Fishing Anxiety Gone -- Restful Night

Now that the first four trout of the season have been caught (and cooked on the grille), it seems I can take a couple days to find the next catch and start filling the freezer (in case there are visitors).  It felt pretty pleasant outside while I cleaned and then fired up the grille -- maybe in the mid 60s with hardly a breeze.  I had met one of my two other campers shortly before getting to work on the grille and after talking to him (Darvin), I have a new perspective on the surrounding mountains and what is in them.  Elk to be specific.  Turns out this is a trophy area for "Shed Hunting" and Darvin showed me some of the antlers he has managed to gather during his time stayng in the cabin behind me (since March).

Turns out too that Darvin is afflicted with the same disease two of my cousins have -- MS (though, he is not quite as bad as cousin Paul -- perhaps closer to what Keith is going through).  So, he has to rest a couple days between his hunting sessions or hikes through the woods and when he is out he sometimes has to rest for an hour or more during his outing.  Some of the antlers he showed me were huge and apparently the sets will fetch him $400 to $500 for each.  Not a bad piece of change for picking up some 12 to 25 pounds of antlers.  I will try to join him on one of is trips into the woods and learn more about the specific signs and areas to search (other than the south or southwest sides of the mountains) -- maybe see some cows in the process and get a few pics.

Since Darvin is resting again today, I will scout the streams and see if there is anything biting -- the Rio Grande first, I think -- at that hole beyond the cliff.