Geezertalk2.0

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Summer Finally Over?

Finally cooling off a bit.

Before the cooling trend it was too hot for me.

Murphy dealt with it on his doggy bidet. Don't ask.

And the Bears.

No one I know but what a great picture. It is on the cover of the Homer Visitors Guide.

Used here with permission, right!

Some kitties were overcome by the heat; actually, drunk with katnip.

Went to the animal shelter to pick up kitten as the Sodens are now fostering.

This guy is available for adoption, with a fee of $300.

This is the one we took home.

As yet unnamed six week old kitty. She will stay with them two weeks, get socialized and get up to two pounds. Then it is back to the animal shelter to go up for adoption.

The socialization is going well, the purring is easily triggered.

And today (day three) she got seriously playfull.

Went to the mall for a LEGGO build. Molly said we should take a photo of Spencer, so when he got lost it would be easier to tell security what they were looking for.

Sounded good to me, but he didn't get lost.

Missed another Timbers game. This is the newlyweds that always sit right behind us. I watched the game on my iPad and they were on the opening scenes.

Finally a photo of my new coffee thermos for Roger. Really keeps the coffee hot.

So, Roger, you want me to pick one up for you?

Heading for Blue Eye, MO soon, and that will be another story.

Let's have everyone stay clear of the numerous weather related disasters while I enjoy the perfect weather here in Denver.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

On To The Missouri

We left off having dinner with Jake in Bozeman.

Next stop was our favorite camp ground on the Missouri, the thriving metropolis of Craig, MT. Located below Holter Dam, it has lots of big fish, a nice controlled run off and more people fishing than we expected.

First, we stopped at Three Forks, MT where the Jefferson, Madison and Galatin rivers converg and the Missouri begins.

After a thorough scouting, we settled on the section just below the confluence of the Jefferson and the Madison but still up stream from the Galatin.

Really beautiful but cranky fish.

Rog was very stealthy, to no avail.

We finally left them alone, ate lunch and moved on to Craig.

Last year we stayed at the same campground and didn't find out until our 50th high school reunion (later that year) that an old high school surfing buddy ( Vance Hanawalt) had a summer house in the next town downstream, Dearborn. And he was probably there when we were.

So after many phone calls and emails we resolved to get together this trip. We checked in with Vance and his wife Valerie before setting up camp. They live on the hill 500 ft above the river; here is a shot from the road below.

Their house is photo center on top of the cliff above the bridge. The next is a zoom in from the same location so you can actually see their house.

And the zoom in.

And here is the view upriver from their yard.

And looking downriver,

I have no idea why I didn't get a panoramic view, probably because it was just to big to capture.

I took a few photos of fish then decided to quit harassing them by making them pose. It was much better to get them back into the water after apologizing for the interruption.

They sure were purdy though.

On our last day Vance took us up river from Holter Lake into the Valley of the Giants.

Nice canyon

Some rugged terrain.

The giants remained elusive however. We all promised not to wait another fifty years before doing this again.

Once again I must apologize as I neglected to get a photo of Vance's terrific wife, Valerie. Sorry Valerie, you will be featured after our next meeting. And I swear it had nothing to do with the fact that she was a much better fly fisher than Rog or me. We were both humbled, but if you have fished with us you know that is nothing new.

Anyway, we are both back safe to Denver and Rog is already tearing down walls in an effort to remodel the only bathroom in the Denver house. Lath and plaster, what a great time!

We got back in time for me to see the super moon eclipse with the Sodens. The clouds were scattered so we got to see it all. Luckily, it was a slow event.

Weather was perfect; never got to wear the winter clothes I took. Not to worry, winter is coming.

Stay safe.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Three Men And a Cat

Yes a Cat!

Meet Red.

Just spent a week at a campground on the Bighorn River. No cell or WiFi coverage. Fishing was spotty; enormous may fly spinner fall in the morning but the weeds in the water made it difficult. I finally found the right fly and just kept casting to the feeding trout and got lucky every 30 casts or so.

17"

They weren't huge but very strong. Between the weeds and the current it took a long time to get them to the net and then they were very tired so it was back into the river and rehab as soon as possible.

The second night out a cat moved in after dark.

He was very friendly and obviously hungry. All we had was freeze dried dinner so we gave him some spaghetti. He loved it. Turns out he loved anything we were eating.

He showed up for breakfast and we found out he preferred his milk cold.

He got friendlier every day and turned out to be very needy and very kneady. He knew no boundries, when he wanted some of your potato chips he just walked into the bag, nose first. And he seemed always starved.

The next day I decided to bring back a fish for him.

I cut it up into a large piece and the tail. That night I tried giving him the tail.

It seems he doesn't like sushi, he preferred a light sear on the campfire. We cooked the smaller half and he left only perfectly cleaned bones. We kept the rest for the next night.

Meanwhile, back on the river.

Mike Micci and a nice rainbow that wouldn't hold still for the camera.

Back in camp.

That night Mike gave the cat ( now called Red, Rog took the responsibility of naming him) refuge from the poring rain and took him into his tent. He laid out a nice towel for him to sleep on but Red preferred sleeping on Mike's face.

It was positively embarrassing, three old farts smokin, drinking and talking baby talk (that would be Roger) to a strange cat. He would now show up in the morning and we had to take turns holding him so he would let us fix our cereal. The cat, not Roger.

He (Red) would go from old fart to old fart, never pausing that long. And if anyone opened a food container, he was in your face.

We cooked the last piece of trout on the last night and he took two turns at it but ate the whole thing. It was at this point that we saw him calm down for the first time and relax. He was finally one contented cat. There was nothing left but a clean fish skeleton and a purring cat.

Today we said goodby to Red, packed up and Rog and I went up to Bozeman to meet up with Jake for dinner. Mike stayed for one more shot at the Bighorn before he started back to Denver.

We all three had the Montana meat loaf at the Montana Ale Works. Hands down, the best meat loaf ever.

Not a kid anymore.

I apologize for not having any photos of Rog with big fish. They must have been accidentally erased. Maybe next week.

Travel safe.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Getting Ready to Harass the Trouts Again

Went to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

One tall dinosaur.

The space section has lots of hands on stuff including the Planet Families app which you can get for free at the App Store.

Here's Spencer adding planets to build a solar system. Every bit of mass you add changes the orbital dynamics of the entire system. The goal is to build a solar system that is relatively stable. Our goal was to build a black hole by adding more Suns. Fortunately, we were unable to get enough mass into the Sun or we would have been sucked in too.

The mythical creatures exhibit was cool.

Spencer was wearing green shorts so they disappeared in the green screen shot. It is said that unicorns poop rainbows but we were unable to verify that.

There were dragons too.

Molly was drawn to the power of water exhibit.

I don't blame her, she can't help it. It is in her genes to play in water.

Nice interior views.

And, lastly:

No, I didn't get a puppy. But who could pass up this Golden/Black Lab mix?

We packed up the tent and moved it from the back yard to the street so it is ready for restocking for the road. Rog and I plan to leave next Sunday for Montana for what is becoming a Fall ritual, the end of season trout hunt. More to follow.

Cooling off here, in the 70s by Friday.

Stay cool yourself, and remember,

Winter is coming.