Snapshot

Beautiful day here in Montana. Woke up to a morning low of 28 degrees, but nice and sunny with temps in the upper 60's. Went to the saloon at 11:00 this morning to have an early lunch and watch a little football, but they were not opening for another hour, so I went down to Hebgen Lake for an hour and caught this fattie. Sorry Amanda, but I released this one also The fishing lure is almost 4" long.

Outstanding!

Wow! That is a beautiful deer and a fantastic mount!

Turn me loose........and set me free........somewhere in..... the middle of Montana.

Happy birthday feller's. enjoy your day!

Well the weather is not so good today. Just snowed about 400 feet up the hill from me. I will post a whole bunch of new pics on Monday or Tuesday. Madison River below Hebgen lake. Madison River Geese on the Madison River Madison River- There is goats up in them cliffs, sometimes. After a hard day of fishing, its time for a Trout Slayer beer. Madsion River Valley Smoke Jumper airplane on manuevers Smoke Jumper Entrance to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center Bear exhibits Icouldn't get good pictures of the wolves as they were laying up in the shade away from the viewing area. Nakina and Revel-Two of the 6 bears at the Discovery center. The attendants will put food and treats out in the rocks and wood piles and then the bears will come out and root for some snacks. These bears and wolves are animals that were orphaned or in situations in which they would probably not make it in the wild on their own.

I was tempted to keep him since he was around 3 to 3 1/4 pounds But I catch so many fish up here that I can't eat them all, and my freezer in my RV is small, so I practice catch and release and keep one or two now and again to put on the grill. The Brown trout spawning migration will start next month. The Brown trout in the lakes will head up the rivers and tributaries to spawn. I am on a quest to catch a 24" brown before season end. My best this year so far is 22 1/2".

Beautiful buck! For some reason your freind looks familiar?

Yes indeed. 9/11 was a sad day for those lost in a horrific and cowardly act of terrorism. My prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones, and to those who put their lives on the line to save what people they could. As proud and free americans, may we all persevere! God bless America!

Pics uploaded......finally. Will have some more later this month.

I have been up in Yellowstone country all summer, but have only been into the park 2 times. July set a record in the amount of tourist entries at around 975,000. The road construction going on between Madison and Norris Junctions has made it harder. But I will be going in every weekend thru the end of the month now that the tourist herd has thinned out considerably. Post those other pics if you can.

Nice pics. To find the animals in Yellowstone, just look for the traffic jams on the roads Jackson Hole and the Tetons are very beautiful, epsecially when it snows and the trees are turning. Sounds like you had a great road trip. Thanks for sharing your adventure!

Happy Birthday Larry! Hope your Sunday is a good one!

Simply outstanding!

The archery elk hunters are already out and about. I wish I had a tag. As a non-resident I can get a cow elk tag for around $300.00 but I don't hunt female's, with the exception of the 2 legged variety , but I don't have a place to put meat even if I got one? Since Labor day is past, the tourists have thinned out, when the tree's turn I will be going back into the park. July and August the Park was a complete circus. Major road construction from Madison to Norris Junction.

It was the howling winds and rain that proceeded the snow that wasn't so good Wanted to go fishing yesterday, but the storm put an end to that idea.

That is one nasty, sick, and wicked set of sheds.! I have never had a problem with buck fever, but if I saw that bad boy during hunting season..................., I just might get weak in the knee's!

I have a bunch of new pics that I will post soon, including pics of the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center In West Yellowstone. I will have to go into town to upload them, as I have a WIFI agreement with the RV park that I will not upload or download files.. as I will get a spanking if I exceed the WIFI bandwith

Here are some pics taken during my travels. I will post more in the future. A nice 20" Yellowstone River Cutthroat that I caught and released unharmed. All Cutthroat Trout in YNP must be released. The Yellowstone lake/River Cutthroat trout have been severely affected by the lake trout infestation,whirling disease, and a lack of water in the spawning tributaries. I remember the days you could look out into the clear water of the Yellowstone river and see the trout laying in there in good number. Not anymore! The day I was fishing the Yellowstone, a 65 year old fisherman drowned just down the river from me. He floated 5 miles before he was found face down in the water in Hayden Valley. Alot of people underestimate the power of the currents in these big rivers. A momma moose and her calf, not far from where I live. I saw them lying in a grassy drainage, and snuck as close as I could without upsetting her. Cow moose are very protective of their young, and you don't want to get too close. A small antelope buck crawling under a fence in the Madison valley A small pond(fishless) not far from where I live. The Madison river after it comes out of the canyon and then broadens out into the Madison Valley. Mountain Goats up in the high cliffs above the Madison river between Hebgen and Quake Lake. The picture quality is not good, but it was as close as I could get with the digital zoom. Madison Range Mountains The Gallatin River runs along some of the highway on the way to Bozeman. The Gibbon River inside YNP Hebgen Lake is 16 miles long. This is just a small part of it. Went to a 4th of July Party after work, at the Longhorn Saloon, just down the road. The band "Snake Bones" was playing on the outdoor stage. Quake Lake was formed in the earthquake of 1959 when a whole mountainside slid down into the Madison river. There are still lots of dead tree's in the water, but there is good fishing here, but you really need a boat for this lake. An adult "Salmonfly". These bugs are 3" long and they crawl from the water as a nymph and shed thier shucks and fly away to mate and lay more eggs in the water. The trout will gorge on them until they will no longer eat. It is fun to fish a big fly that you can actually see on the water This is my "little buddy" he lives by my trailer and I feed him some bread. I am trying to get him to take it from my hand but he will only come within 2 feet of me. Madison River.

Happy Birthday Doug!

I may live up here permanently. Tucson does not hold anything for me amymore, and I am pretty burned out living in the desert. Will see how I can handle the winters up here with my thin Arizona blood! Summers are short, winters are long, so time will tell if it is a good fit for me or not. It sure is beautiful up here, and a flyfisherman and hunters paradise!

Happy Birthday Buddy! Hope your day is a great one. We will tip a cold one or two at a CWT get together again someday!

I think fall is coming quick to Montana. Had Ice on my windshield, and there is a skiff of snow in the high country from a storm that came through. 28 degrees the other morning. They thought a tornado came through West Yellowstone on Saturday, about 2 hours after I left town. It blew roofs off and broke alot of tree's. Turned out to be microburst type winds. Compiling some more pics to post. The aspen should be turning color soon and make for some good pics. Elk will be bugling soon. Heading for Ennis this weekend for the Flyfishing festival. Seminars, raffles, entertainment etc.

Happy belated birthday! Hope your hunt is fun and successful!

Did I tell anyone about the mosquito's and deer flies up here! Nasty little buggers! I went fly fishing on the Madison down by Ghost Village yesterday, and forgot to spray myself......................... The deer flies were so insane they chased me right off the river. But I did land 4 rainbows and a dozen whitefish. My hands are pretty swollen today from fly bites. Now let me tell you about these dang whitefish........................................