Happy Friday Fish

is that a smile? Does this look like a happy fish? Sort of looks like a smile.

He's happy 'cause he knows I'm going to let him go free.

Friday Fish Friends

So many people would ask us if we had the fish named and we'd say "Yes, they're our friends."

Here's one of our Friday Fish Friends

Friday Fish on my Mind

I try to take time on Friday and remember the good times we had on the river. Actually, I think about the good times everyday!

Fall to Winter to Summer - Huh?

Back in October we saw the leaves change from green to yellow, orange, gold, and red. Ahhh, the changing of the colors! There was a crispness in the air and it was beautiful! Everyone was anticipating colder weather and better fishing.

Soon after we had the colder weather and a couple days of snow, followed by many more days of snow. Lots of snow in fact, but we had a small window of opportunity to head south away from the freezing cold snow and we took the opportunity. We knew that the snow was not going to go away and if we wanted to escape we'd have to get going. I was a little sad to think that we'd be leaving.

The snow was unreal! It was an eerie sight looking out the windows at midnight, like we were on another planet. A moonscape. And when the sun was shining, it was like a field of sparkling diamonds had been scattered. Having never been in that much snow for that long, I thought it was magical. It was so quiet with the usual sounds muffled by the deep frozen white pillows. Beautiful to look at, but no fun to walk on the icy paths. And impossible to drive in. We were "snowed in" for a couple days and that was an odd feeling. I wondered what it would be like to spend the entire winter in such conditions.





This is how we usually spend our winters. Back in Arizona where the only thing sparkling is the sun.

Another FINe Friday Fish

What a 'fin'e fish! Fine! Fine! Really Fine!

Friday Fish 'Fin'-d

What a 'fin'd!

Settled in

I think everyone has called, emailed or stopped by to see that we are once again home in Arizona. Settled in for at least a little while. And it sure is nice to be here. The place looks good, the community had a spiffy upgrade over the summer, and the weather can't be beat. Arizona has got to be one of the best places to spend the winter.

But yes, I'm still going to talk about fishing. And a little on living in the motorhome.

Friday Fish ~ Tiny Fins

With a 3 weight fly rod on a small stream, even these fish are fun! And there are always a few surprise fish hanging out in the deeper pools. This is a great way to let beginners get the feel of catching fish on a fly rod.

You just can't yank them out of the water or the little guys go flying over your head into the grass!

Rio on the Rio

It's a good feeling when you get good customer service. And such was the feeling when we needed help from Rio Products.

Rick had purchased a new Rio Gold fly line and had used it for a while when the tip of the line started to separate. Like the outer coating was separating from the core. Since it was only the first 16" or so of the line we thought it couldn't be caused by moving through the ferrules of the rod so we called Rio to see if they would replace the line. The company has been in business for a long time and we knew they stood behind their stuff. We'd used their fly fishing products for years and knew many fishing guides who also did. We called the company and immediately spoke with a gentleman who asked us to send them a note and a piece of the bad line. He understood that we were fishing, apologized for any inconvenience and said if they found it to be something wrong with the line they would have a new line out to us in a couple days. And he was correct. Without any questions we had a new line in our hands in just a couple days. This is truly great customer service.

Rio Fly Fishing Products

I'd been looking at another line for next year, made by another company, but I think I'll just stick with what I know is good and reliable. And with a company that stands behind their products. Thank you Rio!

Missin the Fishin!

I miss the fish!

Ahhhh... the warmth

We've been in Las Vegas at the Thousand Trails park for about 2 weeks and it's been wonderful! Warmer than Montana, not as hot as Arizona. The weather has been in the 80's and we've been thawing out from the snow and ice. This year LV has been our transition spot on the way north and south. Not surprising to see some our neighbors here from our home community. You can tell from the photo that it's one of the most popular TTN parks. Lots of trailers and motorhomes!

We're not big on gambling, but we've been trying our luck at the seafood buffets. We enjoy the Friday night seafood buffets and the Sunday champagne brunch buffets with the main purpose of finding crab legs! Rick said the Wizard, Time Bandit and Cornelia Marie need to go back out to sea for more crab and restock the buffets!

This has also been a good time to reorganize the motorhome. Not that we needed to do much, but it's nice to be able to pull out some of the stuff and decide if we're going to leave it in Arizona or take it to Goodwill. I made one trip with an armload of old t-shirts to the Goodwill store right next door. How convenient to have it close by.

It's also been a time to clean. Rick took the Fantastic Fans apart and cleaned them and I did the windows inside and out. I definitely don't like to go any higher than the second rung, but I ventured up to the third to reach the tall windows outside. I still had to ask Rick to get the highest spots. I emptied the refrigerator and cleaned it now instead of having to do it when we get home. Because of the bumpy ride it develops little black marks from the cans rubbing and I like to get rid of them. Rick was able to take the fishing gear out from the basement storage bays and repack it. I used the cleaning product "Eliminate" on our shower and it looks brand-sparkling-new. (Thank you Harry!) The hard water leaves spots all over, but "Eliminate" gets rid of it with little scrubbing. Rick also checked the motorhome fluid levels and the tires. Tomorrow the rugs will get a good shake and I'll clean the tile floors thoroughly. It's more convenient having water and electric hookups while cleaning. It's also cooler here than in AZ. In between the cleaning we've been walking, solving jigsaw puzzles and reading. We both love the puzzles - especially the 1000 piece puzzles.

We have a few more days here, a couple more buffet meals, and then we'll continue our journey south.

Friday Fish - Or eel?

This rainbow was 23" long, but my goodness, was it skinny! The head was very large and out of proportion to it's body. It reminded me of the moray eels of the Florida Keys, not a Montana rainbow trout!