I Miss Yellowstone

I don't miss living in Idaho much any more.  Tomorrow I'm heading up into the North Cascades to do some fishing and hiking.  It should be another gorgeous fall day.  When I get up there amongst the big trees, the glacier-clad peaks, and the emerald green water, I know I won't want to be anywhere else - that place has that kind of effect.

Tonight, however, I've been thinking of Yellowstone and how this is about the same weekend I used to go up into the Park for the annual Fall weekend.  I would always camp along the Henry's Fork Friday night, and Saturday morning I'd fish the Coffee Pot section for the nice rainbows that would follow around the spawning kokanee.

Later in the morning, I'd pack up camp and drive into West Yellowstone.  The mandatory stop in West was always Ernie's.  This little place always made the best sandwiches and cookies anywhere.  Next, it was into The Park to fish the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek.  Saturday night was usually a campfire under the stars listening to the elk bugle all night somewhere in Yellowstone.

Sunday was always the big drive down into the Tetons, either for a short hike or onward for a little fishing time on the South Fork of the Snake River.  This was always followed by the long drive home across southern Idaho and a late night home arrival.

I'll take Washington over Idaho ten months of the year, but it's tough to beat the Rocky Mountains in September and October.  I'll have to start playing the lottery.

No more fall in Yellowstone, but I can't complain about this stretch of river I'll be on tomorrow.