Rick & Mickey have left the river!

The last few days of summer were magical. Well, more than just the last few days. The entire summer has been wonderful. What a perfect way to de-stress from work. The magic is not just the fishing, but the friendly people we've met and been lucky to spend time with. The fishing is not the primary reason we've hung around until the end of September.

The temps have been cool, but just barely warm enough to keep wet wading. The temps overnight were sometimes down to freezing, but nice by noon and through the afternoon. Two or three layers of long sleeves kept us warm. The crowds of anglers were fewer and with the water flowing at only 33 cfs, there were no guided drift boats. Just the rare raft or kick-boat. The fish were pickier which meant we had to be trickier. What some call 'technical' fishing. Some like easy fishing, some like a challenge. At times it's been a top rated challenge.

We love to fish! We are retired and this is what we planned to do when we stopped working. We know how fortunate we are. Fly fishing is something we share and we love to do together. On one of our last days I wandered downriver, away from the other 3 guys fishing, and totally out of Rick's sight. I walked down the river bank and around a bend and couldn't hear anyone else on the river. I could have been on another river it was so foreign. I landed a couple decent size rainbows and enjoyed the satisfaction, but it wasn't the same without Rick there. I definitely enjoy sharing my fishing moments with Rick.

We'd been in Montana about 100 days. It was time to leave, to attend to personal business and to visit family. We miss family. We're not sure where we'll spend next summer, but we have our Mobile Fishing Lodge to take us there. Fortunate, yes, we are.