Paso Vino Tour 28Jun16

Hitting the beach, visiting with our friends Steve & Anne, dining delicious and riding & hiking around SLO are all great but we fill the cellar from our visits to the Central Coast too. We hired a driver and hit six esoteric wineries around Paso Robles this day. Perhaps it was because it was our final two or just because they were the best but Bodega de Edgar (picture with Edgar himself) and Alti Colina were some of the best. Kala and I gravitated to the rarer blends on this visit so have Tempranillo, Conlignan and others Rhone varietals in the cellar now. The facilities at LaW, Halter Ranch and Sextant were over the top gorgeous; the views from Douw (high point in SLO County) were amazing; the food was always good where we went. And of course the wines and wine tastings here are much better value and more laid back than Napa or elsewhere. I did taste the brews around the county during wine down-time and found Firestone Luponic Distortion, Barrel House Brew Company IPA and Central Coast Lucky Day the best. We even caught a surprisingly excellent Chicago concert (they'd hired a young, excellent signer) from the 9th row. SLO is cool (but was pretty hot when we landed and then chilled nicely).

LaW

Villa Creek

Brecon

Douw

Tablas Creek

Alta Colina

Bodegas de Edgar

Herman Story

Desparada

Barrel House Brew Co

Sexton

Bishop Pk Smears 27Jun16

Climbed the highest point in SLO County - a Moro named Bishop Pk. 1600ft elevation or so - had to solve some boulders and smear the summit blocks at the end of the trail. A moro is and old volcano coney worn down - there are seven around here.  Did both peaks on a pretty hot day so I walked down to Central Coast Brewery and grabbed some Gold Medal brews - a world medal IPA named Lucky Day and a session collaboration gold from GABF named Faciitator. Yesterday I had a Paso Robles IPA from BarrelHouse Brewing Co (BHBC) IPA. All west coast citrus and excellent. I'll have to see if I can get the team to go to Firestone Walker but we have so many wineries.

One Weight Field Trial @ Grape Ck 22Jun16

I made it down to Grape Ck before we head to SLO. The snow melt is kindof late and the big waters are still raging - even the tailwaters other than 11 Mile and a few other spots on the So Platte. Plus going to Grape yeilded a chance to fling the new one weight rig. It was very hot, there were 4 cars there when I arrived, the river was still a bit high and pretty dirty (perhaps from the heavy rain last night)  and the no-see-ums were bothersome but there were yellowish hoppers everywhere. I tied a hopper to the top and my new two color squirmy worm as a dropper. The new worm (wire wrapped super gummy and flimsy strands) worked great but bigger fish tried the hopper. I turned one big brown over but no bite and I caught a decent rainbow but dropped him before the pic. The one wt rig is very well balanced and is plenty accurate but a lot less stick than I am used to casting. I had to get used to that and not overpower the rod. Catching and fighting these smaller fish was more fun though. I caught a mess of fish but didn't fish long due to the bugs. It's also worth noting that I brought Ska's new Hop Ivy ACA for lunch this day - I enjoyed it at the recent festival and decided to reprise. This is an excellent beer in my opinion - ACA means "all Colorado ale" and all ingredients are sourced in CO! It's pretty hoppy so it makes me pretty happy - probably won't replace Modus but it's close.

Mon Ami 15Jun16

Unfortunately Kala crashed her bike and hurt her ribs/pecs pretty bad. I helped where I could and got us back to Silverthorne. I went out to work on the sailboat ultimately. I took her for a spin and tested the new Mack jib which is now on the roller furler. So, I tried various sizes of jib in various wind conditions. I'm not fully savvy with the rig yet but it works well (though a smidge hard to reel in). Mon Ami is now decked out in all red lines, red covers, and a jib with red Sunbrella to cover the new sail. We are the only apple red outfit in the marina, maybe even the lake. Mon Ami is cool.

NNMX Day 3 I Left 08Jun16

Given the fishing conditions, I called it off - I left for COS about 8:30am. Pretty disappointing I didn't bag a Rio Grande cutthroat native to the area. This also means no sandboarding. If I go again to NNMX it'll be later this year since I already have a non-rez license. My expectations are adjusted now as to size of water and size of fish - neither is too big. It may be hard to believe but once the Red River and the Rio Grande were top fisheries in the country. The molybdenum mine killed the insects and decimated the Red for at least 10 miles - supposedly some precautions are allowing a comeback but it is still operating. I caught a cool sunset with a duck near camp too.

NNMX Day 2 Total Bust On Rio Hondo & Rio Pueblo But A Ride 07Jun16

My plan is fatally flawed - most streams are in fully swollen runoff like at home. Though I did call on Taos Fly Shop where they said hit the Cimarron. I hit the Rio Hondo at the mouth with the Rio Grande and caught nothing but glimpses of rafters on the Grande. Wading was sketchy and casting wasn't. I left and headed for the Rio Pueblo. After a pretty long drive and a fee to BLM for the Rio Grande Gorge park I was at the mouth. It was similar. The views were great at least from the bottom of the gorge surrounded by towering black basalt cliffs. I found a trail from the bottom to the top so I cut my losses and saddled up the Broadaxe and set out on "The Slide." I soon found out the namesake as the trail was littered with slide rock from the cliffs above. A couple hike-a-bikes and I topped out at the rim after a simple short climb. More great views of New Mexico. After wending my way out of the park and lunch in Taos I headed to the Rio Pueblo headwaters 25 miles east in the Southern Sangres - I passed another ski resort named Sipapu (1 lift!) but found roiling stream and no joy on fish. Back to Taos for dining with Wilks at Orlando's after he summited Wheeler Pk.

NNMX Day 1 Cimarron & Red River Headwaters 06Jun16

My campsite on the Red River is stellar. Today I fished the Cimarron River (New Mexico's "best" fly fishing) in the AM. Meh - I caught a doz or so 10-12" rainbows and Browns on squirmy worm and dark BH gold ribbed hare's ear. Saw decent bug activity but this was barely a stream. I had to move far enough downstream that other creeks had built it up enough. The parking spot called Pallisades was spectacular. I fished the PM at the headwaters of the Red River and yes went through that kitschy ski town. The Red was way over its banks and the water was fast, cold and dirty. I did jack in the afternoon. Wilks arrives soon for dinner and tomorrow a climb up Wheeler, New Mexico's highest point.