The weeklong summer vacation is over. It's actually been over since Sunday afternoon, but you know, needed a few days of recovery before sharing something on the blog.
Our trip from Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone to Grand Teton/Jackson to Salt Lake City was not a fishing trip, so if you read this blog purely for the fishing expertise (ha!), feel free to click off now. However here's a quick week in review, via captioned photos...
Day 1 & 2: Rapid City, SD / Crazy Horse / Mount Rushmore
Wheels down in Rapid City, and there was quite a storm on the horizon to greet us!
The hotel had a small lake out front, this was the only fishing I'd do on the trip. Bass put up a good fight though.
The bus. Home away from home for a week
Didn't know what to expect from Crazy Horse. They've evidently been blasting and carving since the late 1940s. It's quite the sight, much, much bigger than Mt. Rushmore. Maybe I can get back in a few decades to check the progress.
Down the road about 20 minutes from Crazy Horse, there's a spot on the highway where you can stop and see Washington's profile peer from the side of the mountain with no other presidents (or sign of the park) in sight. It's cool, but kind of eerie at the same time.
I was pleasantly surprised by Mt. Rushmore. Figured you just went and stared at the side of a mountain. Instead, there's a whole complex with walking trails, museums, etc... Could have spent the whole day there if we had the time.
Day 3: Repositioning to Cody, WY
Day 3 was pretty much a waste, we were in the bus pretty much all day as we moved from Rapid City, SD to Cody, WY. Did catch this "wild" pic of the girls in the Wyoming visitor's center.
We drove by Devil's Tower...
Stopped for lunch in Sheridan, WY...
Drove through the Bighorn mountains...
Before ending up in Cody for the night - home of Buffalo Bill, and never-ending cowboy-kitsch
Day 4 & 5: Yellowstone
The first day was kind of rainy, but we did see a lot of wildlife. Bison, bear, coyote, elk, & deer
And some really cool old park buses
Elk can walk on the travertine
But we stuck to the boardwalk to take selfies in front of it
The following day's weather was much better. All of the thermal features were amazing
As were the falls in the canyon
The photo doesn't do this one justice!
Wouldn't want to swim in that hot tub
Gotta take a picture of Old Faithful, right?
More pools
Standing on top of the hill looking down at the river surrounded by geysers was breathtaking. Two days were not even close to being enough to sample Yellowstone's wonders
Day 6: Grand Teton / Jackson, WY
On Friday we headed South from Yellowstone down Rockefeller Parkway through Grand Teton National Park
We stopped several times along the way - there were so many scenic views
I mean come on, is this for real?
The highlight was a lakeside picnic lunch
I'm not a holy man, but the view out of this roadside church window was amazing
Once we reached Jackson, we took a ski lift up to the top of the mountain overlooking town
And then descended to take in the Cowboy meets Hippie vibe
Watched a street performance (don't worry, the good guys won)
And washed the day down right
Day 7: Repositioning to Salt Lake City
The last real day took us to Salt Lake City via Logan Canyon
Lilly approved of the scenery
I approved of lunch. If you're ever in Logan, UT, Angie's is amazing.
Our trip ended with a tour of Temple Square
With beautiful architecture
But no Tabernacle Choir, (they were on the road).
And after that, a night of sleep, then home to Florida the next morning.
Our vacation went so quickly, but it was certainly a memorable one. I feel like I shared so many pictures above, but I took TONS more. So many neat things to see and experience.
As for the bus tour aspect, I'm not certain I'd do a bus tour again, as I felt that while we saw a lot of incredible things, we really didn't get to spend enough time at any one particular place to really enjoy them. We kind of figured that was going to be the case heading in; it was sort of like when you go on a cruise ship and visit several ports of call, but spend a lot of time "at sea."
It was more a quick sampling of some magical Western sights, many of which I know we'll head back to in the not too distant future. K.C. is already scoping out a return to Jackson & the Tetons, and I just saw so much beautiful water out the bus window that was screaming to be fished!
Today, Chase Hundley is back with part two of his OR Show post. (You can check out part one HERE). He digs into some gear, thus I'm not going to delay the goodies with an extended intro. So without further adieu, get to reading. Enjoy...
As promised, here's “part 2” of my Outdoor Retailer excursion with proof that I slobbered over gear and not the awkward contortionists at a New Balance party for the release of their new minimal running shoe (I’m still asking myself why I was invited to a party for running shoes).
…I’ll just say I followed friends there – also there was free food.
Finally, here’s all the awesome gear I witnessed at the show.
My favorite piece of new gear from the show would be the Link Rods from Redington. I’ve been on the search for an 8wt that I can use for big bass flies, saltwater, and a possible steelhead trip in the near future. I played around with the 8wt Link Rod at the casting competition during the Open Air Demo and fell in love with it. I was really surprised at how quickly I was casting (semi) accurately with a giant piece of wet yarn tied on (I say “semi” due to my noob-like casting skills). They also look awesome.
You can fit a ton of stuff in these. I’m anxious to see how many giant bass streamers I can cram in one. Also, they’re waterproof. I usually end up having to dry out my flies after a float/fish trip due to my streamer box not being waterproof. I’ll probably end up purchasing one of these soon, unless the gear Gods make one appear on my doorstep sometime.
The Helios 2 will probably be awesome (I’d hope so with the price), I didn’t get to cast one, but I tried to get a feel for it with some floppy (movements?).
These are wayyyyy out of my (and most people I fish with) price range, but I’d really love to see if they perform as well as the price says they do.
Umpqua showcased a ton of new stuff that I didn’t expect at the show. They’re coming out with a new line of flies and accessories aimed at selling in big box stores, but what I was most impressed with were the packs. They were some of the best looking and most practical fishing packs I’ve seen. There is also a waist pack, but my picture of it was terrible. Apparently they’ve teamed up with a popular hiking/mountaineering pack brand to make these guys. They’re also coming out in a green/grey color very similar to one from (a popular pack brand) that I carry everywhere.
Waterproof packs seem to be pretty popular right now, with good reason – it seems I dunk mine every time I’m wet wading. Most of the ones I’ve seen so far weren’t very stylish at all (don’t really have to be), but these from Fishpond were some of the best looking ones I’ve seen. They also have a ton of styles coming out, including rolling luggage type bags.
I haven’t had a chance to try out the Sonic-Pro waders yet, but people I know seem to be in love with them. I’m pretty cheap and it’s hot as hell in Arkansas during the summer, so I normally take the “it’s too hot for waders approach” and end up using my neoprene duck hunting waders when I absolutely have to. There have been many times fishing for trout in our tailwaters that I’ve wished I had some light waders, though. I actually can’t wait to try a pair of these, they seem extremely light and they pack down into a small pack (the pack hanging on the mannequin) – something my neoprene waders will never do.
What impressed me most about the Orvis Silver Sonic waders was the ability to transform into a wader pant. They seem to be decent waders and are constructed with sonic welding technology.
Orvis jumped on the waterproof pack train as well and is coming out with some pretty slick waterproof packs. They seem like they’d be put to some good use when I slip off of a giant rock trying to stalk a smallie.
I’m extremely inexperienced in the spey/switch casting rod category, but these seemed to be some nice rods. What really impressed me is the fact that they are making them all the way down to a 4wt. I imagine that would be a fun rig to cast.
I can’t remember the exact name of these gloves, but they’re Buff’s new fishing gloves. They had a few different styles and felt great. The stripping guards on the fingers were my favorite part.
There you go, my favorite fly fishing gear from OR. I’m anxiously waiting to see what IFTD has to show that I didn’t get to see. There are a few pieces of gear that might roll in for an actual product review in the near future, so get ready.
Now did Chase deliver the goods for you guys or what!?! Great recap Chase, and thanks for bringing your A-Game to these posts.
If you're interested in reading more of Chase's work, I suggest...rather demand you go visit his blog Feather & Scale. I'm sure there will be more posts to come regarding the brands he met with at the show as well as his own exploits with rod & reel. And while you're at it, check him out on Facebook & Twitter too.
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