Ocean-to-Ocean Bicycle Ride

Our new acquaintance, Todd Larsen, has started off on his cross country, ocean to ocean, 60 day, 4,400 mile, bicycle ride. This is going to be a journey to follow! Todd is riding his bicycle from Oregon to Virginia to show support for Jared, his 21 year old nephew. Jared has been living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy for 16 years and his courage and determination has inspired Todd to make this journey of a lifetime.

You can read about Jared's life and Todd's trek at http://jaredsmiles.org/. From there you can find a link to the daily ride blog or go here http://jaredsmiles.blogspot.com/.  Be sure to bookmark these links or add them to your Google Reader. You can also easily become a Follower on his blog and post comments. Todd has posted about a half dozen times to the blog so it's easy to catch up on his preparations and his first few days in Oregon. Todd's descriptive and creative writing style has already got me looking forward to his next day. We wish him much luck and safe travels as he makes his way through 11 states.

The ride will be tough going for Todd, but I'm sure not as tough a time as Jared has had through his life-journey. Todd is hoping to raise awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In addition, he is hoping to raise money for Jared's medical expenses and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. No donations will go toward the bike ride. It's an interesting blog, an adventurous undertaking, a touching look into someone else's life, and a heartwarming glimpse at the love of an uncle for his nephew. Stay safe Todd, stay strong Jared.

Ryan Reichle = A River Angel

Ryan Reichle was a river angel. One of those people who enjoyed the river and wanted others to feel the joy of being on the river. I can’t say I knew Ryan really well – other than running into him at the fly shop, we didn’t hang out together off the river. But we saw each other on the river on a regular basis and he was always friendly, helpful, and polite.

It was probably 2004 the first time we met Ryan, on the river of course. I was bringing in a big fish, wondering if I’d land it, hoping I’d land it, when this fishing guide in a big white cowboy hat leaves his clients and walks towards me with his big boat net. He asked if he could net my fish for me. Of course! Please! And with that, Ryan netted my fish and we released it and became river-side friends. I don’t believe he offered to net the fish just because I was a woman either. When you saw Ryan with his clients you could see that he was doing his best to ensure they caught fish and had fun.

We looked forward to talking with Ryan. He willingly shared his knowledge of fly fishing and traded flies with us. He didn’t play the “secret fly game” that some guys do. He let me play fetch with his dog and showed off Henry’s doggie tricks and good manners. He loved both of his dogs. The last time we saw Ryan was September of last year when the river flow was shut off. Yes, he was fishing on his day off with his 2 dogs and a friend. Knowing it was his day off, we didn’t want to intrude on his peace, but I did take a couple photos of him. I thought it was special that he would be on the river fishing with his dogs nearby, being where he worked and earned his living, but doing what he wanted to do on his day off. I think if you are a guide and you also love to fish, you will know what I’m trying to say.

We’ve been looking for Ryan since May 16, wondering if the next boat floating downstream would be the Keffler with a black and white dog sitting proudly in his spot. When we saw someone on the oars wearing a big straw cowboy hat we hoped it would be Ryan so we could find out about his winter adventures. But we hadn’t seen him and now we know we won’t. His passing has been on my mind all week and I’m still trying to find the words of how I feel.

How confused and sad I am. I cannot begin to understand why. I don’t understand the depth or darkness of it. I don’t know why and never will. I just know Ryan Reichle will be missed by many.

Fish pix

Rick caught a nice fish and I caught a nice fish and we both happened to be around the camera when we caught them so we have pictures to share. Often we don't get photos because the other one doesn't stop fishing to take the photo. That's OK, but every so often it works out that we're both around to snap the other. Notice in Rick's photo Clover is in the background of one and I turned to get Ritzy in the background of the other. The dogs love to follow us down to the river and just hang out while we fish. I put these 2 fish into a 4-photo collage and I'll see how it looks on the blog. I made it my computer background for now.

I believe Rick's fish was bigger, and I only point this out because I know who will be making comparisons. Rick says I know how to hold the fish closer to the camera so it looks larger than life. What do you think? These were both caught on size 20 nymphs (fished on the bottom of the river with a little weight) and released alive back into the river. No, we didn't invite the fish to dinner.

Cool weather turns to warm weather

Lets take a break from talking about blogging and lets do some blogging. More on blogging later.

The weather for the past 2 or 3 weeks has been more cool than warm and more wet than dry. And I'm lovin' it! What a pleasure to have cool weather in June. Although Arizona hasn't been bad, with record cool temps for 14 days, the longest stretch of days below 100 degrees for the month of June since 1913. Although we've had wet weather in Montana, there has been an unexpected increase in the number of fishermen in 'our' stretch of the river. The rain has meant the streams that feed into the bigger river are usually muddy, causing muddy conditions downstream of where we fish. That means the fishermen are looking for the clear water and the better fishing conditions. That's meant increased pressure on the fish and the space they live in.

The reservoirs and lakes in the Upper Missouri Basin are at high levels, quite different than the past few years. Some reservoirs are even at 100% capacity, like the one near us. That may change soon when the weather turns warm this coming week. We're in the 70's, going up to 80 degrees in a few days. Most of the snow in the surrounding mountains has melted, filling the reservoirs. But the farmers are getting ready to cut their first harvest of hay and then they will call for an increase in the water flow so they can irrigate their fields. The river has been in the low 200 cfs area for the past week or so. Very easy for me to wade, but the fish are having to find any little deep run to hang in.

Rick and I have found that we don't have to fish every day, although I'll ask him over and over again if he wants to go. I've relaxed a little and don't ask, I'll let him tell me when he wants to fight for a spot on the river. This afternnon, between the hail and the rain storms, we walked down to the river to check it out. The river flow is down, making for a smaller river. When we got to the river we could see at least 7 fishermen immediately upstream and at least 10 more immediately downstream, with about 3 vying for space where we were standing. Crowded to say the least. And many of them were fishing their own wake, not even casting to fish. They were just letting their sinkers and flies sink at their feet where the fish were stacking up behind them. On the San Juan River this is called the San Juan Shuffle and as many know, it is illegal on some rivers. We don't think its very sportman-like and it's funny to see the frustrated fishermen try for the fish that are eating at their feet, opportunistically eating the bugs being kicked up.

In the next post I plan to share some new photos and some video with our new camera.

When to Blog? part 4

I don't know if there are any 'rules' about when to blog. I say you should blog when you have something to say and somedays I feel compelled to post even if I don't know what to say. It might be better to remain quiet. You might only have time to post once a week or you might be able to post everyday. It does take some effort and a committment to consistently write something meaningful everyday. I seem to go in spurts. Some bloggers only add text once a month. If you are posting lots of your own photos, that process can take a lot more time. Although a photo is said to be worth a thousand words - and a photo can easily tell the story. I love to use photos in my posts.

I've read that sending comments to another blog is a way to let the author know someone is reading and they care about what's being shared. Making a comment can mean a lot to some bloggers. And I've read that it's proper etiquette to reply to all comments that are made on your blog. I try to do that, but I don't get that many comments.

Since we usually post about fly fishing, RV travel in our motorhome, retirement living, family and a few other topics, I usually have something to say. One of the greatest aspects of having a blog is that I can write what I want, when I want. There are rules (laws) about inappropriate content obviously, but there is much freedom of speech with a blog.

Who Blogs? part 3

Everyone blogs. Well, almost everyone. I have neighbors who have never used a computer so they don't blog. I know teenage bloggers and bloggers in their 90's. If you don't blog I bet you personally know someone who does.

Google Blogger makes it so easy that almost anyone can create one. You can make your blog private and invite only the people you want to read it. That's what the teenage girl does who I know. Her parents try to make sure that she is safe on the Internet. You can add the ability for others to make comments or you can prohibit comments all together. If you have something to share, something you want a record of, or if you like to write a daily journal, then maybe creating a blog is for you.

We've met a ambitious man named Todd Larsen who is just starting a blog. We met when he found our blog on-line and had some questions about blogging. He's about to embark on a 4,500 mile cross-country solo bicycle ride from the west coast to the east coast. He will use his website and blog to track his progress and to communicate with his nephew. He is inspired by his 21 year old nephew, Jared Larsen, to make this journey to raise awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disease his nephew has lived with for more than 16 years. I'll share more about the ride in another post. In the meantime, you can check it out at this link http://jaredsmiles.org/index.html. I can't wait to read all about Todd's bike trip of a lifetime.

Perhaps you've thought about writing a book or short stories? If authoring a book is your dream then I don't suggest putting your stories out there in a blog. However, if you cannot keep up with all your emails or wish you had more time to communicate with family and friends, then a blog might be for you. It doesn't cost anything, other than your time, and if you decide you don't like it you can abandon it later.

What's a Blog? part 2

What's a blog? It's a web log. A method of communication. A diary or journal. For me it's a way to let family and friends know where we are and what we're doing. It's a way to share photos and experiences, thoughts and information, text and videos.

You can easily find blogs about anything and everything. Some are ramblings, some are knowledge bases. Some are about one topic, others take many different directions and cover a variety of subjects. If you're interested in a hobby, career, or nothing specific = you can find a blog about it. Politics, entertainment, sports, technology, parenting, food, life lessons, travel, or the world. Literally, anything.

Google isn't the only blog provider, but its the one I use. Creating your own blog on Google is literally as easy as 1-2-3. Here is their instruction link if you are interested.  https://www.blogger.com/start

For the most part, you don't need to know anything about coding or too much about computer technology. Google Blogger makes it very simple to chose a template and even to customize it if you want. There are many website bulletin boards and forums that provide an area for members of the forum to create a personal blog. Some that I know of are FMCA, iRV2 and the Good Sam RV Club, all related to Rving. They provide the blog space and encourage bloggers to post their comments and share experiences with others.

A blog can be private and personal, with restricted access or you can make your blog public to everyone. Some blogs are very interactive and the people who read them get to know each other and become friends. If you are going to create a blog take a look at the rules and regulations of the site. I've heard that some websites become the owners of your blog content and material you create. I believe it was FaceBook that has that disclaimer. Google Blogger allows a easy method to backup all your blog content onto your own hard drive whenever you want. Google Blogger also interacts easily with Picasa for photo/video storage and posting.

If you have questions, send me a comment and I'll try to answer.

Why Blog? part 1

I started this blog about 2 years ago when we were only thinking of retirement. I created the first posting in October 2007, but didn't do much with it. I thought a blog would be an easy way to share our travel adventures with family and maybe friends. Cell phones are good, but we've got a lot of family. And we can share photos and videos with a blog. So I thought I'd give it a try.

Another reason for this blog was so that I'd remember where we'd been and what we'd thought about it. Back in 1985 when we retired the first time, we went everywhere, and we went quickly. We moved around so much and visited so many places that I don't remember it all. Back then I kept a written journal and the daily entries quickly started sounding the same. "Visited nice campground, met nice people, saw the sights." I figured this blog-thing would be a good way to keep a record for ourselves of our trips.

Setting up a blog on Google is an easy process. 1-2-3 and it's done. Last spring while we waited at Guaranty RV Service Center in Junction City, Oregon for our motorhome I showed a few people how to create a blog. I jokingly said it's a class called "The blog you never knew you needed." It can be a lot of work and it can be a lot of fun. Some people update their blog everyday, some once a week, some even less often. Some are photographers sharing their art, some are gardeners and cooks, some are moms with young children sharing stories and advice. Some are retirees traveling in their RV's. I've even found a few fly fisher people sharing their fishing tales.

There are many reasons to blog. Some bloggers want to share their adventures, tell their story, voice their opinions, and check off their accomplishments. Some make money by selling their wares on-line and attract many visitors and receive lots of comments. Many have lots of interaction on their blogs with their "followers" and develop friendships. Some bloggers put ads on their sites and get some type of payment from the ad companies based upon clicks or visitors. I don't get too many visitors nor do I get many comments, which is OK with us. Every so often another blogger mentions my blog on their blog and I should do more of the same. I should reciprocate, especially when I find their blog informative. It's nice when someone thinks our blog is interesting.

I know there are many who know more about blogging choices than I do. Perhaps some of you who are reading have a blog or have thought about starting a blog. I'm not going to do a lot of research on blogging facts, something you can look up yourself if you're interested in stats or numbers. Instead, as with all my posts, I'm just sharing my thoughts and experiences. I think I'll post again on this subject because I get lots of questions about blogging. I have more to say and will try to answer some of the questions I get asked about blogging. Thanks for stopping by.

10,000+

We recently passed the 10,000 mark with the number of visitors to our blog. I guess that's an accomplishment of sorts. Some type of milepost. We don't win anything for hitting 10,000 posts. Although we only get about 20 visitors a day, it eventually adds up. We've also made more than 300 posts.

woo-who

On the left sidebar, toward the bottom of the left side, I've added another visitor counter that shows the visitor's country. I've had visitors from all over the world at times and thought this would be an interesting stat to share. I've added a couple other widgets offered by Google Blogger and some from other third party sites. I think I'll take the next couple postings and blog about blogging. My who, what, when, where, why, and how of blogging.

Being on Vacation vs Retirement

The difference between being on vacation and being retired is that when you're retired you have more time to be on vacation.

I came up with that one on my own the other day when it was rainy and cold. We were sitting in our warm motorhome (how many times have I said that lately?), and we were watching the other fishermen in the campground getting ready to go fishing. They were putting on waders, jackets and raincoats and they were going fishing come rain or come shine. They were only here for a couple of days, either on vacation or here for the weekend, and they only had these few days to fish and enjoy themselves.

We on the other hand, are on permanent vacation. So when it's raining and cold and windy, we don't have to go fishing. We can just live our life like "there's always tomorrow", as Rick likes to say. Actually, one of our mottos has always been "Live for today, plan for tomorrow" because you really never know if there will be a tomorrow. Another one of our mottos is "There's more to life than money", although I say "Money makes the world go 'round". Another one Rick used to say, when we were working, is "You better enjoy what you're doing. If not, go find something you like to do."

I don't know how I got sidetracked with life mottos, but perhaps you've got some of your own.

Mid-June Fishing Report

We've been here a month! Can you believe it?!? This is about the time we got to the river last year. Nice to know that we've had a wonderful 30 days of fly fishing. This last month has been the earliest that we've ever been here and it's been different and good.

Those who know what the fish are eating and have the right flies are catching lots of fish. The water came up to 330 cfs and it's been typical Montana weather. We fished this morning from 10:00 until 1:00 - when the clouds opened up and we got wet. We didn't take our rain gear, but that was OK. (We will the next time we fish.) By 1:00 there were a 'few' other fisherpeople and we'd caught more than our share. We called it a day and got wet walking home to the motorhome. We spent the rest of the day reading, tying flies, and puttzy-ing around the motorhome. There are more campers in the campground than we've ever seen. That's good for the campground owners, but the river can get a little crowded in the easy to reach areas. Most of the campers have boats and fish on the lake, thankfully. We'll have to walk a little upriver or down if we want to get away from the people.

Rick had tied some lemon yellow colored scud-like nymphs in size 18 and they were on the fish's morning menu. This afternoon he tied up some size 16 nymphs that are green to imitate the numerous caddis larva that cling to our wading boots. They are rather large compared to the PMD emergers and if I was a fish I'd go for the larger bugs. I'll let you know if the green caddis larva imitations work or not.

We're starting to see the PMD's flying around, more each day. Today was the second day that I've found a fish continuously feeding on dry flies. I haven't switched up to dry flies yet, but I've started carrying them in my chest pack. Rick keeps egging me to change up, get the splitshot off my tippit, and see if I can catching a rising trout. I probably will the next time I see a fishing hanging in a feeding lane taking off the surface. I told Rick that nymph fishing on a cloudy day is like dry fly fishing with a blindfold on. Most of the time (sunny days) we can see the fish we are throwing nymphs to and we say we are sight-fishing with nymphs. But when the sun is hidden in the clouds and the fish become invisible, you are just casting your nymphs where you think the fish will be. And when they surprise you and take off with your nymph, that's exciting! Totally different than fishing with dry flies on the surface. I'll let you know when I make the change to dry flies.

Wonderful Wednesday

The river's flow has been dropped to about 200 cfs which makes it oh-so easy for me to wade. I can go anywhere I want without being washed away. The water has continuously dropped for the past few days, from 600 cfs to 200 cfs, making each day a different experience for us AND the fish. The trout are finding new places to hang out and we're searching for them. The water is rather skinny in places and the fish are finding the deeper runs to hide from the anglers.

Today we walked to the river around 10 AM and there was no one there but us, the osprey and the fish. And Clover the Wonder Dog. It was so peaceful.

Soon after we were joined by a few other fisherpeople, but it was not crowded. Yesterday had been a great day of "catching" for me and I have to thank Rick for his ability to create very successful flies. Today was also good. We both caught some large, healthy trout. They're not skinny; they are fat, tall, broad shouldered. The fish are about 20 and the flies are about 20. We used a variety of nymphs yesterday and today, with success on the 20 PT (with and without flash), 20 black, 20 "thread" nymph in red, black or green, 20 lightening bug, 20 hare's ear, 20 Ray Charles, and more size 20's. In case you're not familar with size 20 flies, they're about the size of a grain of rice, maybe smaller. The fish are about 20", some 18", some 20+. Perhaps because it's still the beginning of the season and they haven't been caught before, but they sure do run and jump and splash and wiggle and go in circles, mad at being fooled by a fake fly on a hook. They rip up, down and literally in circles. We've both had a few fish break-off from our 5X tippit and we've cleaned up a few fish that were trailing someone else's broken tippit with fly still attached.

Temporary, but pretty snow

I knew it would snow! I got up around 4 AM and could see large snowflades blowing past the living room windows and sticking to our large one-piece windshield. The picnic table and our car had a light blanket of the white stuff. Thank goodness the warm electric blanket was keeping the bed warm while I was up taking photos - with the window open! It was cold in the motorhome, but Rick warmed me up when I got back in bed.

We awoke to snow-covered ground and hillsides.





Rick took photos when the sun came up, while I was still in bed waiting for the heater to warm the motorhome before I got out from under the covers. I realize many live in areas where snow is a seasonal event, but having lived in Arizona for many years, this is new to us. A rare event for us.

I doubt that we will fish today. The temps will stay in the 40's, with thunderstorms predicted again.

When the lingering clouds lifted mid-day, we could see the surrounding mountains got a nice top coat of snow. This is great for the lake and river levels.

What's new?

The weather is new. It had been shorts & t-shirt weather for the first couple weeks, but this last week is new. For the past few days we've had cold days and afternoon thunderstorms. Brrrr cold! We're somewhere between a low of 40 and a chilly high of 50 degrees. Yesterday was drizzly, but we had a nice morning = so we fished. When the big, black, billowy thunder clouds rolled in we walked the short distance back to the motorhome. Those who were floating the river in their drift boats tried to stay dry until they can get to their take-out spot. Not too bad if you are prepared and the wind is blowing the right direction to take you down river.

The forecast yesterday was for rain all day, but at 9:00 AM it was sunny, so by 10:00 we were on the river. And we fished for about 5 hours. Until the rain and approaching thunder chased us off. We're careful when it comes to avoiding lightening and know when to call it a day.

There were lots of people trying to catch fish today, but it was a tough task to figure what the fish were keyed on. And once we thought we had it figured out, the fish changed what they were eating. We talked a while with Russ Kipp, owner of Montana High Country Outfitter, Lodge & Guest Ranch, who was guiding a client. We've met him on the river for the past 5 years. He's on the river almost everyday and he knows what's happening under the surface. His client was catching a good share of fish and he was willing to share with us. Russ even netted one of my fish when I brought it close to shore. If you're curious, here's a link to Russ' website. http://www.mhct.com/index.shtml  He's a very nice guy and he knows how to fish.

Today was supposed to be another really cold day, with rain forecast. We had a leisurely morning, enjoyed breakfast and coffee, Rick tied a few flies and then we watched a good movie recorded on the DVR. We watched The Five People You Meet in Heaven based on Mitch Albom's book and we thought it was pretty good. Around noon I could see blue sky peeking through the clouds so we 'wadered up' and walked to the river. We'd seen a lot of people walk to the river so we weren't too surprised to see a crowded stretch of river. We could hear thunder off in the distance as we walked upstream to where 4 friends from Idaho were fishing. Rick put on a fly that Russ Kipp had recommended the day before and caught a fish right away. I was changing flies when the thunder got louder and the wind picked up. I mean it really started to blow. And it was cold! The river had white caps and looked like it was flowing the wrong direction and I almost lost my hat (that's tied tight to my head!) Rick hooked another fish (that broke him off) as he made his way to me and said "lets go! It's cold!" The wind got fierce and the sky got darker and we just barely made it back to the motorhome before it started to pour. It was not just rain, it was a frozen rain. Not quite hail thank goodness. Our 4 friends stopped by the moho to invite us to dinner which we gladly accepted. I was drenched getting to the car - only about 20 feet away. When I started the car, slushy ice coated the windshield. When we got to the restaurant there was frozen slush ice around the entrance. Rick had been sharing his flies with our friends and he tied a couple more of the new fly so they could fish the rest of the afternoon. After the early dinner we decided that we'd had enough cold weather for one day. The temp had dipped to 39 degrees in the afternoon, the surrounding hills were cloaked in gauze like clouds, and the thunder was still occasionly reminding us of the earlier freezing rain.

As Rick says -- there's always tomorrow. ~~ I just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow and the temps are supposed to be colder, with a possibility of snow. I think I'll wait to tell Rick.

Hurricane season starts June 1

Hurricane season is from June 1 through November 30. When we lived in the Florida Keys we sweated out the hurricanes, watching the storms that formed off the coast of Africa, hoping they would bypass the US east coast. We hope this season is uneventful for those of you on the eastern and southern gulf coast.

In keeping with the season, we had high winds today. Montana is known for severe afternoon thunderstorms and June 1 has brought us our first blustery day. It didn't rain on June 1 (though it was forecast), but we had winds from sun-up and continuing through the night. In fact, high winds and showers are expected to continue through the week. The winds blew at about 30 mph all day long! We knew when we woke up that it would be too windy to enjoy fishing. Fishing in the rain can be great, but the wind can be brutal. The high temperature today was about 56 and the low overnight will be about 40. We have weather!

We spent the day enjoying our warm, cozy motorhome. We have all the comforts of any home. We listened to music, read, Rick tied, I worked on a project, and then we worked a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. We both love to do puzzles and once we start we don't stop until finished. This was an abstract painting of flowers and 13 hummingbirds. I brought enough puzzles to keep us busy all summer, but we might get them all done this week.

A nice weekend

A day of fishin' and a day in town.








Sunrise was beautiful on Saturday.

We fished and had a great day on the river. Rick and I hit the river around 10 AM and although there were a number of others with the same idea, we had a great time. And caught lots of fish. The other 6 fishermen (from Tremonton, Utah) were friendly and we became part of their group - almost. We all moved around the immediate river area so we all had a chance to rotate and fish the different parts of the water. We netted each other's fish and shared flies. A good time for sure.

The weather was on our side.

Sunday we went to town to reprovision = get groceries. The motorhome's freezer was practically empty, as planned, and we bought enough food to last 2 or 3 weeks. Town is just 20 miles away, but we think we'll last another 2 weeks at least. We had a delicious Mexican lunch at the White School Bus, also known as Fiesta Mexicana. It is literally a big white school bus with the back half of it converted into a kitchen and the front half with benches looking out the windows. There's also seating outside and it was very busy. The food is authentic and yummy. We stopped in at Frontier Anglers fly shop, but we missed Tim Tollett who was out fishing the Big Hole River. The guys in the shop were helpful and showed us the flies they recommend. Rick got some more dubbing and some hooks. Seems he can always find something we need for fly tying. Buying materials and tying our own flies is definitely less expensive than buying flies in a shop. And Rick ties great flies. We barbequed hamburgers Sunday evening and watched a movie on the DVR. A good end to a nice weekend.