FINALLY, THE KING IS ON THE THRONE !!!

The picture of the berries that you see are the result of Cindy and I picking Huckleberries. Out here in the west huckleberries are the big thing. To me they kind of taste like a blueberry but are smaller in size. The one thing I do know is this, to buy anything with huckleberries in it is very expensive. They say the going rate for a pound of berries is around 40 dollars, yes you read it right, $40. They only grow at altitudes of 6000 ft. so I guess this is why they cost so much. I will say they are very tasty in pancakes and oatmeal. The only thing you have to be careful about when picking them is that YOGI the bear is not close, bears do not appreciate you stealing their berries.

The past few weeks we have pretty much just hung around the campground. We did take a hike (5 miles total) to view Fairy Falls in the park. I suppose it was by chance that we picked one of the hottest days this summer to do this hike and needless to say the heat was no fun. The total hike was 5 miles and we kept asking people on the way back to the falls “ is it worth the walk” and everyone said yes. I guess after seeing Yosemite Falls in California and Multnomah Falls in Oregon, our expectations were too big. The falls was ok and it was refreshing sitting by it, but was it worth the 5 mile hike? Come out and try it and you tell me!

We have continued to catch some nice fish the past week although one has to really go out and find them. The fishing from the shore has slowed tremendously but people are still catching nice ones by trolling or fly-fishing. The picture of the man and myself in the boat was taken when we went out for an evening of fishing. This man is 85 years young and quite the storyteller. I have enjoyed spending numerous trips on the water with him and listening to stories he has to tell. He told me one day to start using his boat so Cindy and I could go fishing so we listened to him and have been doing such.

Now for the BIG NEWS !!!! I have knocked the Queen from the throne!!! Yes you read it right; I have finally caught one bigger than Cindy. I’m quite proud to say I landed one a couple of days ago that weighed in at 3.5 lbs.,(on a cheap Zebco scale. Maybe 4lbs on a digital scale) talk about someone having a s**t eating grin on his face, well I will be the first to tell you I did. Not only was this my biggest catch of the season, the color of the fish was absolutely beautiful. It was a male brown trout and his color was outstanding. Had the fish been 5 lbs. I would have had him mounted and hanging on our living room wall, but instead I chose to have him lying in our freezer. We still have about three more weeks so it is still possible for the KING to lose his seat, but until then I get to claim the biggest. I must also give credit where credit is due and if not for Cindy taking the rod and bringing it closer to the boat so I could net it, I’m not sure I could have done it alone. (No I’m positive I could not have done it by myself) so a big thanks for her in helping me ( TEAMWORK ) Till next time enjoy the pictures and feel free to leave a message.

Tuesday, August 4th, we decided to take a trip up to Red Lodge Montana. The drive up there is by way of “Beartooth Pass”, US Hwy.212 which runs between Red Lodge and Cooke City Montana, (the northeast entrance to the park). The Beartooth Pass is opened from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather permitting). As one can tell by the pictures taken on this day , the snow was still in abundance up there. The hightest point of elevation on the Pass is just under 11,000 ft., 10,974 to be exact. The one picture taken by me, standing at the edge of the top of a large hole in the ground, with lakes in the bottom, is actually around 200 feet to the bottom. The crazy people that ride snowmobiles up there, actually start sking from a higher spot and go out over the edge and land somewhere between the rim and the bottom.

The highway consist of numerous twist, curves, steep drop offs on the side of the road, and “switchbacks” that seem to last forever. For those of you who are wondering what a “switchback” is, it is noting more than a road that allows you to travel the side of a mountain. You might travel 1 mile east, make a turn, head back west 1 mile, turn and head east 1mile, so on and so on, just to travel ½ mile down the side of the mountain. The entire road between Red Lodge and Cooke City is around 70 miles and one can figure on 2 hours to make the trip, providing you are not caught in a snow storm or high winds at the top of the pass. Yes, I said snow storms in the middle of the summer!! (not uncommon on the top of the Pass.



All in all the road is a “Must See & Do” if you ever get out this way. You will notice I have 2 sets of pictures on the page, Cindy uses her camera and I use mine. Sometimes I like to get the the “edge” of things and look at the scenery from a little different view point, ( which makes Cindy ask “can you get any closer without going over the edge”?. So before you stop looking at both sets because you think they are the same ones, please take the extra time and enjoy the views taken from a safe distance and one's taken from the “just a little closer dear, I’m not going to fall over the edge” view.

Cindy Cleans Her First Fish !

The past week or so things have slowed down a little bit. The campers are not coming in filling the campsites, the fishing has slowed down a bit, you just have to work a little harder to get them. The only thing that we have not seen a slow down in is the pesky little blood suckers. For some reason they still want to hang around. The temperature dropped to the high 30’s the other night and we were hoping it would slow things down, but no such luck. We still are catching some nice fish and after Cindy brought home a few the other night she said she was ready and try her luck at cleaning them. As you can tell by the pictures she done a very good job. I know all you real fishermen want to know what’s with the gloves she has on, well to be honest they sure help in holding on to the fish while cleaning (not because she didn’t want to get her hand smelling like fish.)

The pictures of the water falls were taken in Mesa Falls Park which is located close the “potato seed capital of the world” Ashton, Idaho. The past week we have been enjoying warm days and cool nights, plenty of sunshine, and lots of mosquitoes. Tuesday, the 4th, we are planning a trip with another couple and head up to Beartooth Pass and Red Lodge Montana. The weeks are flying by and we both are amazed at how fast the summer had passed. Until next time I hope all are enjoying the pictures we are posting on line and hope to be able to share some more with you.