Papaw and Sons

My brothers Ronnie and Steve brought Dad up for a long week-end together. Charlcie was in Missouri for a long week-end trip with her sister, so it was a bachelor party at our house in Cotter. We had a great time together, highlighted by taking Dad to catch many large fish at Dry Run Creek. We are all big St. Louis Cardinals and Razorback fans, so we enjoyed watching the Cards clinch their division series and the Hogs defeating Auburn. It was really a great time for the four of us to be together for a few days! Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot to get pictures of all of us together. Anyway, we were excited that Dad did so well fishing. I failed as a guide - although I rigged him up with the right flies to catch the fish, I managed to not net the very largest fish that he caught before they broke off - I'm simply not experienced in catching such large fish, a couple that exceeded 24".

Credits

It has been pointed out that I should give more credit to Charlcie for the pictures on the blog.  Although we sometimes are confused about which one of us has taken a particular picture, I must admit that my favorites were taken by her - the trout on the home page, the man in the boat on Taylor Reservoir, and the panorama of Taylor Reservoir with mountain ranges in the background.

Returning Home

After a very fun three weeks, we headed back to the Ozarks today. Although we missed the scenery as we traversed Slumgullion Pass, we were able to enjoy the aspens one last time in morning light as we approached Creede. The beauty is endless in these parts - including the upper Rio Grande that parallels the highway for a good distance.

Engineer Pass

On our last day in Lake City, we loaded into the Jeep and headed up Engineer Pass - unfortunately, rain storms were brewing and greeted us soon after we started the ascent. Greg and I were high and dry, but Diane and Charlcie were in the rumble seat and were getting the brunt of the rain, so we had to retreat.

Max and Tess were so worn out by our visit, they crashed end-to-end