May 07, 2007
July 20, 2001
Such a big day and I’m too tired to do it justice. Bill took Tucker and me running the McKenzie River. He launched the boat around 3:00 in the afternoon and tossed the car keys to “Big Ed’s” mother who drove the SUV down the highway to await us at the end of the run.
We set off down the river until it was time to set the anchor and fish. Talk about a fishy day! Tucker couldn’t cast the line without a fish jumping onto it. I even caught a few. Our goal was to catch six rainbow trout, big enough for dinner. We passed that goal by the second fishing spot so we started throwing them back in after that.
We came to another fishing spot, which Bill referred to as “The Glory Hole.” But we changed the name to “Ichabod” because it was obvious that the glory had departed - nothing was biting.
We ran a few light rapids and, our favorite, wave trains until it was time for dinner. We pulled the boat over to the edge and Tucker and I built a fire while Bill cleaned the fish. Yuck! He then dipped them in his special spice mix and cooked them in butter over the fire.
He brought a can of beans but forgot the can opener. Tucker came to the rescue with his handy-dandy Swiss Army knife. We all had a hand at trying to figure out how to use it but between the three of us we were able to pry it enough to get the beans out and cook them next to the fish.
We sat around the fire beside the edge of the river eating our trout while Bill told us stories from his favorite operas and Tucker whittled a boat from a piece of wood. I was shocked to hear Tucker later say that this was his favorite part of the whole day. Much too soon it was time to pack up camp and continue heading down the river.
Now for the fly-fishing. This was my favorite part. Bill taught me how but he was very annoying. Every time he cast the line, he caught a fish. And I was the one who was supposed to be fishing! He finally had to stop teaching me so that I would have a chance. I finally caught a momma fish and a baby fish. It was thrilling. I think I could really get into this. For me, it had very little to do with the catching of the fish as much as the art of pursuing them. I would like to learn more someday.
But this day was quickly coming to a close so we headed back down river until we got to the spot where “Big Ed’s” momma had dropped off the car. Tucker and I waited by the tied up boat while Bill walked down the road to retrieve the car.
He came back empty-handed. Earlier he had accidentally thrown “Momma Ed” all of the car keys, included the electronic key Bob used to open the car door. We were locked out of the car with the keys inside and we were standing in the pitch black on the side of the road.
My cell phone was dead and Bill couldn’t get any reception on his. So he took the oar out of the boat, the one that had broken earlier in the day, (sorry I’m sleepy and forgetting some of the details from the day) and he used it to smash in the back window. I felt terrible about this but it sure did add an exciting ending to an exciting day!
Posted by weblion at 04:13 PM
