I Get By With a Little Help...

Help and friendship can arrive when least expected.

So I submitted that proposal to do the fly fishing class. Did I think the big cheese would go for it? No. Did it get the stamp of approval? Yes. Did I think many middle school kids would want to learn how to fly fish? No. How many did? Twenty-seven, with more saying they wish they would have turned their form in.Great, now how do you teach flyfishing to 27 kids?

Talk about lucky. Enter Ed Megill. Professional guide and fellow fan of the Nooksack and other rivers. Ed was not only willing to help out, but fired up about it! Well, with the help of Ed and another lucky break from Holly Bulloch, a school mom who knows how to fish and who used to tie professionally, we managed to pull of the first day. Almost all of the kids had a good time (Hopefully the two whiners will go back to the X-Box). And they're excited for more.

Back at it again tomorrow. Look at this weather, it's starting to smell fishy for this weekend.

First & Last

Last couple of weekends.

Last weekend was the last on some of my favorite steelhead water. Saturday was rainy and the water high, but I got a few fish to come out and play, which was nice. It was also nice to hang out at the Miller Tree Inn again, home-away-from-home. It was not so nice to have the Hotel Toyota not want to get in gear. But a call to Mick, The All Mechanical One helped me get the beast on the road. Sunday broke out the fly rod, and smacked the first mosquito of the year, what a warm winter. Water conditions were perfect and the fish were active. Barely got the truck home, having to turn it off and shift into first to get moving.

This weekend helped on a stream restoration project yesterday morning, felt good to get involved with the community a bit. Got home and figured it was time to take on the jungle. First time mowing the lawn for the year, last one on the street to do it. Gotta finish up before the rain hits. Inside the house still looks like shit. Too much time on the computer, checking out fiberglass flyrods.

Heaven and Hell

An absolutely gorgeous weekend steelhead fishing. Sunny and warm, this is February? Tom and I caught some fish. Battling another sinus infection sucks grandly. Oh well.

A Fan

O.K., so now I'm a Shaun White fan.

After living in the valley of the yupsters for ten years, it's become tough to hold back the gag reflex when it comes to the whole yo-yo skiing and snowboarding "scene." The self-absorbed, mutual admiration club became too much, and I had to get the hell out of there. But I gotta admit, watching Shaun White launch off the half-pipe and seeing his genuine joy of the competition made me want to dust off the old Nitro and head up to Baker. His interview with Bob Costas seemed to reveal a genuinely humble and enthusiastic young man. Way to go, dude!

Olympics, eh!

Even after all of these years, the Olympics still manage to be the best sporting event, period. When I lived in Idaho I thought Salt Lake was close. But these Vancouver games, even though I'm not going to see any of it like I was able to in Park city, really have me watching and rooting. It's strange to think those skating events in Richmond are only a half hour away from work.

It's great to see the events held on ski runs I've skied on, especially the cross country events. It's nice to see hockey played on an NHL rink. It was cool to hear the familiar chants of "LUUUU!" when Luango made a save. It was also fun to root for Pronger for a change. It will also be kinda fun to cheer against the Sedin twins. Hope it's USA vs Canada for gold, but those Russians look tough to beat. Hopefully the smaller rink will work against the Swedes, and they'll play soft like they do in the NHL.

Looking forward to more of it. No border line-ups. What were they thinking?