Reflections

What a great way to spend post-thanksgiving! My son, Lewis and I took off to the mountains of North Carolina for a couple of days. We both had a small backpack, a flyrod and waders. Our goal was to find trout. We headed to the NC Trout capital, Bryson City, NC. Chasing the NC Wildlife map, we happened on Alarka Creek. Alarka is a hatchery-supported creek that begins in the Big Laurel area of the US Forest Service land and meanders it’s way thru rocky knolls, farms and woods finally ending at Fontana Lake. This classic NC mountain community is beautiful. We found a pull-off, wader-ed up and got right to “work” in the stream. Lewis quickly connected with a brown trout using an Elk haired caddis. The Elk Hair Caddis imitates an adult caddis fly or a small stonefly which is right down a trout’s alley! We fished a couple spots along the Alarka and then decided to go to the Deep Creek which flows through Bryson City.  Celebrated not only for its fishing, Deep Creek has several hiking l...

John Wayne's classic, “The Cowboys” is probably my favorite western movie. It’s a story of boys becoming men. I know I've watched it 40 times or more.    When his ranch workers desert Wil Anderson, a Belgrade, Montana rancher, to join the gold rush and the dreams of getting rich, he is forced to find recruits for his upcoming 400-mile long cattle drive to Belle Fourche, South Dakota. One of the coolest western actors that ever gleamed a Hollywood screen, Slim Pickens, who in the movie was Anse Peterson, suggested to Anderson at the saloon that he should consider the young kids that were at the local schoolhouse. He interviewed them, and with hesitation, hired them on to work his cattle-drive.   To keep from making the movie a spoiler, I'll stop there and only encourage you to watch this excellent movie. It is about growing up, fathering, and even when the going gets tough...completing the job!   So, when I first landed at the Bozeman Yellowstone airport a number of ...

 The amazing thing about Montana is the untouched, vast wilderness. Whether its the Bob Marshall Forest, Elkhorn Mountain Range, The Mission Mountains, or Glacier National Forest, the eye can see the big picture, but honestly there are square miles of property that few men if any have ever stepped. And the water melting from the Glacier topped mountain create streams and rivers so clear you can see the bottom of the entire river bed. And water that is so cold you will freeze to death if not careful. This country is wild and untamed. You can see it in the mountains as well as the people who live here. They understand dirt roads and snowdrifts. Its nothing for them to see elk, deer, bear, and even the occasional moose.  We ended our tour across Montana at Glacier today. It was somewhat crowded, but who wouldn't want to feel the magnificence and splendor of the Rocky Mountains? We drove back south thru Missoula County and cross the legendary Blackfoot. After driving the state, I ...

Today we traveled north toward Kalispell and Whitefish. Driving thru the Flathead  Indian  reservation we witnessed the incredible Mission Mountains with their high, jagged tops. Then looking up at McDonald Peak which touches the bonds of the atmosphere at 9,820 feet; all I could say was, “truly amazing! " I’ve spent a lot of time from Bozeman to Helena. I’d call it my "Montana base." It's where my friend and fellow auctioneer Dan Pat lives. We stayed the night in Missoula as a stopover. I was originally intrigued by Missoula years ago after reading the book and watching the movie, "A River Runs Through It." It's the story of author and fly fisherman, Norman  Maclean.  Maclean’s family move to this city in 1909. In 1931 Maclean married his sweetheart Jessie Burns who was from Wolf Creek Montana, a town I’ve driven thru many times on the way to Craig Montana. In the book and movie, Maclean’s character said, “I am haunted by water”. I once read a comment...

Leaving Helena, we took a trip up towards Avon, Montana. We ate at the Avon Family Café where we sat beside a well-known Hollywood actor (yet native Montanan). He asked that we keep quiet about him because of Covid-19. He didn’t have it, but the producer wanted him to stay quarantined until production was over. He trusted us with a picture, but I am honoring his request to not post it.   We left Avon and decided to take a “short cut” thru the Skalakaho Pass.  Also known as Skalkaho Highway, it is a forty-five-mile drive that runs between the Bitterroot Valley and the Philipsburg Valley. This paved and gravel route climbs through the Sapphire Mountains, a remote and seldom visited part of Montana. The drive follows Montana Highway 38 for its entire length. You would have to slow down to let other cars (trucks) pass by.  Imagine driving on the side of cliffs that have 2500 vertical drops. The altitude is 7,258 ft. The views are amazing. However, the forestation is just begi...

  It’s 6 AM and I made it back to the front porch of the Sacajawea. It’s a comfortable 45  degrees.   What a day we had yesterday. We started the day watching notable Montanan Curt Pate break colts. He put them in the corral and with tremendous patience haltered them and slowly convinced them to accept a saddle and finally mounted them. In a world of instant gratification, it was a beautiful sight to watch how this process went.   Later, we rode a side by side over the 63 Ranch (named for its establishment in 1863). Beautiful and rocky! Mission creek cuts the ranch down the middle. After lunch, we saddled up. I rode Hannah and Elizabeth was on Happy. Curt took us by a beautiful trout stream where you could see nice rainbows taking bugs off the topwater. We rode high on a ridge where earlier that day we saw a black bear and her cubs. On the trail, we walked over a large deposit of bear scat. Fresh with flies swarming around it. I was hoping we might see the bear up cl...

Anyone who knows me very well knows my favorite state. Montana. Big Sky Country. The axiom is very apropos. If you drive on Montana Hwy 12 along the Elk Horn mountains you will understand very quickly how it got its name. This time, we are staying a few days at the Sacajawea Hotel & Inn.  The inn has been in existence for over 110 years. We enjoy our breakfast and early morning coffee on their front porch. In the summer, Montana has its warm days but cooler nights and mornings. Named for the famous Indian Lewis & Clarke used to translate with the Shoshone Indians, the history is rich at the hotel. Located in Three Forks, Montana,   the hotel is situated near the confluence of three rivers that make up the Missouri River; Gallatin, Madison & Jefferson. The American west is rich in Sacajawean history. In the winter of 1804-1805, famed explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark interviewed several trappers seeking interpreters for their western journey up the Missou...