Floating the Bighorn River

Luck is with us and we were able to make reservations for a site at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone for Aug 12 - 19 so we can take our time to get there. We have gone 4200 miles as of noon today on this trip!

With Yellowstone in place we headed for Hardin, Montana on I90. We found a place to wash the coach and car.. and it needs it! Let me tell you about the grasshoppers out here. They are all over the roads and ground. Sometimes there are so many it looks like the road is moving! They make a mess. We had one come flying in the window and was hopping all over the front of the cab. At first we though we were in a rain shower with big drops hitting the windshield. It took us a couple days (yes we are slow...) to figure out what they were.

Now that we are clean (for the moment) we headed down Rte 313 to the Afterbay Campground in Bighorn Canyon. Down a 8% grade gravel drive we pulled into what looks like a parking lot with campsites along one side and which overlook the river. We pulled up and checked with the Camphosts (Bob & Barb). They are really nice folks and we hit it off right away.

After we got set up Bob said he would take us down the river with our boat and we could fish together. Ken's eyes lit up like saucers! We went down to Fort Smith and got licenses and some flys. Then we raced around getting the boat together and loaded the boats onto Bob's trailer. We parked one car at 3 Mile Access and then drove back to the access where we had left the boats. About 4PM we hit the water. Ken hasn't rowed much so he tried to navigate the river with Bob coaching from the other boat. He kept apologizing to the people fishing along the shoreline. Unfortunately the oars kept coming out of the holders and it made it really hard for Ken to manuver. I'm trying to fish and then I hear "grab the oar"! Oops I pulled it out of the water as it floated by (Phew). We stopped on a sandbar and fished for a while, but no hits. The Black Caddis hatch is awesome tonight. We are covered with them. Back on the river we are struggling to get into position to stop at our end access point. It was fun floating a river for the first time, but nerve racking for Ken. He did really great though. I think we will wade if we go again as he didn't get to fish much.

Another RV pulled in next to us while we were fishing. Perry seems very nice and spent some time exchanging fish stories with Ken. Back at camp we joined Bob & Barb for a campfire and cocktails. Richard, who is also camping here from California, came by. Another couple, Ronnie & Barb, joined us later. They all come here every year and it's a nice little group. They made us feel really welcome.