The Magic of an Ordinary Day

Camping trip

We had another great trip to the Jemez mountains last weekend.  Don and Nichole met us up there and we spent some time fishing and relaxing.  Dwayne's birthday was Friday and I got him a new fly fishing rod for his birthday, and he was excited to try it out.  

First of all, the lures that Hannah picked out for Dwayne.  Yes, they are not fly-fishing flies, but she insisted that we get these "lawyers" because they are pretty.  Who could say no?

On to the camping trip...

We just did pull-out car camping up in the Jemez mountains.  Here are some scenes from around the camp site...

On to the fishing!!!

Hannah has her fishing stuff (all in pink, of course)

We did all fly fishing in several different places and the fishing was not as good as it was in June.  The water was really low (the Monsoon season wasn't all that robust this year) so maybe that was it.

It was pretty, though, so making my way up a trout stream was no great sacrifice.

The fish were few, but bigger when we (and by "we" I mean Don) got 'em.

And here's Dwayne using his new fly fishing rod.  The weather was just perfect, by the way.  It's just starting to get a touch chilly at night and as you can see a bit of fall in the air. 

gone fishin'

We are headed back to the Jemez mountains but this time are not going to the lake and the campgrounds; instead we are going to the many roadside camping places they have in the mountains and camp there.  This is one of Don's favorite places.  One way faces a meadow, the other way is in the forest. The trout stream flows through it.  This is our destination today.

Right after I have a "lengthy" physical exam and drug test for my new job.  I suppose they will have me lift things since lifting patients onto aircraft is required.  I remember feeling the need to go to the gym the last time I did this full time.  Hope it all goes well.

Today is Dwayne's birthday as well!  I already got him a new fly rod which he can't wait to start using.  Hannah got him a bunch of assorted fishing things and just went crazy wrapping his presents last night.  It was so cute!   He has always been the rock of this family, back when Dick was ill and now with my job crisis and millions of times in between... he's just always there, always supportive and strong.  I am the luckiest person in the world.  Happy birthday, honey!!

my two sweethearts

They sure do love each other.  They had so much fun together at Fenton Lake.

They played in the water...

 

 

They did "up downs"...

 

 

They wrestled...

 

They watched  that dumb deer wander around our campsite...

  

They played Hannah's parachute game...

  

 

I don't know how he managed it but he found a Princess playset at the baitshop where he bought our fishing licenses.  Only Dwayne would find that...

 

What a great time!

 

the deer

When we go to Fenton Lake we usually see deer near our campsite. This last trip there was one browsing near our tent. It was 9 am and she was out there just chewing away....

  

We ambled over and started taking pictures so she thought she would take a low profile...

 

Uhhhhggg...just a little farther....

 

Mmffffttttt.... a little more.....

 

Okay... no one can see me now, right?  I'm good, right?  Whew!

Fly fishing

I remember briefly learning to fly fish as a teenager. I remember going with my brother Al, playing around with the rod in the driveway, practicing casting.  But mostly I remember getting caught up in the branches a lot, giving up early and sitting on the bank looking at the water, reading or doing something to otherwise occupy myself while Al finished up fly fishing.

A few months ago I read the book Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis and I became interested in it again. Our friend Don fly fishes and I asked him if  he wouldn't mind showing me how on our next trip up to Fenton Lake and he agreed.  Even better, after a practice afternoon in the river around Fenton Lake we spent a whole day fly fishing in the beautiful trout streams in the Jemez Mountains.

  

We started in a slow-moving area on the Cebolla so I could get my casting down.  I was unprepared for the horseflies that practically carried me off as we walked to the stream.  Thirty seconds into it, I was running towards the car in search of the DEET but was all good after that. Yes, I know Don is a lefty and I'm doing things backwards but I'm getting my grove going here.

An hour or so later we move downstream a bit to where the water was swifter, rockier and wider.  We had moved up to the Guadalupe and switched to dry flies.  It was actually my favorite part of the day.  There were more trees to pay attention to but Don caught more fish, I hooked a few, missed a few and generally had fun.  It was a great learning experience and Don didn't have to pick my line out of TOO many trees, rocks and other lines. 

 

My patient and extremely knowledgeable guide, Don:

 

We then went to the third spot of the day, which was some tough going.  Don said it was hard for an experienced fly-fisherman and it just wore me out.  Big slippery rocks, deep swift currents, steep banks... I spent most of my time concentrating on not falling on my ass.  I'm not sure if that it was tough terrain or that we had already been fishing for about six hours but I totally hit my wall down in that stretch of the Guadalupe.  We climbed out of that canyon after about 45 minutes and headed home.

 

 

 

 

What an awesome day, and a great experience!  I was just so happy to be out there, learning something new, having fun, being outside.  What a blast.

 

 

We're back from Fenton Lake. Stories to follow.

vegas

 

I need a vacation from my vacation.

Our little trip to Vegas had some unexpected twists which put several monkeywrenches in our trip.  But we're all home safe and sound, which is the big thing... and everything else is the small stuff.