Random dude drilling hole
And we're off.
The hat was the key
What a pair. No trout left behind.
Nancy's DogSarah has always dreamed of going fishing with her father, Tom. Tom grew up hunting, camping, and fishing. He tried to introduce this to his family while the kids were very young, But Nancy wasn't having it, at all.
So Sarah comes to me and says, I want to go fly fishing with my dad. I say have a good time. I had obviously not understood that she meant, "We are going fly fishing with my dad."
Sarah and I live a good 10 to 11 hour drive from Las Vegas where her parents live. We figured we would meet somewhere in the middle. We (Sarah) picked Leadville Colorado because it lies a very equitable 10 hrs from both of us. Made perfect sense to me.
With one weeks notice and in the midst of the counties biggest town celebration of the year, Sarah was able to find a hotel and a fly fishing guide to accommodate the four of us. We all arrived without incident the night before the great trout massacre was to begin. Nancy promptly got violently ill. From her symptoms I deduced that she was suffering from altitude sickness. Leadville sits well above 10,000 ft and flatlanders do not take to the altitude well. We took steps to ensure her recovery and with all due sympathy extended, we went fishing anyway. (SORRY Nancy).
We met our guide at the shop, fitted ourselves for hip waders, and off we went. We drove to a small fishing hole and practice fly casting in the parking lot. Right a way I could tell that i had missed my calling in life. I was a master fly tosser, or whatever you call it. River runs through it had nothing on me, I was confident to say the least. (surprise, surprise, I know). Sarah was doing well and Tom looked like had hadn't missed a beat since his last trip 30 years earlier.
To the water we strode. I worked out some line, take my stance, observe my arena, and cast with visions of trophy trout hanging above my mantle. I could see the trophy very clearly in my mind. What i could not see any longer was a fly on my line. I had snagged the flies on the weeds behind me and destroyed my line. This would become a theme for the day. My delusions of grandeur faded with each successive branch, tree, rock, my own shoe, small rodent that I caught. At least i had a cool hat. Sarah was faring much better that I. She was able to hit the water with great regularity. Tom was continuing to look impressive.
At the end of the day we had all caught fish had a great time and returned to find Nancy still alive. We went into town to find a bite to eat. We stumbled upon the worlds greatest festival, Boomdays. A celebration of the town's mining heritage. The main street was blocked off, the vendors were in place, the music was ready. All were eagerly anticipating the grand opening ceremonies. The grand marshal came on the PA to announce the ceremonial beginning to the festivities and then, it appeared on the horizon, glistening in the sun, being carried with all the reverence, pomp and circumstance, and pride that the local Lions Club could muster. There it was, the beer tent!!!!.
They carried this thing down main street, six blocks to the canter of town. dropped it in the parking lot across from city hall. And thus the stage was set for the oddest festival of all time.
Then came the motorcycle rodeo which included such fan favorites as the Slowest drag race in the world. The weenie bite, where your passenger had to take a bite out a dog hanging from a string, biggest bite wins. And the Honey I Am Home Competition. This display of pure class involved lying in a bed until the announcer yells "Honey I am Home!!!", At which point the competitor must jump up, put on a pair of pants, crawl through a window, start the bike, and get the heck out of town. best time wins. Boomdays Baby!!!!
A friend of mine from work used to travel to this thing every year with his family. The best way he could describe the goings-on was thus; "Random dudes drilling holes in rocks for no apparent reason." Enough said. here is a pic of that. Awesome.
We all thought Nancy was feeling better until she found a "DOG" and asked if she could keep it.
