Da Trout Tub!!

Fellow E-11ers:

Well, no one in E-11’s Group One can ever say that we didn’t fill EVERY available moment upon their arrivals (some of which were tortured and delayed by UAL’s cancellation of the non-stop SFO-MSO flight last Saturday morning due to their system-wide computer failure (the very first time any such cancellation has occurred on this only Bay Area direct flight).  A full third of the Ones arrived at Headquarters shortly before midnight, some being rerouted (get this!) from SFO to LAX to Aspen to Denver and

THEN to MSO...(too) many frequent flyer miles racked up that nerve racking day!

As shown above, The Merc is fully festooned in its Extravaganza finest and, yes, the waters were (and still are) so high in Missoula’s rivers that, each of the One’s three days of fishing, they traversed the Continental Divide in style [to which they have now, unfortunately, become well accustomed!] to fish (with great success, as to be reported in a bit, the Mighty Missouri River—putting in on The Mo in and around Craig, MT (just east of Wolf Creek, MT] where we spanned out over 45 miles of that majestic, slowly (but firmly!) flowing part of Americana to seek, find, and net the mighty browns and rainbows that occupy that special part of the year.

The mode of transportation was a Beachliner 54 person motor coach (also shown above) where coffee and pastries were the order of the day during the 165 mile, 2.5hr glorious ride through some of Mother Nature’s bounty and, on the return home, wine and beer flowed through the spacious aisles while movies and boat reports on the road abounded.  As earlier reported, by near-unanimous voice vote, One’s “Josh b’ Gosh” Genser’s name of “The Trout Tub” was the chosen moniker for this wonderful land vessel which, frankly, was a joy to ride in as, for me, I was able to spend much more travel time to/for the boats with all of the Ones, in no small part I might add because there was a bunch more travel time.  Each day the Ones arose before 5:00 a.m., boarded The Trout Tub at the Merc right at 5:45 a.m. and arrived in Craig shortly before 8:30 a.m. only to then guide up, fish until 5:00 p.m., and then re-board the Tub for a return journey that saw dinner served at Headquarters shortly after 9:00 p.m.  As One veteran Brian “Moraine” Shepard and I agreed yesterday on the way back over the Divide (I got to fish two days with the Ones!), “yes, sleep is highly overrated!”

During our Group One travels the motor-coached multitude saw along their ways, elk, antelope, a black bear, eagles, ospreys, the snow-capped Pintlar mountains (the mountains that flow into Rock Creek that yet hold ten feet of super-charged wet snow at their summits), and more clouds and beautiful sights than one Group should be entitled to.  So much so, that the betting is high that the Twos, who arrive this coming Saturday, most likely will have the same opportunities for views and lack of sleep as the Ones—bank the z’s now, Tattoos!!

More to follow as I come up for air after the exhilaration and exhaustion of it all,

Rock Creek Ron