Book Signing, So Many Fish So Little Time

December 6th 11:00 a.m. Barnes and Noble, Amarillo Texas.

This'll be cool because I'm tying my book signing to my students' booksigning for their popular book, Voices From the Heights.

Speeches, Presentations and Panels

Been busy lately, what with taking care of Amy after her kidney surgery, and giving speeches (one to Expio/VisionForum re: State of Education in Amarillo) and panels (Sat. found me on a great panel for the Panhandle Professional Writers Association with Beth Duke, John Kanelis, Pat Tyree and good friend Dr. Mike Bellah, all of us rambling on about encouragement to about sixty writers who clapped and pretended to be excited.)
I need to brag on my North Heights kids too --- they run a coffeeshop at our high school and it counts for in-class credit for Marketing and Economics and Business classes. At the end of the year, the coffeeshop, Paparazzi, gives away over a thousand dollars to -- who else? The students who have gone to North Heights. Paparazzi worked the presentation I gave to VisionForum and served 50 folks coffee and espresso and such. Now for another couple of feathers in their respective caps: 10 last year, they published a book Voices From the Heights that is now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (online and brick and mortar) and is sold from TExas to New Jersey to Denmark. We'll be giving our second book signing at Barnes and Noble December 6th. All profits go to the North Heights scholarship fund -- we've raised nearly 1000 bucks so far from sales.
Today -- Sunday -- was cool because in the Sunday paper, I found Amy's excerpt article on the front of the Lifestyles page (took up a half page and then continued later for another half page) and then in the Outdoors section, great buddy Chad McPhail had his turkey article. I also have a student -- Cylar Brown --- who sold an article to Southwest Fly Fishing on Spring Creek due out Jan 09 and then my nephew Chase had an article run in last edition of SWFF. Fun to see friends and family being published. Now to get Lance in print somewhere.

I saw the she-wolf trotting up the road that runs beside the lower Rio Hondo. I go about 190 and this demon dog did too. This dog was a beast. Cujo had nothing on this canine. Some folks are dog-people and some aren’t. I can almost always get along with any dog but when the she-wolf bared her teeth and raised her hackles twenty feet away from McPhail and me, I knew that there would be no friendly introduction replete with wagging tails and patted bellies.
As this Cerberus growled from about ten feet, I pondered jumping in one particularly deep pool, ringed by huge rocks but Mac and I had been holding that pool in reserve, high esteem, because we’d spotted a couple of nice risers earlier. The spring before, Mac had fished this pool and landed a buttery sixteen-inch brown trout that fell for a sweet Copper John hybrid that he ties (and won’t loan me.)
At five feet, it was clear there would be a confrontation between angler and man’s best friend. The pool we planned to fish was definitely now an escape/swimming option. The best and only gesture I could make was to assume a fencing position and horizontally lay out my rapier/8-foot, four-weight Hexagraph fly rod, ready to defend myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a splashy rise in the big pool and that darned McPhail casting to it. I was alone with certain death.
Nothing happened of course. The devil-dog snarled at me as she circled. Her master, a snarly woman wearing a gimme cap and driving a red truck pulled up at the last second to simultaneously save me and gripe me out for attacking her precious dog with a flyrod. Mac hooked up with the trout and as he played it out, the rough-as-a-cob lady ordered the huge dog into the bed of the pickup and as she drove off, counseled me that “now you know how the natural order goes, son. Women rule.” I already knew that and as she left me standing in the dust, Mac netted the 15-inch cuttbow and grinned at me. You’ll never be bored on the Rio Hondo.
Ten miles north of Taos flows the Rio Hondo, an upper and a lower section, each distinctly different. You reach the upper section as though you’re heading to the Taos Ski Resort; the wooded high-country canyon stream twists and turns, clear with a green tint, right along with the winding paved road. This is dry-fly fishing at its most fun, offering dancing water, a million riffles, tiny pockets, foamy drop-pools, small flat pools, tiny chutes and some classic long runs. You always have to bring your full array of trick casts because the upper Hondo has tight quarters. Cuttbows and browns and not many are bragging size. In the highest reaches of the Rio Hondo, you can still catch the occasional cutthroat. We like it because it’s a five-hour drive from Amarillo.
Our favorite two times to fish the lower Hondo, especially the mile upstream from its confluence with the Rio Grande, are on Indian summer days in winter and in late spring when fish move up from her big-sister river. This is one-packed river, loaded with lies, full of trout, requiring patience, persistence and presentation. Start at the John Dunn Bridge and work your way upstream, taking care to watch out for large bearish dogs and mean women in pickup trucks.
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3 little gems NM, CO

You ever have those little gems you don't want to write about because they're so good, you know if you shared them, your little piece of heaven would be overrun? here are three --- unnamed of course --- two in NM, one in Colorado. Nuff said.

Sugarite Canyon State Park, New Mexico

Went to take pics with Amy this past Saturday. She's finishing up an article for Rocky Mountain Fish and Game about Lakes Maloya and Alice in the park. No, she is not mentioning that special lake 1/2 mile walk away and in the other state.
Blustery day. No fly anglers on the water, only spin and bait. One determined kayaker braved the elements. Hiked into that one special lake with our dogs. Always fun to see NM trees and brush changing into fall dress. Amy and I are recently contracted to write two books with a two book option after that with Wayfinder Press: Top 30 Things to Do When You're In Durango and Top 30 Things to Do When You're In Telluride.