As a kid, my grandpa and I would load up his old Ford truck and go fishing every day in the summer. Whenever I caught one, he would be so happy. The next day, we would go to church, and he would tell everybody, "You won't believe what Darryl caught!"

Later, my grandpa got me into hunting, too. He taught me how to shoot, respect the land, and, most importantly, enjoy every moment outdoors.

Today, I am so blessed to live this life full time.

I am out there every day, hunting, fishing, and filming as part of 24.7Hunt. I want to show people — especially kids and folks who do not always see themselves in this world — that you can look any kind of way. You can hunt however you want. You can listen to whatever music. Because the outdoors is for everybody.

Ford has been with me every step of the journey. My 2024 F-150 Lariat is not just a truck to me. It gets me where I need to go and powers the whole experience. Literally.

Last year, I took on one of my wildest trips yet, chasing elk out West with a cameraman. From my house in Camden, Arkansas, to McCall, Idaho, it is 28 hours, pulling a trailer the whole way. Instead of staying in a hotel or lodge, I slept in the trailer. I plugged the trailer into my F-150 Lariat truck’s ProPower Onboard to get heat and air conditioning. That is how we got through the nights and the bad thunderstorms. I even hooked it up to Starlink to FaceTime my wife and kids back home.

We were 25 or 30 miles off paved roads, so having a reliable, four-wheel-drive truck that could go off-road, around bends, and up mountains was most important. You have to be able to trust your truck, because being that far from home, you do not have time for failures.

I was gone for 17 days, and my Ford F-150 is a big part of the reason I could stay out there for so long. But after all that time, I still did not get an elk.

So after coming home for a day, I went to Colorado with some buddies for another week and finally was successful. I brought a 298-inch bull to the ground. It was a surreal moment — one of those things I wanted to do since my grandpa bought me my first gun. I ended up traveling 5,500 miles of road, plus walking 62 miles up and down mountains, to get it done. It was emotional.

The F-150 plays a big role in our family life, too. The kids are 1, 2, and 3 years old, and it fits all three car seats. The five of us took an 8-hour road trip to the beach for a recent vacation, and everybody was comfortable the whole time. The kids were able to watch movies, listen to music, and look up through the twin panel at nighttime. They love watching the stars.

My two oldest sons love to say, "Daddy, can we go fishing today?" So we go down to the pond two or three times a week. I back the truck up to the water, and they sit on the Pro Access tailgate to fish.

As a dad, it is so special, because it takes me back to when I was a kid and my grandpa took the time to spend with me. I get a heartwarming feeling every time we go out. If we catch fish, cool. If we do not catch fish, it is still cool, because we are spending time together.

Darryl Moore is a Team F-150 ambassador.