Inquiring Minds Want To Know...

What the heck really happened on the Mega Smoky Mountain Tour??   Was the River Damsel "Southern Fried" or "Southern Soaked"???  Just know that sometimes there are  two sides to a story...(Owl Jones had his video and first story published as soon as we got back and a funny one it was...)  But, I am here to tell you that there was quite a breeze up there on the "rail trail" where we had stopped to look at the view.  What was I supposed to do with  cardboard Rebecca and Howard?  Let them blow away or even worse, fall 500 ft below us?  No, I did the right thing...quickly putting them down in front of me.  Ok...enough about that.  What I really want to tell you is that, well...after that video, my hubby bubby left me a note the next morning.  All I can tell you is that it said something like...

"On my way to find "cupcakes"... Hmmmm....Well, I know that he didn't go all the way to Colorado...haha.  And if you don't get this, follow the link above to Owl's video.  That darn Owl...always the funny guy!! 

When I met Mr. and Mrs. Owl, they couldn't have been nicer.  They greeted me with open arms, surprised me with a "Hillbilly Swag Bag" full of fun stuff including dried possum (gee, thanks!), sweet flies and taught me a few things about the Southern style of living and speaking. (I was given a nice little book of Southern phrases)... Let me begin by saying that this trip was not all about fishing...it was about friends meeting up and going on a short, whirlwind journey through some beautiful country...The Smoky Mountains!   I fell in love with the Dogwood trees there...We started our journey on the Nantahala River...in western North Carolina.  The "Nan" was probably my favorite water that we visited on this trip.  A little more open like I was used to.  Maybe the fish knew that the storm was coming...they were a little quiet.  But, we each caught a couple and we met Mark (Flyfishsc.com) for the first time there.  He presented us with some awesome dry flies for the trip, which we appreciated!  I was glad to be with two very good tiers on this trip...as they both knew the bug life well in this area that we were fishing.  Mark cracked me up  with his "Well, let's go get that skunk off right now" statement as he headed towards the river.  And a few minutes later, yep... "Incoming!"  Ok...he made a believer out of me.  Ha.  I wonder if that would work for me...next time I go out fishing, I'm going to be more positive in my approach!  "Here I come fish!  Who's up first??"  : )   Here's a nice brownie that Mark caught...I had a brown on the approach to the net, but came off...darn it all!  Owl has it on video, so it still might make a post...

I had never seen a brook trout up close until this trip...I know, hard to believe.  Another reason why I wanted to go out to the Smokies...We do have them here in Utah, I just don't usually head up into those mountains that have them.  I love their spots!!  Owl and I found one in a deep pool.  Cardboard Rebecca and Howard stayed pretty dry until the afternoon...I had just one little fall with one knee down, but kept Howard pretty dry...just getting his feet wet.  Ha!  I'm thinking that he had something to do with the fall actually...(Troutrageous! blames him for everything that goes wrong... : 0 )  If he could have piggy backed instead of wanting a front and center seat in my wader belt...oh well.  It happened.   Life goes on...got to roll with the punches! 



 Howard and I fishing!

The storm that was forcasted came with a vengeance...Wind, rain and we finally headed back to our fishmobiles...We decided to go to the campsite next and set up tents and then go to town for some Southern BBQ...Yummy!!!  That beats sitting out in the rain anyday!  We were all hungry and the Black Eyed Pea stew warmed me up inside...it had a flavor of BBQ pork in it that made it absolutely delicious!  Afterwards, we got the waiter to take a picture of all of us...heehee.

Rebecca trying some "Sweet Tea"!  I thought her hair held up remarkably well in the rain

                                 

Did I mention that we took a few detours before getting to the campground?  Mark and I didn't know that the tour director that we hired for $4.83 plus a Mtn. Dew would get lost and not remember which turnoff we needed to take... he relied on his memory to find the campground...but, we eventually got there!  ; )  It was hilarious.

Tour Director giving the little bass pond by the campground a try...

SUNDAY TIPPET:  Tour guides/directors are usually worth every penny that you spend...and sometimes you get more/less than what you paid for their services...just sayin'!  Love ya, Owl!!! : )  Ok...I think that I did pretty well with my choice...I mean, I did get fried pies, boiled peanuts, Stewarts Key Lime soda, and Steaks over a bonfire!!  Wow...wait till you hear all about that!  So, this is all that happened before the storm...I guess that you could say that I was "Southern Soaked!"  What happened after the storm moved out...you will have to wait and see!    

The Famous Blue Ridge

Today's Guest Summary Writer:  Jason (Fontinalis Rising)   And so the saga continues. Owl Jones turns out to be a contraband possum dealer. Mark is really Saruman, wizard of southern weather. Have they lured RD into the southern mountains to drown her or poison her with roadkill? Will RD be able to save Cardboard Howard from Owls voodoo? Why does cardboard Rebecca seem to be immune to all of this? Do her powers as Goddess of OBN extend to the Realm of Cardboard? Will RD disappear into the Blue Ridge forever on a quest for brook trout? Tune in next week on The River Damsel: Southern Soaked!