Ain't here for a haircut

 We're used to being somewhere else in the winter...and of course Hamilton Montana qualifies as ' somewhere  else ' but we're used to warmth and adventure. We've decided that we will not return to our place in Mexico until we are vaccinated. I have some lung problems and the risk is silly to take. We know we could be safe if we were in control of our surroundings but that's far fromit in our building on the beach in Mazatlan. The building sent out a survey, which isn't a plan and because there are so many people coming and going we'll just.....go to Arizona instead ! We've rented a condo in Green Valley Arizona where we will be able to distance like we do here in Montana and be around people like us who want to be active and stay healthy. So, Tuesday morning we're off in MP's car ( no airplane travel ) and we are headed due south.

Our plan to stay away from people is to keep off the Interstate and avoid both Utah and the Navajo Nation who are suffering so badly from the covid. We've always wanted to drive Highway 93 from North to South and that's what we're doing...finally the things we've talked of. MP and I haven't driven the Nevada high desert since we went to Rachel Nevada years ago to look for aliens and see Area 51 ( aliens weren't out that day ) The plan also entails Mom and Pop motels like the one we'll stay at in Wells Nevada the first night where we can park in front of the unit and avoid lobbies and elevators...much to MP's chagrin no Casino's this trip. The next day we blast across the wild and by our old stomping ground Rachel where there are some a....road considerations.

We'll be careful. It's the wildest thing, as I remember there are mules and cattle and if you hit one in a posted area it's coming out of your pocket. so we'll be careful.

We're driving right through Las Vegas 😞 and into Boulder City still on Highway 93, it's the kick off to the Hoover Dam and a straight shot to Kingman Arizona. Our motel in Boulder City is again a single story with no casino.  It's going to be fun, we know so many people along the way. We're taking golf clubs, trekking poles, that black guitar and of course fishing gear. There's a walk in lake down by Nogales that is full of bass....

I called the Iron Man, my old guiding buddy Chick Kishbaugh and asked him what he thought about us coming to Green Valley which is an hour from him and Ardie. Well he gave me good advice when he said that if you want warmer weather you need to be along the river in Western Arizona. So if you're reading this Chick-a-saw we'll see ya soon.

Took me a bit to work up this song and my guitar has to much trebel and not enough mid range and bass but.. It's exactly how I feel when I go to Helena....Hope you come back to Mile 14, I'll have some fun stuff to report.

Pay Off

I know , I know, that was a long two weeks between posts. It's just that I'm settling in and there's not been much to write about...we'll be on the road soon and all that will change. But the good news was that after all the emotion and adjustment it's taken for ol  # 003 to change his life now it's starting to make sense. Sam and Haily drove over for a few days and it was sooooo good to see him. We played music and hiked and well, it was just wonderful and now we all see how easy it is to get together, if everybody is in the lower 48 of course. Of course with the covid crisis we weren't able to dine out or hot spa like we would but the visit was wonderful....Thanks Sam and Haily for the effort.

We had a good laugh on our River walk hike. Sam noticed the signs warning people about the moose, they seem to think that these animals are as dangerous as they are rare around here as compared to deer which are everywhere. Hardly a hike goes by without someone who has spotted one warns you....well, growing up at Mile on the World Famous Sam has had as many Moose encounters as we have so if there's any ' moose encounter experts' around here it's us.

I tell folks here what we all know. It's the spring of the year when they have calves that is the most dangerous and if you see them lay their ears back like MP and I had happen when we found ourselves between a cow and a calf on the river last year there's only one thing to do....run like hell and get a tree or something between you. But if the moose are well fed and without nursing calves, no worries, admire them and don't be scaredy chicken.

We see them here routinely and they are certainly different than those in the frozen north. For one thing they have lots of habitat and seem to stay along the river although we have had them in our yard like back home. Being a guy who's hit 3 of them with a pick truck I'm glad to report that we've yet to see one cross the road. The pic below is something I've never seen before, a moose with two calves from different years. In Alaska you always see mom give the yearling the boot when she calves in May but here they just all hang out together. Here's 3 generations all together, strange !

One of the reasons I came to Montana is that I want to work on my music and be around a bigger musical community and maybe find a venue to howl. Well I've been working hard on my sound but because of the virus the only musicians I'm meeting are the ones who left the music behind for the rest of us. One of my all time favorites right here in what we're calling ' Hammy' .....' alimony, alimony, you married men might think it's funny, till one fine day you wake and find you're paying for your mistakes... every friday when I get my pay...I put it in an envelope and mail it away...same old song with a little more  blues in it... I'm paying for it while someone else is usssssing it !

When I was a kid there was a ' one man band ' guy who we'd run into everywhere in Helena named Lee Goodspeed. Lee had Miguivered his guitar and had a cymbal that works when he nodded his head and even a keyboard sound when tapping his foot. He was utlra talented and you couldn't help to smile to see and hear him, through the years I've told many a person about Lee's magical sound and.....when I went to Piccolo's Music Store to get a light for my music stand there he was, his custom Strat and the Story. The owner was his friend and searched out the Strat, we had a nice visit and I left feeling connected.

I always thought a  Used Cow  was a hamburger.  But here in Montana they have a special parking garage or something for them that I haven't quite figured out. So if any of you know just what the heck this is all about how's about letting me know in the comments below....I need to be able to speak the language ya know. 

Here's a short list of a  few things I learned that I didn't know about moving.

1. Boxes stack, rubbermaid totes don't.

2. Don't move old stuff, there's old stuff everywhere.

3. Don't put something in the 'kitchen' box from somewhere else just because it fits. You'll never find it.

4. Hard things in life take time. You'll get used to it and feel better.

5. It's good for your marriage.

6. You'll lose 15 pounds

7. You'll gain 15 pounds

8. Happiness  ain't a location.

9. A 9 weight fly rod is huge.

10. The world is a big place.

Thanks for reading. I really do enjoy writing so I'll carry on , especially when we find new things. Thanks for reading, I'll do at the very least every two weeks....

LOSER

 In the movie Hardtimes Burgess Merideth's character said about his life " some of us were born losers and some of us had it thrust upon us "....And losing is something I know about, like most people I really haven't won a heck of a lot except for when I was a first ballot inductee in the Kenai River Hall of Fame. What I know about losing is you get used to it, in fact you can come to expect it and walla, there is the key to losing.  Don't worry about nothin because nothin turns out right anyway.

It's how you react to losing that's the key. Do you really want to be the guy who's so surprised he bites off part of Evander Holyfield's ear ? Wouldn't you rather be like Tex Cobb when after taking a horribly bloody beating from Larry Holmes and having lost all 15 rounds on the judges card he said he'd have won if they just had one more round. One interviewer told Tex it must have been frustrating to fight a guy with arms a foot longer than his. Tex said " it seemed that way to you too ?"  And the famous Joe Louis when his corner man tried to fire him up during a losing effort by saying " Joe he ain't touching you " replied " keep an eye on the ref then because somebody is ". 

I remember years ago at Mile 14 I was sitting on the couch with NFL legend Roger Craig watching the special post Olympic foot race between Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey to decide the fastest human in the world. The gun went off and as Bailey pulled ahead at about the 3/4 race point Michael Johnson pulled up with ham string injury and limped off....Roger howled ' he quit, he quit ' and yup he just couldn't do it or so it appeared, another way to lose.

As a kid we lived close to Canada and being an average swimmer who's lost a lot I was interested in the swimming preliminaries which were on TV from Lethbridge Alberta. When the Canadian swimmer failed to qualify for the finals but was just one position out the announcer said " he had the fastest losing time today ". 

Just a couple years ago I had a brush up with losing. Me and Stewart were fishing the Surf Tournament with hundreds of Mexican fishermen. I caught a nice 3 pound Toro just minutes into the event and waved over the 4 wheeler who we were told to send the fish to the weigh in station with. Well the driver tried to ignore me and drive off and I was frustrated thinking this could be the first fish, or biggest fish or maybe even the only fish of the tournament...Finally I got my translator on the phone  fired up and he spoke into for me to read " sir, do not embarrass yourself by weighing in that fish ". mmmmm....

So now you're probably wondering where the hell is retired guide #003 going with this exercise...Well it's simple, I think I'm a losing expert and there are some real complexities to it . So if you know anybody who needs some counsel on losing just have them give me a call at BR549 and I'll walk them through the process...and I'll do it slowly and in an understandable way so as not to confuse them...anymore that is...

Me and MPeasy on our continuing quest to find the best Hot Water in Mooontana found a new favorite, kinda funny how my favorite changes but Lost Trail is a contender for sure....and it's right next door to our new Middle America Mile 14 bureau. Like all the others we've been to this one is off the beaten path and kind of funky, the old buildings and camp setting is cool.

I made a friend named Dale who helps run the place and used to be an educator in Alaska, we'll be coming to this place often. We were at an uncovered Hot Springs a few weeks back which had cold water so we were happy with 98 degree healing waters with just a simple covering...so nice, thanks Dale.

The big news at Mile 14 is that me and the staff will be going to Arizona soon to hopefully use it as a jump off spot to drive on to Mazatlan if all things converge into a big ol ' let's go '.  We've rented a casita in and active adult community so I should have some fun stuff to write about. With this covid spiking everywhere we feel like we need to be outside more and of course we have no schedule and very little direction in life so a new adventure is coming to us soon. So please come back to Mile 14. I'll be on a 2 or 3 issues a month schedule and if I get that phone call for losing advice I'll let you all know how it goes....we'll be leaving the hats.

So ya wanna be a guide ?

 Well  here's a subject from which I know the way. Watching the dynamic guide industry here in Montana has been a real education for me, it's sooooo different, Coming from the Kenai which has to be the most difficult, stressful and competitive fresh water fishery in the world all I can say is that if you think you have what it takes, try Montana, they're doing some serious fund raising on these rivers and doing it with waaaaay less of everything. My old formula, busy season-low overhead-up early-to bed late-immune to elements-work the hardest = a modest living wage, if you don't have snafu's brought to you by mother nature or the G-men that run things.

Having said all that there are two things I know for sure that I'll say now....Guiding is easy to get into and damn near impossible to get out of. AND, it's also impossible to really describe the job in detail so I tell people this, ' the problem with guiding is that it's terribly hard / difficult work and the problem is that the only people who know that are the ones who have done it for years at a fulltime / professional level.

So...when I announce that I'm coming out of retirement it'll be right here in the Big Sky and here's why.

On the Kenai two motors and a 21 footer will set ya back about 30 large...The guide boat of choice here is what Geno accurately called and I.B.R.B. , itty bitty rubber boat. And you can get one for a couple G's and if you really want comfort and I'd guess more safety you go with the rigid crafter for maybe 7 to 10 grand....AND, if you're just starting out who needs a trailer, at the end of the day you just ask your customers to help you hoist it into the bed of your 1995 Toyota  T-100.

The mechanics of the fishing, the weather and even the fish themselves are hugely different. Just think of the pictures...To do the old 'guide pose ' as taught at the College level course which is mandatory to be a Kenai Guide not only do you have to judge the direction of the sun and shadows but you better tighten your grip and have a good smile while holding up 50 pounds. Heres my buddy Lowell has a text book pose...and then the Blue Ribbon trout stream pose.

So on the world famous we fish four people whenever we can , it's the $$$ ya know. But on the Blue Ribbon two is just the right number and they charge twice what we do...Less people, more lettuce, makes sense and is something I'd been trying to get to for years. As far as the actual mechanics of the fishery which of these two situations look to be easier to work through ?

One of the reason I decided to write about guiding was when I realized the Blue Ribbon guides work day...when we do our walk every morning you see them at the donut shop as late as 9:00...no dark thirty tee time like we do on the world famous. They tell me the reason is because the air has to warm before the ' terrestrials '  hatch so there is no need to start early and because you just float along there's no best spot to get to first...It's just soooo relaxed. Here's a pic of our typical morning and well....yawn....

And of course for the Blue Ribbon to remain Blue Ribbon the fishing is all catch and release. So, there's no ' bag limit mentality and no standing at the gutting table for a full hour dealing with a 6 humpy and 3 silver bag limit for four people...I'd bet a guide on the Blue Ribbon has never been asked " jeez Jeff, if you bought all that fish in the store what do you suppose it would cost " ? 

Now...for the weather. Everyone knows it's more fun when you're warm so that makes being warm and keeping or getting your customers warm is a huge part of guiding. I've never ended a trip from poor fishing but I have many times for poor weather. As my friend Ernie Mills said to me as he jumped the jet after a 2 week fishing adventure on the world famous in which it rained every single day and had the river at flood stage when he left ... " How in the Hell do you people live here " ???  Here's the facts

Average yearly rainfall   Hamilton 13 inches, Soldotna 22 inches

Average July Temps Hamilton high 85, low 50, Soldotna high 65, low 48

So, you don't have to go fishing looking like this !

One thing the two fisheries DO have in common is what I call ' guide bias '...it's simple, people just naturally hate that you get paid for doing what they do for fun...how un american. So these people think your customers shouldn't be able to do what they do because they ' were here first' or ' just because '. They convince people that the guided angler is some how different and oughta pay for all the management and access so they can go fishing in a spot where the person who paid for it can't....kapeesh ?

This sign is the Blue Ribbon equivalent of the Alaska State Parks signs that litter the Kenai which basically say don't have fun here.  This sign tells you which part of the river is restricted for the check writing guided angler on which days as to give the unguided public their chance to fish without having to deal with those #$*&@* guides.....seem familiar Alaska ?  On the world famous everything is just bigger so it goes that it's also true for the pain in the ass. This Park Ranger gal checked all our peoples licenses routinely, I guess she heard the secret of how we get customers....." pssssst, go fishing with me and you don't need a license, but shhhh keep that quiet ". Man I don't miss her a bit .

I'm just now starting to collect my fly fishing ' stuff '. And all of us professionals know it takes a lot of stuff. But given the size of the boats I can't imagine anybody hauls around as much stuff as a Kenai guide. My friend Keith has stuff in every nook and cranny and if you can ask him for something he doesn't have I'll buy you a Heineken . " thanks for the coffee Keith, I don't suppose you have any sweetener " ?  " sure what would you like Sweet and Low, Sugar or Splenda " ?   And Hows about my tackle box which is mostly terminal tackle and my prep table. Got some stuff.

So wish we good luck on a new career path. I'm gonna sleep in, wear shorts, charge more, eat store bought fish and ......well here's two things that will never happen once I get that state of the art I.B.R.B. lifes gonna get a lot easier.

Anonymous

 That's how I've been feeling. I think you would to if you went from a town where you've known everyone for the last 45 years to a town where you knew no one. Expectations and reality don't usually collide in my life so this part of the deal I guess I just overlooked a bit...I do miss that  store visit where it's impossible to not chat with a friend or fellow guide....So it was a moment, that Kizmet thing, that we're attached to the world  thing that will happen in life if you have an open heart and maybe just need a little help....MP and I  decided to check another Hot Springs off our list and I called to make reservations at the Historic Symes Hotel in Hot Springs Montana, about 3 hours away if you're daisy sniffing along the way. The call went like this after the receptionists said they had availability....

OK, I'm ready for your information and Credit card number...

Cool,my name is Jeff King

Oh, we have a friend with that name

Really, does he live in Alaska ?

Yes, yes he does...

Does he mush dogs ? ( that Jeff King is famous )

I don't know but I do know he is a fishing guide

Well ( now I'm figuring it's a customer who we always befriend ) you must have fished with me ?

Oh no....wow this IS Jeff King...we grew up together.

And it was my one of my best buddy's ever Tom Beneventi's sister Lori.

We had a great visit. Like all of us her life didn't take a direct path and the zigs and zags of life found her raising 6 kids in Hot Springs Montana a town of 500 people on the reservation. She loves it there and now so do we. The waters that artesian everywhere in town are known as some of the best and heaviest mineral waters in the world and have been the economy for a 100 years . The Symes Hotel was built in the 1920's, it's funky, ultra friendly, our kind of place.

In the morning we went for the 102 degree pool and this is the view at sun up. We chatted with a young gal from Missoula and an interesting couple who come over from The Tri Cities to stay for 4 days every so often...I asked what do they do all day and the guy gave me that 'what a stupid question' look and said ' nothin". This sign next to the office tells you a little bit about the informality at the Symes Hotel.

We tried to get our 3 mile walk in but just like the last place there wasn't a lot of choices...but we did walk enough to see that the water is everything in this little town, there are several small 50ish style motels with the Hot water in the rooms and even an undeveloped natural pool just outside of the town. After we walked we stopped on main street at the only store to get milk and a Danish. We were just in time to see an ugly situation where the proprietor threw somebody out of the liquor store across the street from us. Now I don't know what ya gotta do to get the hook at the Liqour store at 10 A.M. in Hot Springs Montana so I can't tell you what to not do.....mmmmm...

Liking the eclectic I spotted 2 houses in this little town that looked more like Mexico than Hot Springs Montana. You can tell their owners love the places. It was a cool little town and we'll be back.

MP's grandfather used to do a getaway and soak at a Hot Springs that she couldn't remember the name of until we saw the sign for Camas Prairie so it was pretty cool to think we were sharing an experience with somebody she loves so much....This is definitely one of those places that I say ' ya gotta want to be there ', you don't end up in Camas Prairie by accident and if you do you're a loooong way from where you oughta be. Right in the middle of this wilderness high desert we found this, no town no nothing just this....

A close up will show you the unusual architecture. We were going to go home a different way but I went back about 20 miles so as to not miss these shots...I got a little time on my hands.

Here's a shot of the prairie .  I had the same feeling I had in Death Valley a few years back, can you imagine walking along side your wagon and cresting a hill to see this ahead of you....call my mom and tell her I'll be late for dinner.

I stopped and took a panorama pic with my phone of Camas Prairie and I hope this works for my blog. But the entire area has stridation type lines where you can see the varying levels of ancient Lake Missoula that took up most of this part of Montana and eventually ended up being just Flathead Lake which is pretty impressive by itself. mmmmmm sorry, the upload is beyond my blogging skills....Stick with guitar video's right ?

AND....we found a river and will be looking at property in Plain's Montana area...This place is gorgeous and this river has H2O...I stopped at several boat launches and you can see that larger prop and jet boats are used and the fishing is excellent, semi wild....I'll let you know.

And on the Kevin-O-meter .....we shot a scene in town town that was either a shoot out or a bomb deal. Lots of smoke and of course you know me, I got us in trouble for trying to get to close...Maybe if I'm a big enough pest they'll give me job.  For anybody who follows Yellowstone this is my spoiler alert and I'll be honest....I don't know s*^%

Thank you all for following along with us...my posts are becoming less frequent and I know that but it's like my music when I say it's only that if people hear it ....so...I'll try to find the unusual as always and try to post more often...keep the faith.