One of my top wishes for the trip was to try fly fishing.  Neither of us fish, so this would be an adventure--and in Yellowstone, of all places!  We hired a guide and went out to the Fire Hole River. Pat Bond was terrific- we highly recommend him if you're in the area. He taught us how to cast,. then we waded thought the river for three hours.

I caught the first good bite on my line and lost two other strikes.

Jim also caught a fish, another rainbow--we released them to grow a bit bigger.  The rainbow trout are not native to this area and Pat said naturalists predict they soon will overwhelm the native cutthroat population.  This was a great experience--something we plan to do again.  A great way to enjoy the outdoors.  Now we can mend and strip--if we only had an idea how to tie a lure on the line, or even what lure to use.  This isn't a sport.  I think it qualifies more as the art of fly fishing.  Really, really fun!

And we couldn't have found a prettier location!

After our lesson, we went on to Fire Hole Falls.  Susan and John, remember stopping here in a snow storm?

As we continued through the park we came across bison everywhere.  We saw them scratching against the pine trees, trying to shed their thick winter coats.  This big old bull ended up decorated early for the holidays as he waked beside the cars. 

We ended our day at Norris Geyser Basin.

We had more snow that evening.  A day of snow then a day of sun seems to be the norm here.  The folks at Yellowstone said this was one of the worst winters they can remember.

With a bright morning, we headed off to Missoula, Montana, with more dark clouds on the horizon.

This was to be a quick overnight stop--but Oh! How plans can change.

Check in tomorrow.