Jane and Ron's RV Adventure: 7-21-2012 Dad is coming to "boot camp"!

Ally here: My Dad really wanted to spend some time with me this summer so he decided to come to boot camp and join me in all my activities for the last two weeks of my 2012 RV adventure. This should be fun. Two weeks in the RV will really be something for Dad but two weeks in the RV with Grandma ??? He’ll be in shape when he leaves here but he’ll be a little nutty too. We all are.

I had to brush up on my fly fishing skills so Pop and I hit the Gros Ventre River behind our campground a few days before we left for Montana to pick up Dad. I needed to be able to show Dad I could catch a fish. First, I needed to relearn how to tie on a fly.

Then I needed to practice my cast a bit.

We arrived at Greek Creek, our campground on the Gallatin River in Montana, the day before Dad was to arrive. I needed a little more practice on my fly casting. The river was swift so Pop and I had to help each other move out near the strong current.

I’m getting pretty good at this. I think I’ll be giving Dad some competition tomorrow.

Pop and I are heading in for dinner. We’re camped just a few feet from the river. Nice digs, Grandma!

The next afternoon we picked Dad up in Bozeman, Montana. We didn’t waste any time getting back to camp (except for the stop for some yummy frozen yogurt and a fishing license). When you camp along the Gallatin River you have to be careful with your water usage. The closest water and dump station is 30 miles away. Grandma, Pop, and I are used to this but we knew it would be a shock to Dad. He wasn’t too happy when we told him that during the day he had to use the “outside” potty and that his twice a day shower would be nonexistent. Outhouses aren’t what they used to be according to Grandma. Now they have a nice flower fragrance so they’re not so bad. At night we can use our in house facilities. We just have to do this for a day or two till we get to Yellowstone. There’s a price to pay for fishing some of the great trout rivers in the west. Dad forgot all about this aspect of camping as soon as he hit the river, which was pretty much right away. I got my line ready and followed him down the bank to the river.

I could tell he was having fun getting in the fishing groove again.

I think I caught the first fish. Pop was pretty proud of me. It’s not easy to catch a fish with a fly. Try it sometime. It takes skill and patience (I’m working on that).

After that, it was Dad’s turn, big time. He caught about five in a row. He forgot all about that “outhouse” thing.

He’s one happy fisherman.

Here comes Pop. He’s the fly fishing “house elf”, too.

Here fishy, fishy! We say that a lot.

Now, that’s a nice one. That’s one lucky fish since we’re all about “catch and release”! He’s not going to hit our frying pan.

Dinner can wait. This is way too much fun to stop. I bet Dad is thinking it’s pretty special to be fishing with me. I think it’s pretty special to be fishing with him. Pop thinks it’s pretty special to be fishing with both of us. Grandma thinks it’s pretty special not to be cooking fish tonight. Aren’t we lucky?

Here comes another one.

The fishing assistant must be taking a break.

How many Frischies to catch the fishies???

Now, I have a little coaching from Dad. He doesn’t know I’m really good at this. I’ll humor him.

One more cast and I’ll head in for dinner. I bet Dad can’t wait till we have our S’mores! He brought us a box of Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Grahams. They make the best S’mores!