Eat what you catch.
We woke up at 5:45AM this morning to do a sunrise float down the Snake River that runs through the valley that lies at the foot of the Grand Tetons in western Wyoming.
Heavy Winter snows and an early melt brought high waters and flooding to several northern mountain states this Spring. What would normally be a two hour leisurely ride down the Snake River was a sprint. Not quite white water. But we reached our pick-up spot in half the scheduled time.
Calmer waters mean more visible fish, which bring more ospreys and eagles looking for food. High rushing waters mean just the opposite. We spotted an elk or two, some ospreys and a merganser, but what we lacked in views of wildlife was made up for by the drama of the river and the popcorn sound of river stones being tossed along its bed by rushing currents.
A sign at the spot where we landed warns fisherman of catch and release practices. The sign explains that it takes a fish 8 to 16 hours to recover from catch and release. 16% of them die.
Eat what you catch.
Our road trip has been in the planning stages since last October. So, my teacher friends who are heading for DC to Save Our Schools will not see me there. Please chant a little louder to make up for my absence.
Please consider it an excused absence. I have a note.
I have been keeping up on events by reading Small Talk on developments at the Park Hyatt where on a 100 degree day, management turned on the heating lamps to punish union workers who have been in dispute with the Pritzker owned Hyatt.
Tim Furman has been filling me in on the foolish response of Rahmageddon when he was asked about his choice of schools for his kids. It seems that when Rahmageddon says mayoral control, he means he controls his private choices for his kids and his public choices for ours.
Wyoming is a beautiful place, but a cultural journey for a guy from the northwest side of Chicago.
Overheard in a store in Jackson: “That would look perfect in our gun room.”
