labor day weekend

once again, Ovando proved a great spot to hang out for a long weekend. we were lucky enough to make our three day weekend into a five day event. so south we headed, with a great forecast before us.

of course the best weather was the first two days, that we spent working on house projects there, and some last minute shopping for self proclaimed necessities. finally on saturday, we headed to the blackfoot river for a four hour float on some mellow to class two waters. i hoped to even cast my line a few times.

about 30 minutes into the float, we noticed some very dark clouds approaching, then some lightening, then of course, some rain. it did not rain too hard, but the wind came up strong, and i struggled to keep the boat moving forward. eventually i gave up and just pulled to shore to wait it out. and luckily it only lasted about 2 minutes. we considered asking some of the river side occupents if we could come off on their property, but quite honestly, when i see a shady house in that area, i don't really like to approach the owners. there are many a story of unwelcoming hosts. plus the weather improved dramatically, so we just stayed on the river to our original destination. four hours later we finally pulled over for good at the sunset hill take-out, and with help of a couple boaters also taking out there, we were able to pull the boat up without much issue. after an hour long bike shuttle, we had the boat loaded before dusk had turned to dark. although i did not get myline in the water, it was still a fine day.

once again we happened to be in the vicinity of trixie's , a truly great bar, located on hwy 200 in ovando, when Russ and the Revelators were playing. they always bring in a crowd from out of nowhere, and the dancing put on by the locals is well above what can be seen in any bars in this zip code. sometimes it is hard to get out and dance, as we feel overwhelmed, but after a few adult beveages, we dropped our guard and made it onto the dance floor. another good night at trixie's. (i haven't had a bad one there)

we also made it to the annual rodeo in helmville, just down the road. this is a real rodeo, in a real western town, without all the fancy hoopla of a big town fair. just cowboys and girls, and broncos, bulls, horse riding and cow milking. despite the early november weather (okay,it just felt that way on september 5th) we had a great time and many a laugh. if you ever have a chance to go to one of these small town affairs, jump on it. it is cheap, fun and full of real people. and you won't feel too far from home, as the announcer is the same one that comes to the fair here, as well as skijouring. the man can just flatout talk.

finally, we had a full day of fishing on the blackfoot. it could not have started out much slower, but after a few hours of mostly casting, we finally hit a few good holes and made it into a very enjoyable day. and again, we found ourselves pulling boats up steep banks at dusk, this time without beating the darkness barrier. this is where it was nice having a place to go to nearby, with a roof and a kitchen. too late for any restaurant, we were still able to stoke a fire, take off the chill, bbq some burgers, and relax into a card game.

hopefully we will get some indian summer along this early fall, as real summer was far too short, and winter, as much fun as it is, is far enough away that it is best to still have some nice sunny weather first.