colorado to montana

spent close to a week in colorado...really enjoyed visiting my good buddy gordon, wish he hadnt had to work so much but such is life. fished some of my own haunts, caught some fish, visited some old sites. stopped in to my old place of employment from a previous life, Clear Creek Rafting. I was hoping to find a raft for cheap but didnt quite find  what i was looking for. It however was great visiting with my old boss dale...who was both great to work for and at getting me out of trouble...thanks dale. and as luck would have it i managed to find a steal on a raft the next day while browsing craigslist in seattle. so hopefully in a week or so i will drop in to my future homestead to grab my new boat. then it will be back to idaho for a couple weeks more fishing. in the present, however, i am in ft. smith, montana getting my fix on some great trout fishing on the big horn river and releasing some pent up aggression towards life.

the drive up to montana from colorado was gorgeous though a little stressful at times. most of it was made into a very strong headwind. i found out very quickly that my rig complete with roof cargo box and hitch bike mount/cooler carrier is blown about about as easily as the ever so present tumbleweed. and a couple times it appeared my cargo box might end up travelling back through kansas with dorothy and toto. the cargo box, and its cargo of my precious fly rods survived in tact, and my confidence in its road worthiness continues to grow. along the way we encountered lots of huge rolling hills, picturesque skies, and tons of wildlife. the antelope are thick as cattle, mule deer...not much sparser...and there are whitetails too. now that ive made it to montana, ive added bald eagles, lots of ducks, geese, and pheasants, along with some very large brown and rainbow trout to the list.

that being said...
a lot of people seem to think im just out here living the dream...in some ways thats probably true but to me its not that simple. maybe im just too aware of my own shortcomings and failures. but while im having fun in the present i cant help but ponder the things ive left and lost..andthe lack of direction i sometimes feel im headed towards. the fact is im soon to be passed another milestone of 25, unemployed, running out of money in a hurry, and headed to a new place with only a couple friends and no real fall back. my poor dog, although loving the fishing, seems to be sometimes be almost as lost as papa. he hasnt hardly finished a meal since we left and often looks at me with a "what the hell are you doing" stare that i understand all too well. and although it is a little scary at times...i am trying to just go with it and let the wind blow me where it will. and times this stuff gets me down, but at the present im just going to let it be...and keep catching big trout in montana...living the dream baby.

more to come soon hopefully with some more interesting stuff to write than this rambling...and lots of pictures