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains; in fact, his family homesteaded in the small town of Kremmling, Colorado. He didn’t grow up hunting, but there were plenty of people around him that did, and as soon as he was given the opportunity to learn, he was bringing in enough meat to stock us up for the winter. He has since taught our boys and me how to hunt. But our love of hunting goes beyond venison and fish; from mushrooms and pine nuts to canning Colorado grown fruits and vegetables, we’ve learned a lot through the years, and my hope is that Mountain Girl Camp will help you learn from our experiences.
About Me – Kasy Allen, Mountain Girl
Hi, my name is Kasy (rhymes with sassy) Allen. I grew up in a small Texas town called Palestine. It’s actually bigger than where I live now – they have a Wal-Mart (our entire county doesn’t even have a Wal-Mart, but we did recently get a Dollar General, so at least we don’t have to worry about where to get new underwear now).
I grew up on the outskirts of town in a farming community. We weren’t farmers, but my dad was a ranch hand, so I spent plenty of time on the farm. I’ve been covered in cow sh*t (don’t ask) and have seen things that would scare the b’jebus out of you when it comes to growing up on a farm, but that was my everyday life.
It was actually just us scaring ourselves with ghost stories that we told each other while sitting in abandoned cars in the middle of fields.
I had a short stint in Houston – of all places – and eventually moved to Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado – population 500 at the time. Needless to say, I’ve always been a small-town girl and love raising my kiddos in the same environment. Hot Sulphur now has 700 residents – wow, we’ve grown – and still has one convince store and 1-2 restaurants off-and-on. We are tiny here, but we have the Colorado River out our front yard, have a free shooting range within miles of us, and when it comes to hunting season, we don’t have far to go. For us, this is where we belong.
We pride ourselves on bringing home meat that we hunt or fish for, instead of getting it from the grocery store. We love roaming the forest mid-fall, right after the first freeze and gathering rose hips for jelly, we love gathering pine nuts so we don’t have to pay the overpriced grocery store prices for them, and most of all, we love that the Colorado River and the Rocky Mountains are right outside our door, which gives us easy access to do all of the things we love. We also respect the things we harvest and give grace and honor to the land and spirits.
In the winter, we love to snowshoe and hunt for small game. I love it because it’s exercise for us and the dogs. I also love it because it gives me the opportunity to learn more about my DSLR camera. My husband loves it because he still gets the opportunity to hunt after big game hunting seasons are over. Yes, things like squirrels and grouse are very, very small game to bring home, but after we have a few stocked in the freezer, we have enough for a meal.
What, Squirrel?
Yes, we consume squirrels. I grew up on random wild game like squirrel, raccoon, and quail. I’ve never been above consuming small game, and feel strongly that wild game is far healthier for my family than grocery store meats. Thank goodness, my husband agrees with me.
We also like deer and elk, of course, but also duck, dove, grouse, crawfish (yes, we do have those up here in the high Rockies), and pretty much anything else that we can legally hunt. We’ve had rattlesnake before too, but it came from the Front Range, not from the mountains.
We believe in being responsible for the foods we consume, which is why we also forage for wild foods that grow in our area and turned our entire backyard into a garden. To learn more about how I got into hunting, check out this post.
What’s the Point?
I suppose I’m helping you understand the ‘what-you-can-expect’ from this website. I’ve posted recipes thus far and hope to post many more, but I’ll also be posting about our outdoor adventures, hunting, training our dogs, and raising kids. If any of these things offend you (those darn kids), maybe this website isn’t for you. However, if you’re game for learning about how life is living in a small Rocky Mountain Colorado town, stick around for more.
