FUNemployment

[MrBiggs]

I made a post a little while ago (http://flyfishingaddicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=11899) about an upcoming road trip, and I thought it was about time to show you all the results. Thanks to everyone for the advice. We actually changed our route, skipping Utah (I'll have to get there eventually), and instead spent more time in Idaho. All-in-all, we were on the road for 25 days, and we are now settled into our new place in north-western Washington.

I'll break this up over a few posts within this topic. There will be some non-fishing content. Don't worry--there are also fish. Also a heads-up, this will be pic heavy.

Dog, very concerned we are leaving her in an empty apartment.


No worries, dog, we will bring you.


First stop: a super secret location. If you recognize this place, please don't spoil it. I don't want it becoming overcrowded.


I'm kidding, of course. We camped in Tuolumne Meadows, which was about 20 degrees cooler than the valley floor. My buddy from middle school, who is a true mountain man, met us there and camped with us. He just quit his job and is taking a year off to travel down to Central America in a done-out Sprinter. Camping next to him had its perks.

Since we had dog with us, we had to leave the park to do any hikes.


Went to Gardisky lake, just outside the park, and had a good time.


Took a few minutes to figure out that the risers were targeting dark caddises, then it was on.


Decent-sized brookies.


Remember what this guy looks like, he'll be back in a few pictures.


Roll back to camp. Buddy fired up beverages using the Sprinter's Vitamix. No joke.


A couple of brookies ended up in our tacos.


Next, we headed to Mono Lake. Polarizing filter was a good call.


Dog turned out to be a tent hog.


Went for another hike and fished this lake.


We spent the 3rd of July camped on a logging road lookout over Lake Tahoe and got to see some North Shore fireworks shows. It was a pretty special night.


After spending a fishless 4th of July in Tahoe, we spent the night in Reno. Big drive scheduled for the 5th: Reno to Horseshoe Bend, ID (just outside of Boise).

[lucfish]

Cool, looking forward to part two.

[MrBiggs]

Leg #2. Idaho.

But first, the drive from Reno to Boise is absurdly boring. It looks like this the whole way.


On the plus side, when we got to the Payette, we were greeted with these.


It was super hot, so we only fished a little in the mornings.


Pikeminnow!


Cooling off with a float / beverage.


Extended cousins wouldn't let us leave before getting pictures on a horse.


But the real reason that we went to Idaho is that we were there a few years ago to float the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and we didn't have enough time to explore the area around Stanley that time around. So we made plans to spend a good chunk of time there, poking around and goofing off.

Just up the road from Horseshoe Bend, it starts looking like this.


Here's the Main Salmon, just outside Stanley.


And the Sawtooths. This is why we wanted to go back.


We were in touch with our former Middlefork guides, who we now consider friends, and met up with them at the put-in at Boundary Creek. They were prepping for their next trip, and we camped with them before they left.

The road in to Boundary.


Fishing off the back of the gear boat (the "sweeper" if you're into MF terminology).


Meanwhile, the dog had her ears braided.


Here's Dagger Falls, in all its glory.


And here we are, mugging in front of it.


The next day, the guides were all busy getting their clients together, so Wifey, Dog, and I hiked down-river several miles to find fishable water and yell at them when they passed by.

Hiking.


Idaho is beautiful.


Seriously.


You should go to Idaho.


The rafting trip down the Middle Fork Salmon two years ago was what re-ignited my love of fly fishing, so this was extra fun for me.


Not as much fun for the Cutties, though.


Tan Chernobyl Ant --> Westslope Cutthroat.


We got chased out by thunderstorms, and were rewarded for our prudence with 50+ elk.


It was still rainy, but we found a campsite at Sunny Gulch and Wifey made some spaghetti and meatballs while I fished some more.

Dinner.


Countless stockers. So many hungry fish.


Some were more ambitious than others.


Relaxing by the fire.


Anyway, we were in the Stanley area for a few days. I highly recommend it.

Stanley.


Redfish Lake.


More Stanley.


We were sad to leave, but all good things must yadda yadda. On the plus side, our drive to Teton NP took us right past one of the coolest museums ever.

Idaho National Labs's EBR-1 Museum.


I nerded out pretty bad.


Just past Idaho Falls on the way in to Wyoming.


OK. I'm breaking for lunch. I'll be back for Pt. 3.

[MrBiggs]

I'm going to skip over the time we spent in Teton NP, because we basically just drove through. Dogs and national parks don't make for very much fun, because they have to stay in the front country. I'm going back there without the dog so that I can get into the backcountry, for sure.

One pic. It's pretty there.


After spending the night, we bounced up the road to YNP.


We did the touristy stuff, but we were mostly driving through.




We did see two grizzlies, some elk, a ton of bison, etc. Standard YNP stuff.

Headed out of the park, stopped in West Yellowstone for supplies, and then drove past Hebgen and Quake to see this lovely view.


I love me some Madison. You might remember from previous posts that my folks have a cabin by $3 Bridge. A perfect place to spend some time while unemployed! Dad met up with us, too!


Been in for an hour, already getting fish.


Mr. Brown.


Wifey got in on the action.


Dad got in on the action.


I got in on the action.


Dad took the "Whitefish King" title back from me.


We traveled off the beaten path.


And on the dirt path.


We fished small creeks.


Caught small fish.


Fished bigger rivers.


Caught bigger fish...


Same fish.


Dad gets bent.


Dog enjoys MT.


We did another trip into YNP, with Dad this time. Dad is an ecologist, so he knows his birds and mammals a lot better than I do. One thing I know...

This is a good sign you're in for predators in YNP.


Space shuttle launch?


Nope, just Big Grizz.


The previous evening, some wolves had taken down an elk. Big Grizz came in and claimed the carcass and was going to town on it.


As if that wasn't enough fun, one of the wolves came back to see if Grizz was done yet. Grizz chased the wolf off. Awesome.

The weather in MT was challenging at best. Here, wifey tries to get better at casting while fighting a gusting 20+ MPH tailwind.


...and I retook my whitefish crown.



We were around the Madison for a week, which is barely enough in my opinion. If you haven't been, you should go. Next up, a quick overnight in Rock Creek before Glacier NP. Heads up, less and less fishing from here on out. Pictures should stay pretty, though.

[Wildman]

You know how to roll....great post and some good reasons to take a road trip. Looking forward to more

[stanbery]

So far it looks like a great trip to your new digs
Having the wife learn to fly fish is great as well as seen your dad for a little while is a plus.
Jon

[MrBiggs]

After the comforts of the cabin for a week, we hit the road again. Headed for Rock Creek.

Montana has some weird names for towns.


But first, we went to Missoula, because why not? We went to Draughtworks and had some beer. Then we filled up the growlers and headed back to Rock Creek.


We met some locals.


Checked out the water.


Goofed around.


Reorganized the fly boxes (by the way, those Tacky boxes are sooooo goooood).


And even fished a little. I was embarrassed by some excellent cutties, one of whom is wearing a caddis as a lip ring. Unfortunately, the only fish I landed were tiny. Oh well.

Back on the road, Dog navigated us to our next stop.


The West entrance.


And again, we couldn't go into the backcountry because of the dog. OK, we'll do Going-to-the-sun Road.


This is one of the highlights of the trip for me.


The road is glorious.


And we even got to see some locals.


And some nice lady took a photo of the two of us.


One not-so-fun thing about Glacier is that the campsites are mostly first come, first served and they fill up fast. We ended up having to leave the park and go back in through a tiny dirt road entrance in search of a campsite. Note the difference compared to the main West side entrance... including bullet and shot scars...


Luck would have it that we decided to leave earlier than we had intended (due to the boringness of the dog preventing hikes), so we just barely escaped a large fire that shut down the East side of the park. Headed back out, we took our time and enjoyed the sights.


Fun fact: Glacier runoff is cold.


Glacier and Teton. I'm going back without the dog.


We camped that night at Tally Lake, a few miles outside of Whitefish, MT, and I introduced Wifey to Macallan.


NOT A FAN

We started making our way over to Washington, going through Coeur d'Alene, which has some breweries.


And we stopped at Grand Coulee Dam.


...which is gigantic.


And camped in the North Cascades for a few nights.


We went hiking.


...and generally enjoyed the waning days of the trip.


Went to a couple of lakes, but didn't have a fishing license yet, so they're still on my "to do" list.


Supposedly good cutties in here, but I didn't see any cruisers or risers.


Still a good time.


The whole roadtrip crew together.


Pretty country, this.


Driving out Hwy 20 to the coast, I stumbled upon a legend. That's the Skagit River.


...and soon enough, the roadtrip portion would be over. I was pretty tempted to keep going up to Canada...


But no, gotta put down roots somewhere. Might as well be Bellingham!


Pretty nice joint. I'll do a non-picture post with some awards / superlatives in a few.

[k9mark]

Three years and counting Ill be living somewhere around idaho falls fishing the glory that is the rocky mountaing fly highway!

[WanderingBlues]

You are my hero. Seriously.

[MrBiggs]

Three years and counting Ill be living somewhere around idaho falls fishing the glory that is the rocky mountaing fly highway!

That's awesome. I loved it on the drive through and it's now on the list for places to hit when we can get some time off. I think I would live at Grand Teton Brewing (in Victor) if I could. We filled up two growlers there. It was excellent.

[Papasequoia]

Great report! Interesting coincidence - my wife and I just took pictures of each other on that Welcome Creek suspension bridge about a week ago. When were you there? We were camped at Dalles.

[midger]

Now that was a great way to move! Really nice scenery along the way, and Idaho looks a lot like Kansas .

The Dagger Falls area is very pretty. Were there any salmon in while you were there or were you early?

The picture of dog carrying his own gear and the picture of your wife after McCallans are priceless, but I fear you better sleep with one eye open as I'll bet the wife gets even sometime. You just won't know when.

[briansII]

ROAD TRIP!!

Wow!

briansII

[MrBiggs]

Great report! Interesting coincidence - my wife and I just took pictures of each other on that Welcome Creek suspension bridge about a week ago. When were you there? We were camped at Dalles.

We overnighted at Henry's Flat July 18-19. The morning of the 19th, I fished the pool under the suspension bridge where there were some big 'ol cutties rising on spruce moths. I only had one on, and it broke me right off.

How was the fishing when you were there?

[MrBiggs]

Now that was a great way to move! Really nice scenery along the way, and Idaho looks a lot like Kansas .

The Dagger Falls area is very pretty. Were there any salmon in while you were there or were you early?

The picture of dog carrying his own gear and the picture of your wife after McCallans are priceless, but I fear you better sleep with one eye open as I'll bet the wife gets even sometime. You just won't know when.

I love it there. I'll do the Middlefork again here in a year or two, hopefully with my own boat. That's by far the best backcountry trip I have ever done. No salmon there that I could find, but honestly I wasn't looking for them. We only fished a couple of hours before we got chased off by lightning.

Dog and I hike faster than Wifey does, so we have fashioned the dog backpack into a harness for towing. Everyone seems happy with the arrangement except me, who doesn't like the dog to pull on lead.