Have You Ever...?

Dean (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife  :O)

Have you ever been fishing, and you know, in the first 15 seconds, that you are going to have a good time?  That very thing happened to me last night.  I had been waiting all day to throw my line in the water.  We like to go out about 7 pm at Spring Valley State Park, because that’s the time when all the trout are feeding.  It usually last for about 60 to 90 minutes.  Actually, it lasts much longer than that, but it gets to the point that you can’t see the bobber.  Anyhow, I baited the hook for the first time, cast the line out about 40 feet off the pier, and within 15 seconds I saw the bobber go under the water.  One quick tug and I was reeling in my first fish of the year.   Nope!  He’s not telling fish stories.  His first cast of the season, and he got the first fish.  I didn’t have near as good a night as he did, but he was kind enough not to gloat.  We went on to catch  11 fish for the night, all of them were rainbow trout.   I’ll cook them up tomorrow, probably over a campfire, but I haven’t decided yet.

 We were fishing off the pier with a young family that had driven all the way up from Panaca, NV, about 30 miles away.  When we got there we heard them say, “That’s number 9,” as they pulled in another fish.  Not long after that however, we heard one of the young ones announce to his mom that the line with all the fish on it had come undone and that they had lost all 9 fish.  We couldn’t quite replace all of them, but we did give them the first 7 fish that we caught before they had to leave to head back home.  Like I said, it was a good night, and not just because of the success that we had.  Somehow, knowing that we had helped this rather large, young family bring home a little feast of fish made us feel like we had been placed there at that place and at that time for a reason.  It was so cute.  The little boy was so excited each time Dean gave him another fish.

This afternoon, before going fishing, we spent a lot time getting the truck ready for our next big Greendockin’ adventure.  We have decided to go visit our family and friends in Kansas next month and take only the truck and not the travel trailer.   We plan on Greendockin’ every step of the way.  Our goal is to NOT stay in a single hotel or campground.  We’re looking for back roads and small towns.  We have limited room inside the truck, and wanted to make sure that we could get all of our Greendockin’ supplies in there.  After all, Greendockin’ is not about going without!  It’s not about revisiting the stone ages.  No way!  Greendockin’ is about enjoying back-road, low-cost adventures in reasonable comfort and with a few frivolous amenities.  :O)   It was a success!  In fact, we plan on leaving the trailer here within the next couple of days and finding a nice, secluded spot to boondock.     If you have never done this, you HAVE to try it.  There’s no way to describe the beauty of the starlit night, the solitude, the peace, and even the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are completely self sufficient and self sustained.   It is SO gratifying, and if you have the opportunity to enjoy it with your best friend, like Dean and I do, it is all the better.  This means, of course, that we may not be blogging for a couple of days, as we don't plan in being real close to civilization.  Check in on us though.  We'll for sure be back on the grid by the end of the week.  :O)

One quick note on the solar generator.  We had used it last night and got it down to about 40% full, so I decided to recharge it this morning at 9 o’clock.  By 11 a.m. it was fully charged.  This is good information to know as we head out across the United States next month.