So to answer the age ole’ question, is a river guides home his castle?…….No, it’s just a “retired” New Wave Rafting bus. With New Wave making the move from Santa Fe up to the Rio Grande River in the spring of 2008 and establishing it’s new “World Headquarters”, CJ and I found the need to relocate as well. Having spent our winter on the tropical beaches of Mexico’s Quitana Roo coastline, entertaining ourselves with activities such as SCUBA diving, fishing, birding, swimming, lounging and margaritas, we thought what better way to establish our presence on the Rio Grande, than at the same location and in a New Wave vehicle as well (which Steve and Kathy were so gracious to donate). So in the waning moments of the 2007-08 winter we began the renovation of our new digs, a 1984 International Bus, and 9 days later moved in.

It's a river guides Airstream.

Maybe the Resale Store can use a few genuine Naugahyde seats?

Down to the metal walls and floor, it's now become 140 square feet of possibilities.

Foam insulation and electrical wiring goes in the floor and walls.

With the insulation up, the wiring in and a floor plan, the framing begins.

The breaker box.

CJ at the arduous task of sanding the floor. Note the wood paneling is now in place.

After spending the winter viewing the Caribbean waters, CJ thought Ocean Blue was most appropriate.

The bed frame at the emergency exit, with storage underneath.

The kitchen counter is a refinished solid core door.

The view from the foyer (really just looking back from the drivers seat). From the bottom left in a clockwise direction note: the chest of drawers, dining room, upper shelf, office desk, bedroom, closet, refrigerator, kitchen counter.

Soon I will post an update on how it looks today (Summer of 2009), as it sits at the New Wave Rafting Headquarters in Embudo, New Mexico on the Rio Grande River.

Close by West Yellowstone is the Henry’s Fork, a legendary trout stream. I first read about this river when I was fifteen, in a fishing manual written by Ted Trueblood (how’s that for a name?). But I’d never made the pilgrimage to it’s storied banks until this August. Since we were in no hurry to return to New Mexico after our Middle Fork trip, we decided to fish this and maybe other Idaho rivers, on the way home. It was a few hours drive from the take-out of the Middle Fork to Island Park, a “linear” community that parallels the river and that boasts a 33-mile main street. We got a cabin in Last Chance on the evening we arrived, mainly so we could shower. Last Chance is that subset of Island Park located next to Harriman State Park and the historic Railroad Ranch. The famous Harriman family (e.g. Averell Harriman) owned railroads, and owned a gorgeous piece of the Henry’s Fork  (hence”Railroad Ranch”), later to be given to the State of Idaho.

But we had come, we found out, at the worst time of year – after all the good hatches had taken place. That’s hatches of bugs – stone flies, mayflies, caddis fles – that trout eat. So there was limited feeding activity, and therefore limited catching activity. Kathy and I first wade fished right at the Railroad Ranch, a beautiful meadow section that has few deep holes. I found my way to a deep riffle, saw a rising fish and hooked that fish on a Zebra midge suspended below a hopper pattern. It was a chunky rainbow of about 14″. Kathy showed up and I told her to use the same rig, on the opposite side of the riffle. And she got a 19″ rainbow on the Zebra midge. The next day we float fished the Box section, upstream of Harriman State Park, and then continued on through the State Park to a take-out on the main highway. In the Box, Kathy lost one good fish and I lost a smaller one. We both got skunked all the way through the State Park, but it sure was pretty, with lots and lots of waterfowl.

We could have float fished more of the Henry’s Fork or the nearby main stem of the Snake, but decided instead that a visit to Yellowstone was in order. You can’t be that close to Yellowstone, after all, and not go! Photos from Yellowstone will come next, but that won’t be until we return from a visit to my 102 year-old mother in Vermont, and a dive trip to Cozumel. I’ll be back posting at the end of the month.

Railroad Ranch, Harriman State Park. There were some big trout in the deep portion of the channel seen here, just adjacent to the parking lot.

Railroad Ranch. Kathy fights her big fish.

Railroad Ranch. Kathy and her big fish.

Railroad Ranch. My rainbow

Railroad Ranch. View of the Tetons

Put-in for the Box Canyon stretch

White Pelican, at Last Chance on the Henry's Fork

We exited Yellowstone via the South Entrance and soon came in view of the magnificent Tetons. What a mountain range! And, it was the scene of some of my earliest and most exciting adventures. It was where I went to learn to climb mountains, and where I subsequently spent much time, engaged in that pursuit. It was the beginning of a life-long addiction to the grandeur of the outdoors – the outdoors of the American West, which is about as grand as it gets. Now, when we drive past the Tetons, and stop to admire their “fearful symmetry”, I have the satisfaction of knowing I was up there. My recollection of those routes I followed to various summits is indelible. I could probably re-climb those routes (if someone would loan me some stamina) blind-folded.

Cathedral Group, Tetons

This is the first view one gets of the Tetons, coming from the north. The Cathedral Group is the name for the three peaks seen here. On photo left is Teewinot Mountain, and in front of the Grand Teton is Mt.Owen, distinguished by its snowfields. In 1960 I got a job at Jackson Lake Lodge, so as to be able to attend the Exum Mountaineering Climbing School. After completing the course, I began, in the company of co-workers, to climb on my own. I climbed Teewinot Mountain in mid-summer, and capped the season, in September, with a climb of the Grand Teton (elev. 13,770), by the Owen-Spalding route, in which I led a less-experienced co-worker. What a high (pardon the pun)! In 1964, with David Hiser, I climbed the Snowfield route on Mt. Owen.

Below: From left to right: South Teton, Middle Teton, the Grand Teton, Mt. Owen and Teewinot Mountain. I also climbed the Middle Teton, in that first summer, by the Dike route. The shadowed north face of the Grand Teton is seen here in profile. David Hiser and I climbed that route, also  in 1964. It is one of the classic climbs in North America. Very steep, but not too hard! In years following I climbed additional routes on the Grand Teton, which included the complete Exum Ridge, the Petzoldt Ridge and, with Joe Faint,  the dread Black Ice Couloir. Man, those were exciting times!

The final photo is of the Grand Teton from the southeast, showing the Otter Body snowfield about half-way up that side of the mountain.

I’ll complete the coverage of our trip to Idaho and Wyoming in coming posts. Stay tuned!

The Otter Body snowfield on the Grand Teton

Getting on the Middle Fork of the Salmon requires that you enter one of the most hotly-contested river lotteries in the country. That’s right … unlike the state of affairs when I first started running rivers, all the multi-day river trips of interest in this country are rationed and access is gained by winning in the lottery. That is, you or a friend wins. In this most recent case, the second Middle Fork trip for Kathy and I, our friends Michele and Marcos Puiggari won, and invited us. They recently moved to Missoula, MT from Santa Fe, but we’ve remained in touch. Marcos and I are fishing buddies, and we helped him acquire his first raft. The other participants on the trip were Marcos’ brother, Diego, (also a fishing nut), and two couples from Missoula.

So, why is the Middle Fork so popular? Well. its entire drainage is located in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, a vast tract of land that occupies most of central Idaho, and also includes a long stretch of the so-called Main Salmon. That means no logging or anything else, which results in astounding water purity and clarity, and an un-excelled  cutthroat trout fishery. One can also catch rainbow trout, bull trout and pikeminnow in the river. At the lower water levels of late summer the rapids are not particularly difficult for someone with a modicum of rowing experience, and the water temperature invites swimming – altogether a very pleasant way to pass a week away from it all, in the bosom of untrammeled wilderness. Ah…

The Middle Fork is 100 miles long, but we elected to fly in to an airstrip at Mile 25, to avoid low-water difficulties in the first 25 miles of the river. The trip went off as planned, with no incidents.

Morning at Lower Grouse Creek campsite

Rattlesnake at Lower Grouse Creek campsite

Kathy runs the main tongue at Tappen Falls

Joe runs the extreme right tongue, and almost runs me down!

This is a commercial sweep boat, in Tappen III. With two big oars, one at front and one in the rear, it's a very old-fashioned way of navigating a river.

Marcos and Diego in Tappen III

Scott in Upper Cliffside rapid

This is Devils Tooth rapid, the most photogenic on the river

Here, at the confluence with the Main Salmon, the river runs over white veins in the gneiss bedrock

Here's a cutthroat caught by Marcos on a huge hopper pattern

This a pikemonnow (a.k.a Squawfish), caught on a Woolly Bugger

Another cutthroat. We caught fish all day, every day.

And ... did I mention that there are hot springs on the Middle Fork? Here is Scott at the Hospital Bar hot springs

and lastly, here’s a shot from the Harriman State Park on the Henrys Fork (of the Snake River), near Yellowstone, where we wade and float-fished.

The meadow section of the Henrys Fork, right by the historic Railroad Ranch

You may recall from an earlier post that Kathy and I were bugging-out early, because we had been invited on a Middle Fork trip, and simply could not pass-up  such an opportunity. The Middle Fork was a week of bliss, with fabulous weather and non-stop fishing, catching native cutthroat trout on hopper patterns, all day, every day. Then we headed for the fabled Henry’s Fork, for more fishing. And next door was Yellowstone, with the most fantastic array of scenic and wildlfe wonders in the world. We returned via Flaming Gorge (but didn’t fish) and our own San Juan river. I’ll be putting-up a series of posts in coming days, showing you some of those wonders. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, our capable staff finished off the rafting season, and, with final figures in , we improved our numbers over last year! Given the prevailing economic malaise we are all painfully aware of, we are more than pleased with this result. Thanks to every one of you 4937 guests we had the pleasure to serve this season.

Thanks also to Britt and Jenni for their posts while we were away. You have to agree that Britt’s photography is first-rate. And today, 9/5, is the occasion of Jenni and Patrick’s wedding, the subject of Jenni’s earlier post. Congratulations to the two of you, and we are looking forward to the event, now just a couple of hours away. We know that Jenny will be a beautiful bride.

Here’s a photo from Yellowstone:

This bull elk was photographed while grazing alongside the highway, between West Yellowstone and Madison Junction. Like the bison of Yellowstone, he was very nonchalant about all the people that came pouring out of their cars to take his picture.