For the love of fish and so much more…
I’m still figuring things out. My chosen life course is as full as the rivers I love in June. I guess I like the curious. The next bend. Sometimes the wave is bigger than I expected, but the landing usually shows me a lot. Once committed, that’s all it takes – the next oar stroke – hold on because who knows what’s going to happen!
Doug Gibson was honored this year for his excellence as a guide and steward of the rivers we love surrounding the Henry’s Fork. The “Orvis Life Achievement Award,” was given to Doug by David Perkins. I wasn’t there…but I heard Dave had a few tears welled up as he honored Doug. Of course! We have all fished, danced, partied, camped and guided together. Suddenly, these moments come together and you feel all the love at once. I’ve always called Doug, “my guardian angel,” because he saved me a few times as a new guide figuring stuff out on the river. Doug has been a guide and leader at Three Rivers Ranch for as long as I can remember. When I pulled into the Ranch this summer, there he was. All smiles.
There are times you just got to get on the road and tell the people in your world you love them. Especially when you live in Belize most of the time. Gary, downtown Victor, Idaho. mountaindriftboat.com. Lynda, her new house in Pocatello, Idaho. mslanyards.com. My sis, Janet – jmurphydesigns.com.
Great stories Gare. If anyone wants the latest in the greater Jackson Hole area on guide gossip – ask Gary. And to see Lynda’s new house that she and her husband Scotty built due to their fire last year – amazing. Lynda totally rebuilt and restocked everything for her business Morning Star Lanyards.
The wild flowers, huckleberries, raspberries, and all the great veggies from Ruoff’s garden. It truly was a bountiful summer. Spending time with my sis Janet and her husband Richard, fly fishing a high mountain lake above their home in McCall, Idaho – also incredible.
Backyard barbecue’s, Livingston Street Dance – and yes, that is a selfie with John Mayer when he was playing with Rodney Crowell. Diana and I saw all the teenagers running up taking selfies, so we did too.
“It was a fun summer Charlie Brown!” Fall is here and with it a bunch of new adventures. Jennifer has been wanting me to surf and fish Abreojos, Baja for years. We are headed there next week. A couple big trucks, surfboards, every kind of fishing tackle you can imagine – something about halibut on a fly rod and a wave that keeps going – a perfect right.
I’ll miss my beloved steelhead season this year. But the drive to “mix things up a bit,” is pretty strong right now. Like I said, “once committed,” life is wide open. And in the words of Guy Clark, “Trust your cape!”