Fellow Extravaganzers:
We are now officially in the E-Zone, as, thirty days from today, the wonderful cadre of Group One arrives on the scene of and officially opens Extravaganza 2011!!
What fun just to think about it; what fun is about to unfold!
As we all begin our final preparatory stages, I want to let you know that, on this end, all is set at Extravaganza Headquarters for your arrival—the table is set, the yard is in its final prep stages (you Hostess With the Mostess, Koctail Kathy has her special order in for the potted plants that adorn her beautifying yard—ordered from the same nursery that provides the hanging plants for nearby Philipsburg [a la Victoria, BC]), all of our now specially monogrammed E-11 goodies and materials are on location and, blessedly, this year’s runoff is shaping up so far (knock on wood, all!) to be one for the ages.
So what does this all now mean, you rookies out there ask?? Well, below is (a) a now more relevant run-down of our schedule upon your arrival(s), (b) a list of things that you now should be (a)tending to with a bit more élan and a highlight of things not to miss and (c) a reminder to print off (y)our last week provided Camp List and to begin assembling those things to go into your bags. As to the latter, as we have done each of the prior eight years, KK and I reserve the right to treat you extravagantly upon your arrival and we strongly advise the lesson learned by every veteran out there, to wit: with the special E-11 gifts that we will (extravagantly) be showering you with beginning immediately upon your on scene arrival, you will be bringing home a whole lot more than your bring with you to Extravaganzaland….so, either leave ample space in your bag for some (substantial) additions or, better yet bring an extra bag in your bag (a la the ones we handed out for E-10) so that your to-be new found E-11 treasures can be easily transported home with you in the form of a carry on bag…yes, gang, we have been {very] busy in the Extravaganza off-season!!
Your E-11 Schedule
As we do each year, upon your arrival at the Missoula airport we will be there to greet you Day One downstairs at ground level Missoula, MT airport (MSO) as you depart your incoming flights. Yesterday, I reviewed our “Bible” itinerary of incoming and outgoing flights and I thank each of you for being true to our recommended flights as, with ease now, virtually every incoming flight is within a half hour of each other and, as such, upon your collective arrivals we will first gather our bags and then head off the Montana Club (where else, gang—we are not be in Kansas, Dorothy!) for our traditional opening and introductory lunch. [We will provide all of your needed ground transportation during your five day stay with us (we have five [count ‘em] vehicles that we now own that are dedicated to each year’s Extravaganza) and have participating veterans to serve as our resident drivers.]
After lunch, we will then head up to our now-finished second (actually third) home on the Blackfoot River so you can see what a little bit of patience waiting for the right piece of property to come on the market together with a great design and construction/landscaping team can produce right on one of the world’s most famous rivers (being the setting for Norman McLean’s “A River Runs Through It” which, this year, celebrates its 25th anniversary, btw!) and, thereafter, continue our in toto 45 minute drive up to our Rock Creek house and E-11’s Headquarters, stopping along the way at the Rock Creek Mercantile, our land provider, to “license up” and do some last minute shopping. Everything in this store will be 10% off for your, btw, and in Montana (blessedly) there is no sales tax, so fellow Califonicators visualize an effective 20% discount!
As we then arrive at Headquarters you will (finally!) have a chance to some free time to move into your rooms (half of you will be staying at our Rock Creek house and half at the 3,500 “Bunk House” that we rent each year ½ mile up Rock Creek Road), test out the never closing bar [we only have 60 cases of wine on hand for you this year and a full/never empty bar and beer/wine/soft drink cooler] and spend the remaining afternoon casting about on our upper and lower lawns to get ready for the next day’s fishing activities. For those avidly inclined, Rock Creek abuts our property and we have one of its best runs right in our back yard!
Day Two (as with each of Day Three and Day Four), continental self-serve breakfasts will be stocked for your preparation and enjoyment and, around 7:30 a.m. [depending on weather and instructions from our Outfitter] we will caravan back into Missoula to meet up with your three-day-assigned guide and, thereafter, spread out to the rivers for a full day of fishing. Your (expert) guide, in consultation with you, will determine which river and where on that river you will begin your 8 mile/day average drift—as earlier advertised, we have available for your fishing enjoyment (depending of then clarity and flow conditions) any and all of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, the Bitterroot River and/or the amazing Blackfoot River—time, temperature, water clarity, “fishiness” and whim will determine which sections of any or each of these rivers you will fish…that’s what the guide is for, gang---it’s kinda like brain surgery: leave the details to the professional. More often that not, once on a your chosen section of the river, you will thereafter see few if any other anglers…drifting in the active silence of nature the very same rivers that Lewis & Clark traversed now over 200 years ago [their second winter’s layover, Traveler’s Rest, was located in the town of Lolo, MT (five miles outside of Missoula) right on the Bitterroot River which each of you will fish!
Après fishing finds us meeting up (wonderfully) at Hooter’s in Missoula right around 6:00 p.m. (right, veterans?!?—more on that later, rookies!0 from whence, once refreshed, we “head on up back the Creek” to shower, change and then convene (as we do each evening) for h.d.’s at Headquarters and, pre KK-prepared dinners, engage in my favorite activity of each day, the “Report From The Boats” on the back deck at which time each boat will report on its adventures of the day and a monogrammed Yellow Hat will be awarded for the largest trout caught (and released) that day. Also, any angler who catches and releases a twenty inch trout will there be installed in our coveted Twenty Inch Club—honors each posted daily (and permanently) on Der Blog.
The same drill applies to Days Three and Four as it was for Day Two, with the evening of Day Four finding our post- Dinner Closing Ceremony. We will leisurely arise the morning of Day Five to pack our bags, have a full KK satisfying breakfast and then leave, in caravan, for the MiSO for your late morning departures. For those of you who are driving or, in the case of Group Two’s Ralph “Red Baron” McLeran with co-pilot Doug “Popeye” Hamilton flying your own plane, we will make sure that you are separately assisted and taken care of.
In a word, gang, E-11 is going to be a(nother) blast!
Things That You Now Should Be Attending To:
- Print out your Camp List (it is posted and printable for you on Der Blog) and begin packing.
- Locate and set aside for taking (a) polarized sun glasses, (b) a true rain jacket, (c) a dry bag to take with you on the boats with a change of clothes, (d) a Hawaiian shirt to wear fishing Day One, (e) your guide gag gift (see recent note to you from our Outfitter John “The Great But Propaneless” Gould, yes, posted to Der Blog), and (f) water resistant fishing shoes/sandals for getting into and out of the boats (Simms has great choices in that regard, and, for you late shopper, yes, you will have a limited supply to choose from at the Mercantile upon your arrival).
- Weaning yourselves to leaving your pda’s, laptops and portable computers home—they are not wanted or required during E-11 and, if necessary, we have dsl-connected computers at Headquarters for those either in withdrawal or in need…this a trip into nature, gang, Ritz Carlton style!
- Become a student of the Flow Charts that are being sent your way—what is happening in Montana right now will effect every day of E-11.
- Visualize yourselves on a river for eight uninterrupted hours for three consecutive days catching (and releasing) 100% native trout and then, during the evening hours, laughing and enjoying yourselves more than you have since E-10.
Best to all in now serious preparation for it all,
Rock Creek Ron
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Click on the play button above to hear the new song written about the Montana Extravaganza and Rock Creek Ron.
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