Craig gets to go fishing!! And why is it 9:30 at night and not sunset yet!!

It’s been a few weeks now and the house is looking like a home. We have had lots of minor repairs for contractors to fix and things to fix ourselves. We replaced a couple leaky toilets, tore off some awful peach wallpaper borders, replaced some 1970’s lighting and had rain gutters installed to correct some damage that the rain had caused. We even have chosen a contractor to build us a small garage, (something I guess we need here judging from last year’s photos.)

The house in winter

It had been a long time since I was able to go fishing. I had major surgery on my shoulder in December and wasn’t really able to fish much in the months before. I am enjoying Montana immensely but I do miss my fishing/photography buddy Scott and it probably has been almost a year since we had fished last. I am sure I will see him before long and we can have some new adventures.

In California a regular fishing trip usually started @5:30 am in order to beat traffic and get to the lake or stream at a decent hour. Scott and I would usually fish till @2 and then drive back to our respective houses. Oh and if it was a race day near Sears Point forget fishing altogether!

Her in Montana we finally felt like we were settled in and at a point where Erin needed some alone time. She suggested I probably should go fishing. (She does this from time to time to help her creativity and I think it’s why our marriage is successful, that and the fact that I will fish at any opportunity) The only problem was that I needed a fishing license and to get one you need to be a resident and have a driver’s license from Montana. Great,…I am a resident, but I wasn't able to get my driver’s license because you have to make an appointment, and I couldn’t get an appointment for over a month and a half!! The other problem with that situation was that it is illegal to be a resident and not have a driver's license after 30 days!! What a catch 22!! Well I gave in and bought the out of state fishing license for $120 rather than wait to get the resident one for $30. I’ll save money next year, fishing is more important. Erin and I also vowed to drive super safe to avoid being pulled over until we had our licenses.(we finally got them and they are good for 8 years!!)

Finally the morning came to head out and fish. I picked nearby Echo Lake that is known for its Smallmouth Bass. I woke up at 6 ate breakfast watched birds on the deck and gathered my stuff together. I was out the door by 7 and on the lake by 7:30.

Echo Lake

What!! Wait, no long drives, no getting up at O dark thirty, no driving around in the dark and it only takes 15 minutes to get to this lake. I must be dreaming. I don’t even care if I catch anything I am finally on the water again after almost a year. I get comfortable cast a few times then whack.. a fish. I had been fishing less than 5 minutes and I caught a fish already! No way!! I proceeded to watch Osprey admire the surroundings and catch and release (As I always do) @12 fish that day.

Echo Lake

Some small, some bigger and after 5 hours texted Erin I would be home for lunch in 15 minutes. Amazing!

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass

A few days later I tried my luck again. I got to fish a Lake that my fishing buddy Scott had told me about on a trip to Montana that he took with his wife a few years back. One where he was able to catch a Grayling, a fish I had never caught. From his photos and description to me over the phone I couldn’t wait to get there. This lake was farther away, a whole 40 minutes from my house😉. Lake Rogers is a beautiful lake on the west side of Kalispell.

Rogers Lake

As I arrived I saw the lily pads were blooming and there wasn’t another person in sight. The weather was beautiful as only a few clouds dotted the sky. I was happy to get to fish in such a beautiful spot and I saw a loon with two chicks just off shore. I got my stuff and kicked my float tube out from shore only to scare a few yellow headed blackbirds out of the reeds. There were lily pads all over and I saw just enough of a clear spot to cast my line to stretch it out. As I tossed it out, I applied my sunscreen and got comfortable hoping for some luck. My first strip of my line and a large Cutthroat trout surprised me by grabbing the fly.

Cutthroat Trout

 I got him in, released him, and quickly casted again. Boom another nice fish! I was amazed at my luck but greedily I wanted my grayling. As I was trying to get through the weeds, a homeowner called out and asked me to fish a little deeper as she was afraid I would hook her waterline. Now realistically my tiny fly on a line that doesn’t go anywhere near the bottom wasn’t a threat but I assured her I would move out. (I don’t think she can ask this but my car still has California plates and I heard everybody here has guns so I figured I would play nice)As I moved out she thanked me and wished me good luck.

I moved out further and as I did I was constantly getting tangled in the lilies. I started cursing the lady who made me move. Nothing for over an hour but then I saw a fish jump near the far shore so I kicked over. I still got nothing, so I figured I would change flies. I put on a fly with a golden sparkle and I soon got a small bite. It fell off but maybe I was onto something. Over the next hour I caught a few more cutthroats and as I was trying to convince myself how great I was doing, a bald eagle flew overhead  checking me out and looking for any fish I might have released. I was still depressed I hadn’t caught any Grayling. Then finally I cast through a small opening in the lilies and a grayling came to my net. I was so happy and as I tried to take a photo it slipped back into the water. Darn it nobody will believe me. Then I remembered a phone call a few years ago as Scott was at this same lake catching Grayling and him telling me ”they are so slippery I can’t take a darn picture they keep falling back into the water…You will never believe me!!” I laughed at the similarity and proceeded to catch 10 grayling in a row photographing them in my net just so I had proof. I had to call Scott while I was there and tell him the story and he remembered his fondness for Lake Rogers.

Grayling

Now every lake isn’t as great as these two (I don’t think) as I found out while trying to catch my first Northern Pike. Smith Lake is about 30 minutes west of my house and I tried my luck there after the fishing report said “A great place to take the kids to catch small pike!). 

Smith Lake

I fished Smith on a Sunday morning and there were a handful of people and boats around. They were all eager to tell me a few tips and as I had never caught one I think they were interested to see if I could unhook one.(they have lots of teeth.) Another nice day, a few more eagles and hundreds of casts later I gave up. As I came to shore others followed and it was all the same thing. Nothing, no idea why but at least it wasn’t just me. I took a few photos of another beautiful Montana lake and vowed to return to get my first Northern Pike….someday.

Since I had gotten to go fishing, I needed to try and see something else I had always wanted to do. See The Northern Lights! Randomly the solar flares get so big that they can be seen in Montana. Winter, spring and late fall are the best times. I have an app on my phone that lets me know if the flares are big enough and if that coincides with the new moon I have a chance. So the weather was cooperating except for the small wisps of smoke from the Canadian wildfires. I got my photo gear ready and prepared to head up to Glacier National Park and Lake McDonald. The best times to see the lights are after 12 midnight but I wanted to see the sunset so I left early. Now, we have been messed up by the daylight up here since we moved. If you don’t have a clock you can run errands work outside and come in for dinner and it’s already 9:00 pm!! It just never gets dark! One night I wanted to photograph a sunset at Flathead Lake so I ate dinner watched TV and began to head out at 9:30pm. Sunset is @9:30 and Sunrise is around 5 am so that’s @16 hours of Daylight compared to Petaluma California 13 hours. Now I know it doesn’t seem like a bunch but it’s really different. Here you can go out for an afternoon hike and catch the sunset and if you aren't careful you might as well eat at a gas station because everything is closed at 10 pm. So I leave to attempt the Northern Lights at Glacier at 9:00pm and I’m in the spot at Lake McDonald by 9:45.

Sunset Lake McDonald

At 11:00 a Ranger stoops by for a chat and we talk for a while and I make sure they are cool with me being there. As long as I don’t sleep where I was he said I am good. The Ranger leaves to look for something more interesting to do. Soon I am joined by a group of college kids enjoying the night sky. We talk about the constellations and they head out to the pier to wait and see if the Northern lights appear. They make a good comp for my photo so I am happy. At 3 am we all give up and I head home. A very neat experience but no Northern Lights this time, I will try again.

Night skies over  Lake McDonald

The First weeks

 (or standing outside next to the internet tree)

You may be wondering why it took so long for me to start this blog. Our move in date was May 26 but I didn't start this blog till July 10^{th !} Well some things take a little longer in Montana and internet service is one of them. I guess I should have expected it, living outside of town (20 miles) makes phone and internet services a bit difficult. At the house we have one bar of service but only if we stand next to a tree, so we were excited to make the appointments for phone and TV. The appointment for the TV service was 2 weeks out but the first internet appointment was over a month away. We could handle it, it was beautiful and hundreds of moving boxes needed to be unpacked. 

The View From the Deck

We began the unpacking process and made numerous trips to Lowes and Costco to grab supplies. My wife Erin was enjoying most of everything but she was still trying to get used to the quiet and the thought that I had moved her out into the middle of a forest.

Boxes and Boxes

Eating all of our meals on the front deck was now commonplace for us, a pleasant change from the busy and noisy city of Petaluma. Beautiful views abounded, and as soon as we put up a bird feeder we started seeing birds that were all new to us.

 Evening Grosebeaks,

Evening Grosebeak

Downy Woodpecker

Bald Eagles overhead

Calliope Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers even Bald Eagles would soar by. But every once in a while we would catch ourselves trying to send a photo or look up some information on our phones and it would be a half hour of standing next to our tree!




One night while eating dinner it got a little quiet even the birds stopped singing, out of the corner of my eye I see a movement. A young Black Bear sauntered under us and into the driveway. As he heard us gasp he jogged down the driveway, across the street and into the bushes. So great to see one from my own deck, yes I guess I did move Erin into the forest!!

The Black Bear in the Driveway

The bad news is that with all the nature around she had yet to see a squirrel. Now to be honest one of the stipulations on my house search was it had to have a squirrel? (the other two stipulations were no neighbors she could see, or stairs in the house. I was kind of 0 for 3 so far) Everybody said there were squirrels but so far none. I had seen one when I was here last fall but I was getting worried.

We were slowly meeting a few neighbors and the delivery guys began to be our best friends. A quick delivery from UPS or Fed EX sometimes turned into a half hour chatting session. My trips to the dump (which is free in Montana!!) sometimes took an hour as I would find somebody who would want to talk fishing or winter driving or whatever. Store trips took on an unusual vibe as we would always walk out saying…”those were the nicest people ever at store X” or “That was the best experience I've ever had in that store” 

Our bed frame delivery guy who is proficient in chainsaw carving and all sorts of woodworking, agreed to help us with other projects and then take me fishing to some of his secret spots! Now the funny thing is he looks like Grizzly Adams and talks a little like a mountain man but ends up he has an economics degree from the University of Montana and is as smart as anybody I have been around both in Montana or the Bay Area! Oh yeah and our beds and lamps he helped make are pretty cool too!!

Bear Lamp

Pine Bed with Moose Lamp

Now back to the TV and internet fiasco’s. First the TV guy comes out looks around and then tromps off into the woods with what looked like a sextant. About 20 minutes later he comes back and says…well the only way I can help you is if you cut down 5 trees. I moved here for the trees so that isn't going to happen! Nice guy and he recommended another service that could help. We make the appointment for the next week. TV service soon followed, but as soon as it rains, a thunderstorm happens or I’m guessing it snows, we lose service. (Yes a DVD player is on order.) 

The internet guy called soon after and said he would be out the next day. Yahoo!! Well not so fast, he got busy and would have to reschedule for the next week!! OMG this is getting ridiculous, job research, banking, Photoshop, and everything you usually just Google had to be done when we were in a small turn out a mile away, the only  place we had good service. Mapquest, which we needed, was only working when we got out onto the main Highway

View on the way to the store in Bigfork

so we had no idea how long it would take to go anywhere or what direction to head.  Finally the internet guys were coming, they worked for hours and said the good news is that we have internet, the bad is they couldn’t get it from the wall to the computer! A few hours later they gave up. We were at the end of the rope when Erin got the number of the boss and he said he could send a guy to fix it.  The next day a super nice guy arrived and said he wouldn’t leave till it was working. A few hours later we were connected and a few days later I started the blog, just 2 months after we moved in. (Granted we only have 10 mgs on a good day and we hear there aren't many good days.)

Oh and for the direly important squirrels, about a week after the bear sighting I was working in the garage when a squirrel appeared out of nowhere and scolded me good. I figured it was hungry so I put a handful of peanuts out for it. Then I quietly tip toed upstairs and proudly showed off the rare Montana Red Squirrel to Erin. She was happy and was amazed how well that little squirrel had trained me in just one scolding session. We saw the squirrel a few more times and then nothing for about a week. Then we realized it was a female squirrel as she brought back her baby squirrels to rampage all over the deck, terrorize our cats and eat all of the bird’s food!

Finally a Squirrel

The squirrel has an audience

Even though they wake us up at 4:30 in the morning we still love them.

Next time…My first fishing trips, what is with the world being light from 4 am till 10:30 pm!! And our first trip over going to the sun rd and Glacier National Park!

The beginnings.......WHY?

Airport Sign

So I guess the big question is, Why do a blog? And why should anybody read it? I am not sure I can answer the second question but as for the first I thought it would be interesting for my friends from Northern California to read about my adventures and misadventures as I moved my family away from everybody and everyplace they have ever known and drop them in the top Northwest Corner of Montana. A place that I think is more beautiful and different than anyplace I have lived before. Relocating from Northern California’s foggy days and moderate winters to a place that has snow ice and -30 degree temperatures. The awesome fishing, wildlife photography, fantastic scenery and proximity to Glacier National Park may make it worth it. (I hope!)

Flathead County Courthouse

Moving from a busy SF bay area with millions of people to a place where 100,000 people live in 5,256 square miles could be interesting and a bit aggravating as well. Would I miss the ocean or would Giant Flathead Lake and all the streams and lakes around me make up for it? Would I hate the snow or revel in its beauty? Will I fall down my driveway on the way to get my mail, or will I fall in love with snowshoeing and cross country skiing? Do they have internet? Will all the things I hear about Montanans hating Californians be true or is it just a way to keep Montana’s beauty to themselves? (so far more of the latter but more of that later).

Maybe this blog will help somebody else in a warmer climate make a decision whether to move to a colder one or maybe you will just enjoy my photography or maybe you will use some of the information you find here to catch a few fish. I just hope you enjoy it!

My goal is to log the journeys we take, bring you along for some of my fly fishing trips and tell the stories of some of the everyday experiences we have that might help you understand a little about what we learn along the way. As a photographer I hope you enjoy the photos and the stories about where I took them. I also hope someday you decide to visit Glacier National Park.

Finally please ask questions, leave comments or offer suggestions. I am new at Blogging and I am always trying to learn new things.

The Beginning……….(or 18 hours or 1,000 miles)

It all began as a dream two years ago. I was just passed over for a promotion and it looked like my future would be doing the same thing for the next 10 years with no possibility of a raise. I was a park Ranger and that was a great job but it seemed as if the organization wanted to go another way. Embracing the new and getting rid of the old. I was 54 so old I was. Sensing my disappointment and seeing the writing on the wall my wife asked if I would be happy doing the same job for the next 10 years. I said yes but she could tell it wouldn’t have made me happy or healthy. She asked where was the most beautiful place I have ever been, I told her Glacier National Park. She immediately booked me a flight. When I came back she asked if I enjoyed it. Of course! She then said, could I live there? A dream for me but what about her? We talked and we were both fed up with long commutes, overpriced homes we could never afford, working so we could just stay the same and hardly ever being able to go on vacation, me driving 2 -3 hours to go fishing, more houses being built with no water, and in general California! She was willing to go so we started trying to figure out how to do it. I could officially retire in a year, use some of my vacation as down payment, save some, but we would need the right place and the right price.

6 months later I went back to Kalispell Montana and spent 3 days looking at houses. 22 houses later I found one that fit the bill. I convinced my wife it was the one and without ever seeing it or ever have been in Kalispell (we had been in Glacier 22 years ago) she agreed to go for it and trust my decision.

May 23, 2019 Departure

It was finally time to go, the Petaluma house was fixed up, we had spent months painting and fixing up the yard we were exhausted but we were ready to head to Montana. Everything was already in the new house in Montana we had been living on a couch and twin bed and paper plates for 2 months. We had a small batch of boxes two cars and our family to move. My wife, myself and 7 cats. We knew we would be fine but the anxiety over moving our furry family almost gave us heart attacks. What if they fought all the time? What if they screamed the whole way? What if they escape?!! We built a special barrier for the car and my wife drove the cats and I followed with everything else.

We left Petaluma Ca. at 6:30 am and were on the way. I wasn’t in the car but I can tell you the cats were amazing! They didn’t cry or fight. They didn’t try to escape they were brave and probably a bit scared. 

The road through Oregon

We made it to Kenniwick Washington by 9 pm. My wife stayed with them in the car (my hero) as I’m 6’5” and it would have been uncomfortable. We traded in the morning to take showers and were off by 7 am. We drove into the town and into the house that my wife had never seen in person at 3:30 pm. Exhausted we got the cats into the house and Montana greeted us with a giant hailstorm. We didn’t care we were here!

Home!

Would my wife like it? Were there squirrels,or bears?!! How far was the store? Stay tuned...😉