Love of the outdoors keeps husband-wife state archery champs going strong
WES SMALLING Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:00 am
More than two decades ago, Dan Perry walked into a tack shop in Cody to pick up some last minute supplies for a wilderness hunting trip. But after striking up a conversation with the cute girl working in the store, he almost never left that night for his two-week trek on horseback.
He hung around for hours talking to Michelle. Finally he left for his hunting trip, but only after promising to come back to show her photos of his adventure - a clever ploy to make sure they saw each other again.
"It worked," he says, smiling, with the girl from the tack shop at his side all these years later.
Next week Dan and Michelle Perry will celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary. The Thermopolis couple is also celebrating their second year in a row winning the Wyoming State Archery Association's male and female Shooter of the Year awards.
The association gives the awards to the top male, female and youth competitors who have accumulated the most tournament points in a season - 8 points for a first-place finish down to 5 points for participating. The Perrys are hard-core archers who rarely miss an event.
"It's not like I'm the greatest shooter or anything," Dan said at the Feb. 2 State Vegas Tournament held at Stuckenhoff's Shooting Complex in Casper - an event he would go on to win in the over-55 age division. The competition was the State Archery Association's first of the 2008-2009 season.
Michelle also notched a first place win that day in the women's division. She rarely finishes out of the winning circle. The 49-year-old archer tallied 18 first-place finishes last year.
The competition is tougher for Dan in the crowded men's division, but there's usually a few good female shooters at each tournament to put the heat on Michelle. Not that she needs help keeping the heat turned on. Archery is more of a competition with yourself than with other people, she says.
"It's a self-discipline thing. It's a goal to keep getting better."
The Perrys have been shooting competitively for four years. Practicing three times a week during winter and every day in summer has helped them soar to the top of the state standings. When they're not slinging arrows, they're exploring Wyoming's outdoors - venturing into wilderness areas on horseback hunting elk, moose and other big game.
"Our whole life is together. We do everything together," Michelle says. "The only time we're apart is when we're working or something and even then we'll meet for lunch. It's just a romantic love story for 21 years."
"Lots of adventures," Dan says. "We could write a book about our adventures."
One such adventure took place last fall when they watched helplessly as a grizzly bear dragged away Michelle's elk - just another exciting episode in two decades of outdoor travels together.
They share the little moments too, the things of everyday life, not just the big stuff like grizzlies, moose hunting and winning archery tournaments.
"We're not just husband and wife. We're best friends," Dan says. "That's what it's all about."