Helena, MT

Days 16-19
My parents came to Ennis for Labor Day weekend and for the last three days I have chilled with them at Grandma's house.  My parents, Grandma, two dogs and I drove up to Mill Creek road and saw the Bangham Lakes at about 8,000 feet.  The first of the two lakes produced more fish and I took a nice 12" Brook trout on a Stimulator (dry fly).  Unfortunately, my memory card crumbled in my hand so I have no pictures of the Mill Creek trip or the ensuing days for that matter.  We came back to Ennis and had dinner at the Reel Decoy and crashed.


*I also wanted to add this in.  I found it at Grandma's house and it spoke to me; its special and relevant:
      "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with broken success, we have become too self-suficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."  -- A. Lincoln in March 1863.


The following day, Dad and I were going to photograph sunrise at one of his favorite spots, but a perilous lightening storm at 5 AM meant we could go back to sleep.  That day we went to a family friend's house for dinner.  We talked about some interesting things including the way that people learn/process information and/or how they are.  For example, I am a visual learner, when I read books I paint a picture as I read and the same for how I write.  But other people may be more emotional, or auditory learners for example, which means that it requires extra work to understand people different from you.

Madison River

The next morning, on Monday, I floated the Madison River and unfortunately it was unproductive except for the three fish I turned.  It may have been the low level of the river, which held less fish, or the fact that it is difficult to fish while rowing in a one-man pontoon boat constantly adjusting for the bends in the river and the wind.  Regardless, it was a gorgeous morning; the clouds were reluctant to let me see Sphinx Mountain shine with its overnight snow covered mass, but when the clouds dried up with the sun, the view was spectacular.  Later that night, Grandma's neighbors came over for a Labor day/neighbor dinner party, which was fun since I had not met everyone in her neighborhood yet.  After helping entertain our guests for a while, we drove to Bozeman so that my parents could get some rest before their early morning flight the next day.

Sphinx Mountain

Today, I dropped my parents at the airport and had breakfast with them before I returned to my journey. I may run into some hospitable friends and family along the way, but until I head back South I will be on my own again.  I got to Helena about 3 PM and decided to float a short section of the Missouri River near Craig for a few hours before sunset.  Again, its difficult to fish from the pontoon for me (hopefully it will get better) and worry less about rowing/not missing the takeout.  But the MO is always fun to fish since it goes without saying that you will see a monster fish rise to a dry.  I only had a couple fish on today, but the scenery remains worth it to me.  The only regret I may have is that the more time I spend fishing in the lower 48, the sooner winter will come to Alaska and I do not want to get caught in rough weather, but it IS the end of the Hopper season and fall trout fishing should be unbeatable. After the float, I came back to Helena to crash with Bug and Randy for the night, before I press on to Glacier.