A Family Get Together near Colorado Springs

We have a daughter-in-law in Albuquerque, Mandy, and a granddaughter, Haley, near Denver. We hoped to have a get-together near Colorado Springs but it turned out more difficult than expected. Mandy had a new tent she and Haley wanted to try out. I called a number of campgrounds and learned they were all old with tiny spaces and geared to RV camping, not tent camping. We extended our search and ended up at a National Forest Campground near Woodland Park, South Meadows. There were benefits to our choice: the campground had HUGE campsites and gorgeous walking paths behind the campground, and great proximity to Colorado Springs and local attractions.

It was easy to decide our first full day should be spent at Garden of the Gods Park, a registered National Natural Landmark in Colorado Springs. It features dramatic views, 300′ towering sandstone rock formations against a backdrop of snow-capped Pikes Peak and brilliant blue skies. The world-class Visitor & Nature Center and museum is the most visited attraction in the region.

We hopped on the 1909 Trolley for a narrated tour and fantastic views of park attractions.

We spent another day in Manitou Springs, starting at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, a drive around town, and lunch at the historic Cliff House at Pikes Peak, providing an atmosphere of Victorian romance and opulence dating back nearly 150 years. From its storied start as a stagecoach stop to its turn-of-the-century prominence as the area’s premier mineral resort, it remains the crown jewel of Manitou Springs.

Blue Mesa

When we started full-time RVing in 2013, I came across this location in our Coast Resorts membership info and made a mental note I’d like to see the area sometime. Sometime came!

The drive from our camp near Colorado Springs was spectacular: through the heart of the Rockies on Highway 50, Pike and San Isabel National Forests and then over Monarch Pass, 11,321 feet! The pass is widely considered one of the most scenic in Colorado, offering a panoramic view of the southern end of the Sawatch Range from the summit.

The Sawatch Range is a high and extensive mountain range in central Colorado which includes eight of the twenty highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains, including Mount Elbert, at 14,440 feet elevation, the highest peak in the Rockies.

The road is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone with the opportunity to do it.

The Blue Mesa Reservoir runs 29 miles from Gunnison to Montrose, CO. The state’s largest reservoir, the Blue Mesa is part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area. This is where the waters of the Gunnison River gather before carving through the steep walls of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

The Curecanti NRA Visitor Center was just a couple of miles from our site at Blue Mesa Recreational Ranch, which was also where we launched our boat to fish. Kokanee’s here too, but smaller than Flaming Gorge. Delicious nonetheless.

At the Visitor Center we learned about the Morrow Point Boat Tour that runs between the Blue Mesa and Morrow Point Dams and into the famous Black Canyon of the Gunnison, giving us the opportunity to learn about geology, wildlife, early inhabitants, the narrow-gauge railroad, dams and reservoirs. It runs daily in the  summer.

It’s a gorgeous hike to the boat from the parking area – 232 stairs, then onto the old narrow gauge railroad bed for about a half mile. The hour and a half trip is on a large pontoon boat with a captain and interpretative ranger.  Most places the cliffs are at least a thousand feet high.

It’s very hard to imagine the railway that existed there in such a narrow canyon. “When the first Denver and Rio Grande train passed through the upper reaches of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in August 1882, the passengers gazed with wonder at the steep walls above them, the cascading waterfalls and the towering granite point of Curecanti Needle. As the little train found its way out of the canyon and the passengers set their thoughts toward the open vistas ahead, few could imagine the human and monetary cost of constructing this “Scenic Line of the World” through some of the most rugged country in the West.”

Our boat tour was in the morning, so later in the day we drove on to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Now we would see the river from the top of the cliffs.

“…no other North American canyon combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness, and somber countenance of the Black Canyon.” -Geologist Wallace R. Hansen

The walls of the canyon are 2,000 feet deep, rock walls are only 40 feet apart and plunge directly into the river. Choose your footwear accordingly!

Fishing at Delores and a Visit to Mesa Verde

The Views RV Park  in Delores, Colorado, called to us because of its proximity to McPhee Reservoir (second largest in CO after Blue Mesa), Mesa Verde National Park (a World Heritage Site) and the Canyon of the Ancients.

The Views turned out to be our favorite RV park of the summer. Our huge spot, #10, overlooked a gorgeous valley and the park is located directly across the highway to the entrance to McPhee Reservoir.

McPhee Reservoir

It’s the largest lake in the San Juan National Forest, with a beautiful topography of piñon, juniper, and sagebrush trees. Things to do at the McPhee Recreation Area include boating, fishing, camping, hiking and biking.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park was created in 1906 to preserve the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people, both atop the mesas and in the cliff dwellings below. The park includes over 4,500 archeological sites; only 600 are cliff dwellings. We visited the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center, the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and drove the Mesa Top Loop Road.

In 1978, Mesa Verde National Park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its exceptional archaeological relevance – including its spectacular cliff dwellings tucked into the sandstone alcoves of its steep-walled canyons.

Canyon of the Ancients

Our morning at Canyon of the Ancients was an eye-opener. This National Monument encompasses more than 170,000 acres of high desert and protects a rich landscape of cultural and natural resources. Thousands of archaeological sites have been recorded in the monument, and thousands more await documentation and study.

Lowry Pueblo is the only developed recreation site within the monument. It has stabilized standing walls, 40 rooms, eight kivas and a Great Kiva.

Humans have been part of this landscape for more than 12,000 years. Changes in cultural life over time ranged from hunting and gathering to farming. In the beginning (about 750 A.D.), farmers, Ancestral Puebloans, built year-round villages, clustered pit houses. Over time, these ancestors build larger masonry homes with connecting walls above ground. In time, factors such as population growth, soil exhaustion and changing weather compromised the area’s natural resources. By about A.D. 1300, these ancestors migrated to New Mexico’s Rio Grande Valley or farther west to where the Acoma, Laguna, Zuni and Hopi people live today.

During our summer travels, we go out of our way to see and enjoy our national resources: parks, monuments, forests, wildlife refuges and BLM land. This year, though, we are grateful to find ourselves more committed than ever to the preservation and defense of these treasured places.

“We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Last stop: Prescott, AZ

We’re biding our time in Prescott while it cools down on the “West Coast of AZ.” We need to be back in Lake Havasu City mid-September, which is still a little too hot for our liking, so we decided to spend our last two weeks in Arizona, but at a higher altitude.

So here’s an admission, a possible reality of full-time RV living and traveling: Enough of a good thing is sometimes enough. We’ve had a fantastic summer season, but we’re both looking forward to getting back to what has become “home” and a regular routine. This stop brings us within an easy day’s ride of that goal.

I chose Willow Lake RV Park because of it’s location – the heart of the Granite Dells of Prescott. As we drove in, I was thinking it was a good decision, and sure enough, there are numerous trails right from the camp that lead to the Willow Lake Loop Trail (about six miles in length).

One day I was walking and some pink and purple flowers caught my attention off the path. There were plenty of yellow flowers in bloom, but nothing like this. Investigating, I saw they were artificial flowers indicating a grave. As I continued on, contemplating my find, a metal reflection caught my eye and I left the path again to investigate. Aha! It was an informal pet cemetery. What a lovely idea in such a peaceful place. Later, I looked on-line to see if I could learn more about it, but no luck. A hidden treasure.

I did learn though that Prescott’s Mile-High Trail System contains approximately 100 miles of trails including Rails-to-Trails projects along the former Santa Fe Railroad, the Prescott Circle Trail System, the Greenways Trails System and the Dells trails around Watson and Willow Lakes. In our many trips to Prescott over the years, I had no idea of the recreational opportunities.

Mainly, in the past, our opportunities have been limited to shopping since Prescott has my favorites when it comes to groceries: Costco, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts (none of which are present at or near Lake Havasu City).

Another fabulous summer into our memories. Havasu Springs, here we come!

We needed to be back in the area in mid-September for a number of reasons. Due to restrictions in our Colorado River Adventures (CRA) membership, we can only stay six months at our favorite resort, Havasu Springs. We booked a month’s stay at CRA’s Lake Havasu location.

This “resort” is a place to park your RV with full hookups and, really, little else. It’s quite a large park, with parking facilities on both sides of London Bridge Road, though the east side is currently closed. It will get crowded this time next month and they will offer winter activities, but right now it’s a ghost town. No matter to us. It was a great location for all we need to do in the next month.

A new venture

Last summer, D.A. decided to start business as a fishing guide from our “home” at Havasu Springs. “Havasu Net Em” was born. D.A. has been fishing his whole life, and was once a  professional fisherman. He even traveled the world for Orvis for a while, catching fish for their videos. D.A. loves to fish and he also loves to share his knowledge. A match made in heaven.

While preparing for the AZ Game & Fish Guide Test, he learned the Coast Guard has jurisdiction for Lake Havasu too. This meant he would have to take and pass the Coast Guard Captain’s Test! This news changed our plans dramatically. A lot of studying has been taking place since. The test is on October 9th.

At the beginning of September, Joey, the Wildlife Refuge Specialist at Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, started weekly nature tours at the “Bill Will.” He hoped this activity would eventually be taken over by our Friends Group. Then it turned out he was going to be away on the 26th, so he asked me to conduct the tour.

Great opportunity! I asked one other Board member, Sue, to join me since she, too, is interested in leading tours, and then I asked D.A. to join us for his “birding” skills.

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but D.A. is also an excellent photographer. He knows the birds and waterfowl on our end of the lake, and could add much to our tour.

Are you kidding? Is it really going to rain in September in Arizona??

On the day of our tour, it rained and no one showed up for the tour!! We hatched a new plan within a few minutes, because the sun came out and our boat was already moored practically next door at Havasu Springs… “Let’s go fishin’!”

We were on the water only a few minutes when we had our first “Striper.” It was nice size but we let it go… later we regretted that decision. We caught a couple of smaller Stripers, and then found ourselves in Smallmouthland. Look at this beauty –

We kept this one and another a little smaller.

The clouds in the mountains above Bill Williams River were growing dark and we could hear thunder, so we started back. I took this picture to show the relationship of the communities on this end of the lake.

On the right is the Havasu Springs Resort. On the left, going up the hill, is the Hillcrest Bay Community. In the middle is the Bill Williams River NWR. The bridge on Highway 95 and the actual river are to the left of Hillcrest.

On top of the world in a sea of sage…

It was early July when we arrived at Buckboard Marina on Flaming Gorge, Wyoming. This is a full-hookup campground in Ashley National Forest. There is a large NFS campground (Buckboard Crossing) nearby, mostly without hookups, and many areas where you can camp on your own. It’s gorgeous with huge skies and expansive views of the Gorge and Uintas.

And wrapped in a blanket of stars…

I hope to add a short video of D.A.’s “star track,” but as I write this, the camera is in the shop for repair.  Flaming Gorge is filled with cool places that have zero light pollution and low humidity, making for prime star gazing conditions.

We fished a lot and caught Kokanee Salmon (and a few Lake Trout) that we thoroughly enjoyed eating. Arriving at the fish-cleaning station after a morning fishing was always exciting where we would learn how the other fisherpersons had done. They mostly caught more and larger fish than ours, but they were using downriggers and we were using leadcore. The fish we were seeking were going deeper the whole time we were there, so it was hard for us to reach them. Nonetheless, we were very happy with the ones we caught.

Buckboard Marina is about halfway between the town of Manila, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming (about 20 miles either direction). No facilities except a small store, but from now on when I think of “getting away from it all,” I will be thinking about our time at Buckboard.

We stayed a month and had several excursions to local attractions.

One day we took a ride out of Rock Springs (about 20 miles from Green River) to visit the “Firehole” area. The pinnacles and mesas are the remains of prehistoric volcanic activity. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

On two Saturday mornings, we found ourselves at Farson Mercantile, reputed to have the best ice cream in Wyoming. Who knows if it’s best, it certainly IS the most generous servings I’ve ever seen! The first visit, I ordered a single, which was bigger than what you would expect from a double. The second visit, I ordered a Baby Scoop, which was about perfect. Actually, this is a great stop for ice cream and interesting shopping – no matter it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere (which I think could be said for most attractions in that part of Wyoming). And P.S., we no longer eat ice cream for breakfast!

Farson is about 40 miles north of Green River on Highway 191, which happens to be one of our favorite highways. If you ever get the chance to take Highway 191 from southern AZ to Canada, DO IT!!

On the road to Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge we found the sign that heads this post. It gets my vote for innovation. It makes you laugh and it makes you think. Here’s another one:

Seedskadee NWR runs along the Green River about 40 miles north of the town of Green River and is an oasis for wildlife. Thousands of waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds migrate through the Refuge each year and some, like trumpeter swans and bald eagles, nest here. We saw Sandhill Cranes the day we visited.

One of our last and favorite excursions was to the Red Canyon Visitor Center in Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. A long-time summer resident at Buckboard Marina told us it was a “must see” in the area and we couldn’t agree more. The site offers paths and commanding views of the 700′ wide and 1,400′ deep Red Canyon that frames the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The red canyons we were used to in other places were more orange than red. These were more purple than red.  Green river, purple mountains – stunning!

“We name it Flaming Gorge”

“John Wesley Powell may not have been the first to navigate the Green River corridor but he was the first scientific explorer to journey down and document his findings along the Green and Colorado rivers. In May of 1869, he left Green River, Wyoming and entered the Uinta Mountains. The Green River, he said, ‘enters the range by a flaring brilliant red gorge. We name it Flaming Gorge.'” (From a sign  on the road to the Red Canyon Visitor Center.)

 Attractions in Casper

We were visiting friends in Casper and I was anxious to see a few attractions I missed the last time we visited.

First on my list was the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center which commemorates Native American history, early explorers, and the travel corridor of the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express trails. There are many hands-on, interactive exhibits, and at the end I saw the 18-minute multi-media program. This was the perfect way to visit in my estimation because the program at the end brought to life all the exhibits.

Another day I hiked all around the Garden Creek Waterfall at Rotary Park on Casper Mountain. There are over five miles of trails at an elevation of about 8500 feet. The park is gorgeous and the views spectacular.

Later, I stopped at the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College and met Dee, an 11,600 year-old Columbian mammoth. I was also introduced to a large number of prehistoric amphibians, and many dinosaur-types I had never heard of.

Can you imagine? All these attractions were free!

Home of Kool-Aid

We spent a few days in Hastings, Nebraska, to attend a wedding. Now, we were there for the romantic event, but guess what? Hastings, NE, is the official birthplace of Kool-Aid, and it also happened to be the “22nd Annual Kool-Aid Days!” We went to the Saturday morning parade. This year the theme was “Jamaican Me Smile!” Floats and and participants were decorated in brilliant colors with prominent palm trees, flamingos – you get the idea. Great fun, so I won’t even mention the heat and humidity…

A visit with the good sheriff from Absaroka County

When we checked friends’ availability in Centennial, WY (on the edge of the Snowy Range), they were going to be in town on the day specified, but they were involved in a fundraiser for the local library. I said, “Good, sign us up.” And that is how we came to meet Craig Johnson, the author of the Longmire series. It was a lovely event and Craig Johnson is a great entertainer. He told us how the book (and then the TV series) came to be and what his life has been like since.

Craig loves public libraries and does his best to support them. He’s actually spoken at all the libraries in Wyoming (four times in Centennial), and his honorarium is always a six-pack of Rainier beer! What a hero!!

What a state! It’s just possible we may be spending future summers here.

An unplanned trip morphs into a highlight

Sadly, we had to leave Bridgeport earlier than planned because we had a broken valve on our water tank. We could have had a mechanic travel out from Carson City at enormous expense (and he might have had to return with parts so you could pay that expense more than once), so we decided to move to Carson City for a couple of days.

In talking with our mobile mechanic, who turned out to be a fisherman, we asked for his suggestion for our onward travel to Salt Lake City. We thought we’d just go over Hwy. 80, but now we had a couple of extra days and it would be nice to find a unique place to spend them. He didn’t hesitate to recommend the town of Ely and Lake Comins – which was near Hwy. 50, the Loneliest Road in America. Last year on the way to Oregon, we spent a short time on that area of Hwy. 50. It was gorgeous, and we promised ourselves we’d be back. Little did we know…

6th Year of RVing brings our first campground complaint

We stayed at the Ely KOA and while I have no complaints whatsoever with the facility, I’ve never had a worse experience anywhere at check-in. Always, when I make reservations, I call them rather than booking online to tell them our arrangement (two vehicles and a boat/trailer). I ask if they have an overflow area for parking if all our vehicles won’t fit in our space.

A clerk, Jennifer, said here were no notes in the file, she knew the person who had made the reservation, and she would not omit making such a note on the reservation! It went downhill from there and I won’t go into the details. Suffice to say if you find yourself at Ely KOA and Jennifer checks you in, watch yourself!!!

I sent an email to Judy, the Ely KOA Manager, asking her to review the videotape made at my check-in for training purposes. No reply.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed the town of Ely, particularly the Renaissance Village, we prized our very windy day fishing at Comins Lake and most of all, we loved the day we spent at Great Basin National Park (60 miles from Ely).

The park derives its name from the Great Basin, the largest area of contiguous watersheds that normally retain water and allow no outflow to other external bodies of water in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Oregon and Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, and Wyoming.

The park is notable for its groves of ancient bristlecone pines, the Lehman Caves, Wheeler Peak, and the Wheeler Peak Glacier. A day there is not enough!

Warning if you visit Ely

What all visitors need to know about visiting Ely though is to watch out for speed traps. They are literally everywhere, city police, tribal police, highway patrol – all enforcing a 35 mph speed limit. We were stopped but not ticketed, but we were shocked at the number of “official” vehicles we saw in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere!!

North to Salt Lake City

While we don’t always stay at KOA (by a long shot), we always stay at the KOA in Salt Lake City because it’s the only game in town! Seriously. It’s a huge facility, close to Temple Square and lots of sightseeing and best of all, is situated on the Jordan River Trail, so you can walk out the back gate at KOA and walk about 20 miles in either direction along the Jordan River. I walk out there every day I’m there (but not 20 miles, ha ha).

On Day 2, Irene, D.A.’s sister, took us on a tour of Temple Square. I was especially interested to see the Family History Center. Irene is a genealogist, so she was the perfect tour director for the library and surrounding area.

A couple of years ago, I read the book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Time and Place by Terry Tempest Williams. It was a poet and naturalist’s personal story of losing her mother to cancer at the same time in 1983 the Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights causing untold destruction to public facilities along the lake like Antelope Island and Bear River Migratory Bird National Wildlife Refuge.

Because of our love affair with the National Wildlife Refuges, I wanted to visit the one at Bear River. We were joined by Irene and her son, Chad, for the field trip, followed by a picnic at a big park in Brigham City. The facility at Bear River was completely lost in the flood and the one rebuilt is very impressive. It is surrounded by marshlands and walks, and they also have a 12-mile auto tour through the heart of the refuge. Unlimited birdwatching!

Next stop, Flaming Gorge NRA, Wyoming!

Delta Days

Our first stop after leaving Arizona was Lighthouse Resort in the thousand mile waterway between Sacramento and San Francisco known as “The Delta.” We had been there once before for a lengthy time when my son was diagnosed with brain cancer – a whole “nuther” story.

D.A. loves the world-class fishery, and I was hoping to visit family and friends in the Bay Area I hadn’t seen in a couple of years.

Generally, resorts along the Delta are dated. Development has been slowed, and so a visit to the Delta is the opportunity to step back in time to a less-complex lifestyle. While the towns of Antioch, Oakley, Stockton, Lodi continue to grow like crazy, the towns of Rio Vista, Isleton, Walnut Grove are reflective of mid-last century, rather than the current one-delightful in many ways!

We chose Lighthouse because of its very close proximity to Willow Berm Marina, the perfect place to moor a boat in the area. Since the truck is how we move around once the RV is parked, we’re often trying to figure out how two people can be in two places at the same time. A marina across from our camp is a great solution! D.A. can drive over in the morning with all the fishing gear he needs, and then I can walk over later and pick up the truck for whatever I need to do.

Another benefit is that the Lighthouse has rental cabins, which is great when we have visitors, rather than trying to put extra people in the RV. Yes, our little couch and dining area can be made into sleeping areas, but in a 31-foot RV, it is very crowded.

During our month in the Delta, I rented two cabins at Lighthouse, and an AirBnB “flat” (a common San Francisco term meaning two separate housing units under one roof)  near Sugar Barge Resort to accommodate guests.

Of the two cabins at Lighthouse, one I would recommend with reservation, and one I would not recommend.

This is #L3, a cute little cabin near the pool and miniature golf, that was perfectly suitable in many ways. It had one bedroom downstairs and a loft that would be great for kids. It had a lovely deck with a nice table and chairs.

My complaints: The kitchen table in the unit. It was tiny, with two leaves. When you pulled out the little wood block to put up either leaf, the block didn’t fit properly, so anything you set on the leaf was subject to sliding off the table! There was only one lamp in the bedroom, but no light on either side of the bed.

Nonetheless, I would rent this one again (and I’d bring a folding plastic table and a reading light – ha ha).

I didn’t take a photo of the second cabin, #6 aka 2. The layout was actually better than the first. There was a bedroom at each end of the cabin BUT the exterior stairs and deck were very badly worn and there was no table or chairs on the deck. No table or chairs on a deck at a resort? #ohwell

Heads up if you go: The cabins near L3 (L1 through L5 and 20, 21) are newer and nicer.

My dear friend, Sharon, visiting from New York, caught a trout!

Sonora Pass to the Eastern Sierra

Friends we met in Havasu Springs, Gail & Don, told us about the summers they spend in Bridgeport, CA, on the eastern side of the Sierras. We decided to see it for ourselves this summer on our way north. By the time we got around to making reservations, everything was pretty well booked, but we could stay a few nights at one of the resorts our friends recommended, Twin Lakes Resort.

Heading east from the CA Delta (our vehicles configured as in the picture above), GPS guided us to Hwy 108. Little did we know what we were in for on that amazing and mostly gorgeous ride…

Eventually we found ourselves in what was left of Dardanelle after the 2018 fire – an event we remembered from national news last summer. We had been climbing for a long time by the time we reached the camping/skiing destinations near Dardanelle, and we kept climbing our way to Sonora Pass (9643 ft.) when we saw the scariest sign we’ve ever seen in our nomad travels: 26% Downgrade Ahead!

When traveling, we communicate by walkie-talkie. D.A. asked if I saw the sign. I said yes. He said there was no place to turn around, so… ONWARD!

Endless alpine views and wildflowers, but guess what? No guardrails. 26% downgrade, 15 miles. You tell me. I eventually had to stop to give the truck brakes (being constantly pushed by the boat and trailer) a rest. D.A. did fine in the Mothership. This is not considering the fear factor in either vehicle. Enormous!

From the summit, CA 108 drops dramatically into the Walter River Valley, ending at its junction with U.S. 395, and it comes out 17 miles northwest of Bridgeport.  About four miles before that intersection, you pass the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center that trains service members to survive and fight in cold weather and mountainous environments across 46,000 acres of the Toiyabe National Forest.

Note to self: When planning travel, don’t rely entirely on GPS. It would be okay to look at the Road Atlas too!!

Driving into Bridgeport was enchanting. Bridgeport is the center of a summer-to-winter recreational playground. It is popular with fishing, hiking and outdoor enthusiasts as a gateway to High Sierra canyons, peaks, lakes, streams, and hot springs. Stunning.

But, Bridgeport had a big surprise waiting: $5.09 a gallon gas!!

As we turned on the road to Twin Lakes, the views, the setting, was even more spectacular. Upper Twin covers nearly 400 acres and Lower Twin more than 250. They offer legendary fishing. The boating, camping and cabin rental options at Twin Lakes are excellent. The views the lakes afford, however, are what really distinguish them.

The large alpine lakes are lined by evergreens and run along what is often called the “California Alps,” the Sawtooth Ridge and Sierra Crest, which divide the Twin Lakes Basin from Yosemite National Park.

While the Twin Lakes Basin is certainly beautiful, it’s also home to some of the best trout fishing in the Golden State. The state record brown trout—weighing in at 26 pounds, 8 ounces—was caught in Upper Twin in 1987. That fish knocked off the reigning champ, which had been landed in Lower Twin Lakes, by just a few ounces. D.A. caught a selection of Rainbow trout, from three to six pounds.

We camped at Twin Lakes Resort, on the lower lake. They had a marina, cafe, and convenience store. They offer eight cabins, four premium RV sites (10 are being added this summer), and 16 standard RV sites with full hookups. We were in the standard sites (two wagon-wheel loops of eight sites each), which were fine, with a huge laundry/shower facility.

Our days there passed too quickly: fishing, visiting with our friends, sightseeing. We easily see why our friends spend summers there. We also learned they honeymooned at Upper Twin Lakes some 40+ years ago.

What an awesome way to start our summer. Can’t wait to see what happens next!!

My dream was of Costa Rica; D.A.’s was Peacock Bass fishing in the Amazon.

So here we go!

Leaving San Jose, Costa Rica, our next stop was Miami. We had a five-hour layover and it was freezing in the airport. Not really freezing of course, but our clothes were for the tropics, not for winter. D.A. bought us travel blankets.

Our tour provider, Acute Angling, offered us branded items that would serve to identify us to their driver. We chose tackle bags that first served to identify us to other Acute Angling customers on the trip – which was an unexpected benefit.

Acute Angling offers a variety of accommodations, but D.A. wanted to try the floating bungalows because the site was more wild, out on the frontier, where we could truly experience the rain forest.

Arriving in Manaus, Brazil, about midnight, we were taken to the Nobile Suites very near the airport. We were instructed to check in and be ready for breakfast at six a.m., with departure to our float plane at seven. The hotel was beautiful and very modern but the rooms had no reading lights, no glasses, no bottled water. We brushed our teeth with Listerine and fell into bed.

A nice breakfast buffet greeted us in the early morning and then we were on our way to the domestic airport. There were only four of us. Jim and Barbara from Washington state would be joining us. The other folks we met last night were taking other Acute Angling trips. After having all literature from the company telling us our checked bag must not weigh more than 33 pounds, since there were only four of us, I don’t think our bags were even weighed!

The float plane could accommodate eight passengers, but two guys missed their connection to Miami and would be joining us the next day.

A few minutes later, all we could see was water and canopy – no boats, no habitations, no roads. We were truly in the jungle!

So much water! So many trees! It was hard for us to wrap our “extended-drought” minds around it. Two hours later, the pilots put the plane down in the river in front of the bungalow community. We were met by two fishing boats: one boat took us passengers, and the other our luggage.

Waiting on shore was the resident manager, Heraldo Regis. We checked out our individual bungalows, and then all met in the dining/cooking facility – the larger bungalow on the right. There we found a table for eight and a smaller kitchen than we have in our RV. We met Ruth, our Chef, had a bite to eat, and were briefed on what to expect from life at the floating bungalow community.

There was also a large boat (reminiscent of “African Queen”), the staff sleeping accommodations, and a laundry boat.

We met our guide and went fishing! Seriously, a couple of hours after leaving Manaus, we were with our guide, Brahma, Peacock Bass fishing!

We learned there are 15 Peacock Bass color variations. The first afternoon, we caught one paca and one butterfly.

They are gorgeous! The fishery is on the Rio Negro and is strictly catch-and-release, unless the fish is injured.

Happily, we learned there are no mosquitoes in this fishery because the water is tannic. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling tea – hence the name “Black River.” Mosquitos don’t like it.

A visit to a local village

The second morning we visited Ponte de Terra, a village of about 25 people, five families, about 20 minutes from the floating bungalows. Acute Angling helps support numerous villages in the fishery. At Ponte de Terra, they have provided a generator and diesel fuel, satellite TV, and lots of items for the children.

About a mile and a half trek from the village is their manitowoc farm – a crop used in farina and a local hot sauce. While there, we tasted Brazil nuts right off the tree and wild pineapple right off the bush. The Brazil nut pods fall from the very tall trees, just to be picked up and enjoyed (unless you happen to be hit by one!). I had no idea we would be walking so far and didn’t bring my water from the boat. It was really hot! Fortunately, Brahma surprised me with a bottle of water.

As we prepared to leave the village, two fishing boats approached with the guys who had missed the plane: Don from Utah and Bill from Michigan. It was time to fish!

When the fishing is not good or slow at a particular spot, they move the whole camp to a different location. Heraldo also said they occasionally seek new places for the floating bungalow community to camp, but it’s a very expensive process with paying for permits, gasoline, and all the associated expenses. Nonetheless, this is how they find the villages they later support. 

The second day we saw terns, night hawks, green herons, and a raptor that was too far away to identify.

Our third day was one of those days they decided to move the whole camp. I decided to stay in to see the process and give D.A. the opportunity to work more closely with our guide. Fascinating! A fishing boat led, tethered to the dining boat, the staff boat, the laundry boat, then the four floating bungalows.

This has to be a wildly expensive and time-consuming operation, so I wondered why they would bother to move. I was amazed by Heraldo’s answer: The Rio Negro is the largest tributary in the world at 1,400 miles. It is tributary to the Amazon River, the largest river in the world at 4,000 miles. At the point the rivers converge, both are moving so fast, the Rio Negro cannot penetrate the Amazon. It creates a “water dam” that causes the Rio Negro to back up and flood its tributaries. As the water rises, the fish move back into the tributaries and become harder to catch. In order to keep the clients on the fish, sometimes they have to move several times in a week!

It rained most of the day. I’m feeling so fortunate I chose this day to stay at home.

Speaking of home, here’s the interior of our’s

A typical day:

Heraldo wakes us up each morning at 6AM with coffee delivered to the bungalow.

At 6:30AM, breakfast is served in the dining/cooking bungalow. 
Ruth prepares huge meals. For breakfast, there would be pancakes or french toast plus two other homemade breads, bacon, chicken wings, pineapple and papaya juice, sliced pineapple, papaya, and watermelon. She would make eggs to order. All this comes with bottomless coffee with hot milk and honey. (ohmy!)  

As the meal ends, Ruth and Heraldo bring trays of meat and cheeses to make sandwiches to take along while fishing.  Often there was leftover meat or bacon, and always fresh cookies and brownies. You choose what you want for lunch, put it into a plastic container, and give it to your guide to keep in the cooler along with the soda, water and beer that is freshly stocked every morning.

By 7:30AM, we’re headed out fishing.

Lunch happens out in the fishery. Sometimes we ate with our guide, sometimes we’d meet up with others from our party. And don’t get the impression the river is full of guides and boats because we only saw one boat from another guide service the whole time we were there. 

The fishery is catch and release but occasionally a fish will be injured, and if so, the guides bring it back to camp. So, a couple of days while there, we had the opportunity to taste Peacock Bass.

Dinner is served at 6:30PM and always starts with soup. One night we had carrot curry soup, ginger-breaded peacock bass, pot roast, salad with gorgonzola and apples, mashed potatoes, and a rice and beans combo, followed by a frozen creamy chocolate or fruit dessert. There is a ton of food, invariably delicious, and always plenty left over. I was happy to learn the staff eats after us.

Other notes about our stay

There is a pan of water outside each bungalow and dining area so you can rinse off sand and dirt from the bottom of your shoes before entering. What a great idea!!

Laundry (including towels) is washed, dried and returned every day. While it may seem like a luxury, there is a very good reasons: On the floatplane, you can only have 33 pounds checked luggage. They provide rods and reels, but you bring your own lures, which are heavy. Daily laundry means you can get by with fewer clothes!

The good news: There are no mosquitos.

The bad news: There are wasps.

Our neighbor, Jim, left his exterior light on last night. As we sat drinking coffee and awaiting breakfast, we saw him exit his bungalow, start swatting the air and then running for the dining bungalow. Heraldo realized quickly what happened and rushed out to help him. He had six or seven stings around his face and we watched – our growing concern and his growing lip – as it became more and more swollen as he tried to eat.

Ruth is a great chef with a first aid specialty, so she brought him dressings, ointment and benadryl. He rested in his bungalow for a time, and was doing much better when we saw him later.

During one of those camp moves, Harold hurt his foot. A stick he stepped on without seeing went right through his Croc and into his foot.. All this is said to tell you that if you need to buy a pair of Crocs locally, you will spend $100. And gas is $10 a gallon in this remote locale. 

Catch. Release. Repeat.

Peacock bass were caught by all fishers every day, many times up to 20 each.

The guides were impressive with their “catching” strategies and most of all, patient with their clients. Of course, D.A. is an expert, but me? We can leave it at “lots to learn.”

One day we moved the boat to clear a snag in really shallow water. As we did, peacock bass were scurrying in all directions, then a big stingray zoomed past. The rivers are full of caimen, but you mainly see them (their eyes) at night.  

Another day, we’d had rain showers all day and I finally donned my rain gear because it looked like heavier rain was coming.
We repositioned the boat again and sure enough, it started to rain harder. I requested return to the bungalow and of course it stopped as we arrived. Nonetheless, I called it a day and went in for a shower and a nap.

After the guys dropped me off, they went back out fishing nearby. D.A. casted and the wind carried his lure far up into a tree. The guides all had cool tools for extracting lures: long tree limbs with a “v” notch at the end. Worked like magic! As they approached the tree with D.A.’s lure, Brahma voiced an alarm.  D.A. feared a snake was on the tree, so he froze and the Brahma said “Bees!” D.A. turned his attention to where the guide was looking, and then he could see a large nest with wasps flying all around. Brahma held a finger to his lips for silence and said “Just a minute.” He shut off the trolling motor to let the bees calm, and then he started whistling, mimicking a bird. After a few moments, he moved closer, all the time whistling softly as he retrieved the lure with his face about three feet from the nest. He continued to whistle as he backed out a safe distance and D.A. started clapping. He had never seen such a performance!

A couple hours later it started to rain much harder and D.A. and Brahma returned to camp. Within five minutes we had a downpour the likes of which we’ve never seen, and we hoped our fishing buddies were safely in. (Of course they were not!) 

We went in Brazil’s summer season. Prime Peacock Bass fishing is from September through March, and we were there the first week of February. It’s rained every day and the water is rising which makes fishing poor. Last night Heraldo said they may have to cancel upcoming trips. 

The largest town nearby is Barcelos, the place from where they ship tropical fish all over the world. It’s about two hours by boat (and about 250 miles from Manaus). It can only be reached by boat or sporadic flights from Manaus. This is the only city in the central Brazil Amazon, and this is where the young people like those that lived in the village we visited find work. 

I know the fishermen who come are dedicated to the sport and would probably like nothing better than ten to twelve hours of fishing every day, but from a woman’s perspective (and I know there are plenty who would love to fish all day, every day), so I should say MY perspective… five hours a day fishing would be plenty. Of course you can return to camp at any time and if you chose not to go out, staff will do all within their power to make you comfortable.

So thinking what would make this a better experience from my perspective, I had a couple of thoughts: (1) I would love to have a kayak to use on the days I don’t go fishing, (2) A bird and botany list would be wonderful. Our guide gives us names, but he doesn’t know them in English. Heraldo has been in the area for some time, so maybe he could give the newbies a talk one evening early in their trip. 

The next morning I stayed home, so they set me up on the water’s edge with a lounge chair, table and umbrella. It was raining softly, warm but not hot, and it felt like a little piece of heaven.

After a while, I looked up from my book and our darling chef, Ruth, is crossing the river in a kayak. A kayak!! She shouted, “Piranha,” so I’m guessing piranha will be soup or entree for dinner.  In the next 30 minutes or so, I saw her catch a couple.

I’m instantly back to thinking how much I would like to be out there in a kayak. I’m not unaware of the liabilities you would take on by having kayaks available to guests, but I surely would love the opportunity.

Later I noticed Ruth wasn’t across the river any longer, so I went to the side of the dining boat to see how many fish she caught. When she saw me, she thought I wanted the kayak and brought it to me! I hopped in – no sunscreen, no water, hat or gloves – and of course no phone camera. As I passed the boat a little later, Ruth and her helper were cleaning fish. Ruth held up seven fingers and I asked, “Soup?” and she nodded affirmatively. We’ll see!

I made a little trip past the other side of camp and returned to a great Tern ruckus. About eight or ten were attracted by the fish cleaning. I ventured back to where I had turned the first time and when I started back, some big carpenter-like bees joined me. They don’t sting, I didn’t think, but I returned to camp. Ruth came out to meet me and said they have another kayak in case my “esposo” wanted to join me sometime.

The piranha soup was great. The meals have been amazing. Last night’s soup was followed by lasagne and chicken stroganoff, and then desert was chocolate cake with coconut, creme, caramel and a touch of liquor!

Before we knew it, it was time to go

We go out in the morning, and other anglers will take our places. D.A. is contemplating an identity theft if any of the new guys look like him. He would stay a month in a heartbeat.

But on our last morning, probably on D.A.’s second cast, up came a large Paku and then he dove into some submerged logs.
D.A. tried his best to get him loose, and then Brahma stripped down and jumped in the river! He was gone for a long time but finally came up for a breath, and then it took two more dives to free the fish and bring it to the surface.

We caught 13 before I left the boat in mid-afternoon – and they caught a total of 20 for the day.

Returning to camp, staff was busy setting up for a party on the beach – which included a huge bonfire.

Sure enough, next morning a different plane with different pilots arrived bringing new guests. Shortly after takeoff, our pilot took out an automotive sun shade and covered the windshield! I mean really, the whole windshield. He returned us to Manaus using a phone app!

Our flight back to Miami departed at midnight, so we took a sightseeing tour of Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonia, home to more than two million people.

Manaus is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, and access to the city is primarily by boat or airplane. This isolation helped preserve both the natural environment as well as the culture of the city. The culture of Manaus, more than in any other urban area of Brazil, preserves the habits of Native Brazilian tribes. The city is the main access point for visiting the fauna and flora of the Brazilian Amazon. 

Manaus was at the center of the Amazon region’s rubber boom during the late 19th century. For a time, it was “one of the gaudiest cities of the world”.  Historian Robin Furneaux wrote of this period, “No extravagance, however absurd, deterred” the rubber barons.” The city built a grand opera house, with vast domes and gilded balconies, and using marble, glass, and crystal, from around Europe. The opera house cost ten million (public-funded) dollars. In one season, half the members of one visiting opera troupe died of yellow fever. The opera house, called the Teatro Amazonas, was effectively closed for most of the 20th Century. After a gap of almost 90 years, it reopened to produce live opera in 1997 and is now attracting performers from all over the world.

When the seeds of the rubber tree were smuggled out of the Amazon region to be cultivated on plantations in Southeast Asia, Brazil and Peru lost their monopoly on the product. The rubber boom ended abruptly, many people left its major cities, and Manaus fell into poverty. The rubber boom had made possible electrification of the city before it was installed on many European cities, but the end of the rubber boom made the generators too expensive to run. The city was not able to generate electricity again for years.

The 1960’s (during the establishment of the military dictatorship in Brazil) was a time of introducing numerous projects in the interior of the country, especially in the Amazon region. With the introduction of the Manaus free trade zone in 1967, and with the opening of new roads within the region, the city had a wide period of investments in financial and economic capital. This resulted in enormous growth and Manaus became one of the most populous cities in Brazil.

Another dream trip, into the bucket…

This was D.A.’s dream, so I asked him to sum up our time in Brazil. “Spine-tingling adventure in the Amazon wilderness where you expected something spectacular at any given moment. And that is exactly what happened!”