Fly Fishing

Well, no, this doesn't have to do with fly fishing, but it is a lovely specimen seen when we were checking out places to fish. While photographing this beauty I didn't realize I was walking through a mess of what Missourians call "sticktights"...tiny burrs the size of a flea that stick to socks, shoelaces, pants, shoes, anything that comes their way, very opportunistic little nuisances! I found myself picking them out of shoelaces a whole week later.

Ed & Carol Hovasse are here in a rented cabin (quite a nice one, I might add), and in anticipation of their arrival on Aug. 15 we scouted out some additional fly fishing venues. E did try his luck, with no success, in an area the guys had fished last year, on Cebolla Creek in the Powderhorn Valley. Aside from mosquitoes, it's a nice place to just BE.

This bluebird waited, somewhat impatiently, for us to vacate the area of his nest so he could continue his feeding duties.

Ed & Ed are out fishing as I write this, in one of the many "catch & release" trout waters in the vicinity.

Despite the rain, they'll have fun. For eating, we fish at Lake San Cristobal which is regularly stocked. Recently Joe, the RV Pk Manager, took Ed & Ed out in his boat to fish at the "honey hole" where the larger trout hang out on the bottom, 28' below the surface. They had a great time, got their limit.

Yesterday Edmund & I fished at the lake for a while, he caught his limit of 4, I didn't get a bite. We traded places and still he caught another & I had no bites! As we were leaving (rain started) I asked E to pull my line up while I gathered up gear. Lo & behold, there was a fish on the line when he began reeling it in! The line broke in some weeds, luckily, I might have conked him one if he'd caught yet another fish & I got none.
We brought his catch home, cleaned them, later cooked them on the grill on a soaked, steaming, smoking cedar plank. Delicious!

Fence crossovers are typically used to provide access to fishing areas on public lands adjacent to roads; several are found along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway (Highway 149) and these fishing spots are heavily used throughout the season.

This elbow turn in the Lake Fork River is reached by climbing over a fence crossover and appears enticing; further examination of the rocky route from the road level to the river convinces us that we ain't mountain goats and have no business trying this descent!

ATV rides have provided much pleasure this summer; here is a "guys group ride" (meaning fast & furious)...Edmund is third from the right, green shirt. Note that one rider brought his Jack Russell terrier along. "Keeper" is an experienced rider, loves it!

Here Edmund puts our new ATV with power steering onto the trailer...yes, it's a cap on his head now, but during all our rides we do wear helmets, both of us, no matter how hot & uncomfortable they are (and they ARE).

Here we're just showing off that new, bright, shiny, no-dirt-yet ATV, riding around the RV Park. That's me in the white hair & big belly! It's all a matter of lighting (oh, yeah?)