Melrose, MT - Oct. 20 - 26, 2008
On October 20th we traveled from Garrison 70 miles south to Sportsman Lodge and RV Park in Melrose, Montana to meet friends for a bit of fly fishing. Happily, there was little trace of the early winter storm that had swept the region a week earlier.
Our friends, Richard and Wayne, were not due to arrive for two days, so on the 21st we visited Bannack State Park. Bannack is a former mining town and the one time Montana Territorial Capital. It is now a ghost town and kept in a state of arrested deterioration by Montana State Parks. It was a miserably cold and windy day so we explored until our fingers and toes went numb, then headed for the warmth of the car. On the way back we drove up the Big Hole Valley encountering a few snow flurries along the way.
The next day Bill bought his Montana fishing license and went out to try his luck on the stream. And lucky he was. Bill fished for six very productive, happy days. It was 'catch and release' of course, so the fish were taught lessons about artificial flies and lived to warn their buddies.
Susan on the other hand, decided standing in a cold stream on frosty days just didn't have the appeal it apparently did for Bill. So her days were dedicated to long walks in the rolling hills around Melrose. The walks were very pleasant and serene, until hunting season opened - then it was a bit scary. She rifled through her limited wardrobe to find the brightest, most garish garments available to avoid looking like an elk to even the most inebriated hunter. Happily it worked.
Late on the 22nd Richard and Wayne arrived exhausted from their long drive from Reno. But the next day they were at our door in the morning eager to get their lines wet. The remaining days were dedicated to fishing and the evenings to fish stories - and showing off a few of Richard's latest technological toys. Hmmm, I think a Kindle (electronic book) may be in our future.
Soon it was time to bid farewell to our friends and start our trek south to the warmer climes. We planned to do some boondocking along the way and didn't want to get caught on the high desert when the snows started. So on the 27th we headed for a site on the Snake River west of Pocatello, ID.
