When last you heard from me, I was headed to Colorado hoping to fish a valley in the Rawah Range. I was to rendezvous with a group that has an annual get-together we call FISH (Forum for Indiana Subjects in Healthcare). This year was the twenty second year of FISH and I was really looking forward to seeing everyone!
As I said in my previous post, Colorado (from Colorado Springs to Ft. Collins) had experienced a 100 year flood event as I was making my way to the area. Dozens of bridges had been swept away and many roads, including I-25, were closed putting the future of FISH XXII in jeopardy!
After fishing the North Platte, I spent the night of Friday the 13th of September, in Laramie. In the morning, I started off from the high plains to eventually wind my way through the Laramie River Valley. I arrived at the ranch that was to be our home in the early afternoon.
By late that evening, all our fellow FISH members had made their way from Denver to the ranch. The normal route to the valley (through Ft. Collins and up the Poudre River Canyon) was closed due to road and bridge damage. FISH members had had to take a circuitous route north through Laramie then west and south thus adding hours to their journey.
In exchange for this longer drive, everyone (except for those few who had arrived after dark) had gotten to experience the high plains and their first view of our beautiful valley.
Once in the valley, we could see the river was a bit high and off-color, but definitely fishable! Somehow, this drainage (and thus FISH XXII) had been spared! We were thrilled to have dodged the proverbial bullet. Optimism replaced anxiety and our fatigue was shoved aside by the excitement we all felt. We were eager to begin fishing in the morning!
Of course, we would have to suffer through the first of an absolutely incredible array of meals and spend our first night "roughing it" in the cabins, but we FISHophiles are tough and willing to put up with anything in order to wet a line!
Tomorrow, I post photos from our first day of fishing!
Glad you folks found a way to get there and fishable water once you did. That's one sturdy, healthy looking pronghorn.
ReplyDeleteAn absolutely beautiful animal. If he continues his behavior, he'll end up in someone's freezer!
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