Hey, congratulations, beautiful animal.
By the time you have an elk cut, wrapped, and in the freezer, you know that by damn you have done something. Adventure, sweat, sore muscles, comradery, some of the most beautiful country God has created, elk hunting has it all. Damn shame there isn't room for oxygen in that country.
Put in my fourth hunt this fall. Until you have done it, there just is no good explaination. Took a buddy with this last trip. He wanted to go before but could not understand why I'm less excited about deer hunting now and spend all my time on this Elk thing. He gets it now. I used to tell him that it is a once in a lifetime hunt that can occur every year.