Mammoth on Ice

Parker and I loaded up the sled and went to Mammoth for some hard water ice fishing. We arrived at sunrise and got on the water to find our friends Cameron and Cody Hunt already set up.  They were in 30 feet of water and had gotten anything so we moved in to 15 feet of water.

Parker dropped his line in the first hole and almost immediately got a strike and hook up only to lose it on the way up. but that made us happy to see fish being active in our water column. We cut a few more holes and got lines in.  Parker got the first hit on white so I put on white and blue, and pink on pink. We tipped with wax and meal worms, wax worms worked best. I tried some power grubs but got nothing on that.

I was nest to get a hit on the pink set up. landed a pretty tiger trout not very big but healthy. We fished the morning until 11:30 and to go to a family birthday party.  Cam and Cody and his wife Sky moved in next to us and Sky got a nice tiger in a few minutes and Cody almost lost his pole to a tiger but saved it and landed the tiger. 

Nothing huge and nothing fast. We had fish in and out of the screen all morning, wit a couple hits but no hook ups. We changed colors, presentation and spoons whatsoever we had in our boxes but could only coax those three out of the water. It was a beautiful morning on the lake. By the time we packed it in the lake was covered with camps, best to go on a week day if you can.

12-2-17 First Ice!?

I never know what to log these early winter trips to ice fish. Is it the first ice of the season or the finish of the 2017 ice fishing season.  Regardless we found Ice!! The season is so late this year one of the latest I've seen. We hit the lake that usually freezes over by Thanksgiving and it still had boats on it trolling. So we moved on to the next lake on the trail and it was also wide open and on we went. We pass a little side road that we know goes to a pond.  We stopped turned around and made the short trip down the dirt road to the pond and there it was, ICE! Our first question is, how solid is it? Parker ventures out slowly and then Jumps!! I'm looking for a rocks to throw and he's out there jumping on it. We determine since he didn't break through that we will be okay and take the auger out and cut holes. 6 inches of ice was found, nice thick and hard.

We cut four holes and set up our camp for the morning. The pond is only 8 - 10 feet deep, so we weren't thinking we were going to get much. Low and behold the first hit happened almost immediately after dropping our first line in the water. Parker lands the first fish of the day and season. Not huge but it had fins and gills a nice little planter bow.

I hooked up the second and Parker the third of the day and Jackson got in on the action with a fish caught and he was excited. The wind started to come up so we put the tent up and started to set stakes in the ice and the first one broke through and the ice sank a little! We decided not to sink the other screw but keep a foot on the skirt to keep it in place.

We fished in the tent for a couple hours and caught many fish they were hungry and we were happy. We finished with 50 or better fish caught. Some of them were of decent size but most were planters. We did manage a couple cutthroat.

A great day to start off or end the season with.....I think I will say start the season!!  Hope you can find some water to walk on soon.

Return to Deer Creek

Friday Parker and I took the boat out for hopefully its last run of the year. I put the boat away for the year too early, with the weather being so mild we took it to Deer Creek. The Creek hasn't been clarified clean yet by the DWR but hopefully, it will be Dec. However, I felt okay about putting my boat in for the last trip of the season.

The morning started out cold and windy. We made our way to the dead sea and put down the trolling motor. We got in the lane and headed to the sea of Galilee. We got nothing so we turned out to cross the lake and got one on the turn around on pop gear and worm. We fished back down to the sea of Galilee and dead sea and got another on the return trip. The wind stopped blowing and we got back in the lane where the first fish was caught.

With the water turning to glass, the sun came out and got really nice. The fishing turned on. We caught several fish in the small loop we were making off the island. Pop gear and the worm was the ticket, Parker had his downrigger running rapalas and flatfish but didn't get anything.

The day ended as it began. The wind came up and the sun went away around 11:30. Parker hooked up a nice big male rainbow only to have it snap the hook as I started to net it. After seeing that bruiser and the wind coming up strong we decided to call it a day. A good day with 20 fish boated in a short time. All good rainbows.

Happy Trolling at Jordanelle

Last Saturday Parker and I made the trek to Jordanelle for some relaxing trolling for the bows and browns. We arrived at the lake around 7:30 about the time the sun came up and were on the water. It was 32 degrees when we launched it didn't warm up till 10 or so.

Bass Fishing Sand Hollow Utah 10/11-12/17

Wednesday morning met up with Shifty at his placed hooked up the Fish Steeler to "The Great White" and we were on our way to Sand Hollow Reservoir in Southern Utah for a two day fishing trip for bass. Shifty puts up with my need for fly fishing so I try to reciprocate with a trip to bass fish. Sand Hollow is his favorite to fish so we travel there one to two times each season.

Crankbaits and Cutthroats at The Berry

Tuesday text:

Me: strawberry?

Shifty: sweet!

me: great pick you up at 6

Shifty: why 6?

me: the sun doesn't come up till 8

A half-hour later........................................

Shifty: no the weather channel says the sun will rise at 7:37 and I know you like to get there before the sun comes up.

me: fine you better be ready when I get there to pick you up.........

Shifty: crap, I hope it's not too early....

Thursday morning I arrive at 5:15 and wait till 5:45 for Shifty to get out of the house. This is from the person that wakes up at 4 am to go ice fishing and the sun doesn't rise till 8:30 am and I am the one that always wants to get going early.......hahahaha.

Harvest full moon at 5:15 am

So ya Thursday morning I text him as I am leaving to pick him up and say you better be ready, no reply. I get there and no lights are on.

We loaded and got on the road by 5:50 and still got to the lake before the sun came over the horizon and it was 23 degrees. This was after we stopped and got breakfast.

Wyoming Fishing Episode II

This week Shifty and I went to Wyoming looking for some big rainbow and cutthroat trout. We fished this same area last year at the same time, we did it with Jimmy Kofoed as our guide, this year we went to try our luck on our own. We loaded up at 4:30 am and picked up Shifty's friend David and made our way to Evanston where we picked up license and supplies. We made it to our destination by 9 am and were on the water.

Starvation Walleye Hunt

Wednesday Parker and I went to Starvation in search of walleye. We loaded up with all the gear that the "gurus" said was hot. Parker is wanting to land some walleye and has been studying how to fish for them and what to use when to use, how to use....etc. We left the valley at 5:30 and made our way to highway 40 and through Strawberry valley, seeing the steam rising off Strawberry and Soldier Creek was exciting to think the weather is finally turning the corner and the ice will be forming soon in the high country. We launched at 7:15 from the state ramp. The water was choppy and a little stained, 62 degrees.

Fishing Jordanelle Early Fall

Thursday morning started with picking up Shifty and heading up Provo Canyon to Jordanelle Res. Quickly becoming a favorite of Shifty, I already liked the water. We arrived at the lake at 7 am after a quick stop for breakfast with the sun coming up later each day we get to sleep in a little, but that just means ice season is coming around the corner.

Electric Lake 9/4/17 Bday trip

Monday morning I picked up Jimmy and Parker and we went to one of our favorite lakes. Knowing that it would not be crowded on the holiday weekend and it is home to some nice cutthroat, and tiger trout and Kokanee Salmon. We pulled into the lake and the temp was 35 degrees, a little brisk for sandals but I survived. We launched and were in the water by 7:30 am. This day was to be quick due to Parker had to turn in his thesis and we had a bbq party to attend that afternoon.

Return to Jordanelle 8/31/17

Picking up Shifty at 5 am on Thursday morning we headed to Jordanelle in hopes of repeating our success of last week. The day was overcast and brisk morning, the water was smoother than last week but still choppy. Water temps ranged from 68 - 70 depending on where we were.  The water was clear, getting a little more grass floating around.

Jordanelle Rainbows and Small Mouth Bass 8/24/17

Thursday Shifty and I hit the water at Jordanelle Reservoir. We launched at 6:30 and had gear in the water before 7 am. We trolled pop gear and worm for the trout. The water was nice and clear with little debris in it, 67 degrees when we started off. Jack-of-diamonds and rainbow pop gear were the colors, Shifty was out 135 ft and I was out 100 ft. 

Starvation Fishing 8/17/17

Thursday morning I picked up Shifty and we headed for Starvation. We made it on the water by 7 am and fishing in trout lanes quickly after that. I was trolling pop gear and Shifty was trolling a Gulls Custom dodger and squid. I got a fish on in a few minutes of setting my line. Don't know what it was, it released right at the boat. We made our way through the Rabbit Gulch lanes and back into the same spot as the last fish and I got another fish on. This time I took a little more time to get it in and made sure Shifty could net it. A nice rainbow trout to start off the limit.

Evening Fish with Family

Last Wednesday evening the boys asked if I was up for a fish. I of course said yes! We met up at 5 pm with my grandson Harrison along for the trip and we headed south. The boys wanted to go for Kokanee at one of our favorite Colorado Cutthroat lakes. Parker had been up there in the last couple weeks and got a couple plus a few cutthroat. We made it to the lake by 6:30 pm and we quickly got launched.

Salmon Fishing - Kenai River - Soldotna, Alaska! Part 2

Part 2

Sunday - Day 3 - the routine was same, on the river early, breakfast, fish, snack, fish, and dinner. I landed one fish, Gary limited, Jim and Rulon got two fish. We worked on the pavers during the day when we needed a break from casting.

Monday - Day 4 - the routine was the same. We landed 3 limits and I got skunked!! The beginner luck had worn off!

Tuesday - Day 5 - was a hard day only two fish were caught for the day. The Fish and Game allowed the boats and netters set up at the mouth of the river on Monday and not many fish made their way upstream to us. We worked hard and long on the pavers today and got the whole project complete laying over 400 pavers.

Wednesday - Day 6 - we were all extremely tired from the paver project but we managed to get on the river by 6 am and the fish we were in. Jim and Gary had limits before breakfast, Rulon had two and I had one. Rulon and I fished the rest of the day and I managed to land one more and Rulon ended with two on the bank. After breakfast we went to Homer and did some sightseeing. Homer is a port town with many charters taking people out for Halibut and Cod. We thought about chartering a boat until we seen the catches coming for the day. We went to the Salty Dawg Saloon and walked around the "spit" for most of the afternoon. Gary was fishing the lagoon where the silvers were stacked up. That was a sight to see, these fish were jumping all over the lagoon. The tide was out however and the fish weren't actively feeding, so Gary didn't catch anything. We learned that the show "Alaska the Last Frontier" is filmed just a few miles outside of Homer.

Processing the fish, we filleted the fish on the bank of the river on the deck that Will had put on the bank with a cleaning station. After filleting the fish they were taken to the garage where they were de-boned and packaged each day. This process took a couple hours each day depending on the number fish caught that day. The processing station was awesome! Sink with counter tops stainless steel tables and vacuum packing machines at the end. They have four full size freezers to store the fish in until it was time for us to leave.

Thursday - Day 7 - We each limited out pretty early with 3 fish each. This was an epic day on the river according to Jim and the others. Will joined us for few minutes and got one banked as well and we ate his fish for dinner that night. Not much better than Salmon fresh out of the water to the plate. We worked on the paver project to level and sand it.

Friday - Day 8 - What a day! Jim and Gary limited out before breakfast at 10 am and Rulon limited out right after breakfast. I on the other hand hadn't had a hit. They worked on the rain gutters another thing that was always done during the stay at Will and Jane's. Service for others is great especially when those you are serving are such great people. Back to the river I was casting for hours before I had a hook up. Landed my first fish about 1 pm and I started at 7:30 am. My second hooked up about an hour later, figuring I cast 12 times per minute, we figured I was casting near 800 times an hour. My third sockeye came into the bank foul hooked and was released. About 4 pm I finally landed my third sockeye and had my final limit of the trip!! You figure the math for how many cast I made for the day.

Saturday - Day 9 - Heading home. We cleaned and disinfected the fish processing station and the floors of the garages, cleaned our apartment and had breakfast. Gary and Jim went to river early in the morning and landed a couple more sockeye to give to Will and Jane for their freezer. Rulon and I stayed at the house and cleaned up and packed. After the day yesterday I was cast out and didn't hit the river. We left the Madison's around 2 pm and headed for Anchorage. Stopped for ice cream again at Wildman's in Cooper's Landing. Along Highway 1 we came to what we thought was an accident, but no it was a bear and her cub in a tree alongside the road, just like we were in Yellowstone. Making to Anchorage we stopped at the Anchorage Temple. We then went to the river and watched the combat fishing along the banks. That was crazy. We ate and went to the airport met a few others from Utah waiting for our red eye flight that left at 1:00 am Sunday morning.

What an experience!! I hope to get to go again with the party had so much fun and never worked so hard for a limit of 3 fish. It was definitely different style of fishing and until you do it, you won't understand.

Salmon Fishing - Kenai River - Soldotna, Alaska! Part 1

This trip was a definite bucket list achievement. I had been invited a couple times but was unable to attend previously. When Jim called me last October and invited me this year, I was going. I had my money to him the next day to cover the expenses of air and truck. Yes, last October is when the plans were laid for this trip the first week of August.

Friday - Day one Jim picked me up at my place at 5:30 am and we made our way to SLC airport. We checked boxes loaded with goodies that Jim had been putting together for the year and a gun he had purchased for the people we were staying with. Flight to Seattle and then Anchorage. We landed in Anchorage at 12:30 and we got our supplies and truck. We then picked up storage bags that the Madisons needed for processing the fish. We made our way out of Anchorage up highway 1 to Soldotna. We stopped in Girdwood, and then Cooper's Landing where we stopped to get some Ice Cream! Rulon always looking forward to getting his ice cream at Wildman's Store. We called Will and Jane to let them know we were close. This was about 6 pm, we arrived at Will and Jane's after a quick stop at the Fred Meyer for our fishing license. The dusk hours were beginning. We got to Will and Jane's around 7 pm and we unloaded the truck. I met our host for the first time and exchanged hellos. Will and Janes's home is beautiful and sits on the Kenai River. We stayed in the "caregivers" apartment above the garage.

We had a quick dinner and then we fished. I was fulfilling a dream and casting my line into the Kenai River was surreal. I imagined how it would be with fly pole in hand and working the fly through the columns and hooking up a salmon and fighting it into my net. Not quite that way, the fishing was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I had a 9 ft ugly stick fly pole loaded with 80-pound halibut braid and attached was a 1.5 oz weight to 50-pound leader tied onto a size 2 hook with some yarn to make it look like a fly. I was quickly given a lesson on the casting method and retrieval method. Not casting more than 6 - 8 feet of line out with the 6 - 8 feet of leader and getting the sinker to the bottom as quickly as possible and feeling it drag across the rocks during the drift and then quickly setting the hook with pull and set motion to hook a fish. I observed the others for a minute and then got after it. I fished until 11:30 pm that evening, the sun never set so it was dusk and I could see my line the whole time. I managed to land my first Kenai Sockeye Salmon that evening. Jim, Rulon, and Gary were surprised, most of the time it takes people quite a while to master the technique and get a fish onshore. I was elated!! My first fish before the end of the first day!

Saturday - Day 2 - I woke up at 6:30 to find the others gone! They were already fishing. I got to the river and found that Gary and Jim had already 2 fish each of their 3 fish limit. The fish were in. I quickly got in the water and started the repetitive motion of casting and pull-setting over and over again and again. We fished until Will came to the deck of his beautiful home said breakfast was ready, at which time everyone reeled in and retreated to the breakfast table. Jane had fixed us a nice breakfast! During breakfast, we learned what our service project was to be, a 20 x 30-foot paver project. Gary being a contractor would take the lead on this project and we would help by moving the 400 plus pavers.

The House - Will, and Jane are retired educators and built this house to their specifications for hosting large parties and fishing the river. Pulling in the first thing you notice is a large greenhouse filled with greenery. The driveway leads up to a double 2 car garage, with one side specifically set up to process fish and game, the other had the washer, dryer, and bathroom with shower. The garage stairs lead you down to the basement which is completely open and set up for storage, this is where you find a wall of waders of all sizes and fishing poles hanging from the ceiling. Upstairs you had three options, door one took you into the main living area, door two opened onto the deck and the outside main entrance and door three lead you upstairs to the "caregiver" apartment. The main floor is open and spacious with a hallway leading to the movie room, master bedroom and guest bedroom, and bathroom, with a steam shower in it. The apartment has a living room, full bath, and bedroom, this was built for when Will and Jane get older they can have a caregiver stay in it and take care of them.

After breakfast we were back on the river it didn't take long for Jim and Gary to limit out and they went up to start the paver project. Rulon and I stayed on the river, until "afternoon snack time".  I manage to get one fish on the bank and Rulon had two on the bank. After snacks, We went back to the river where I landed another sockeye. This was the end of catching fish for the day we never landed our third fish after hours of casting and dinner was being served Rulon and I called it a day.

Strawberry with Shifty Trolling for Kokanee

So on the 27th of July shifty and I went in search of Kokanee Salmon on Strawberry reservoir. We got to the lake early and started in some lanes that I learned earlier that held some Kokanee. I don't have downriggers set up on the Fish Steeler and don't know that I will. Today I tried a new piece of trolling equipment, a jet diver that holds your rig at 30 feet, using this so I can use the light gear rather than my lead line. Shifty ran his lead line. We fished until noon, so we put in 5 hours of fishing. I landed the first fish of the day, a nice cutthroat but not what we were targeting. I changed colors of my dodgers and squid using attractant gels the whole nine yards trying to get a Kokanee to bite.

Shifty changed out from the dodger to a Rapala and hooked up a chub of all things. He later landed a nice cutthroat as well. We both changed our presentation numerous times but couldn't find the Kokanee. We asked around and the other boats weren't catching many either. My conclusion is to get Kokanee on a regular basis you need to have downriggers and solid electronics to see the activity below. After not getting any Shifty wanted to go drift power bait back in the bay, so we went back into the bay and gave it a shot. I trolled worms and then threw some iron at them. To no avail, we didn't get a sniff. We called it a day and went home to pack for Alaska!!

Fly Fishing the Green River 2017 - Day 2

Thursday morning we loaded up after getting a quick breakfast sandwich and headed to Little Hole for our second day on the river. Today, however, started last night at the Flaming Gorge Resort talking with JD. We spent a good hour talking with him about what to use and where to go. He gave us great insights on where to go and the patterns to use and how to use them.

Fly Fishing the Green River 2017 - day one

This week Shifty and I went to the Green River, one of the premier, if not the premier fly fishing rivers in the lower 48. Only a couple hours from home, I don't fish it enough. Shifty not being a fly fisher in heart he always goes with me when I need a fix. He hadn't been to this area of the state since his teenage years, I on the other hand fished it with my sons last year with a guide. Which is a great way to fish the river, they know how, where, when and what to fish at all times. Plus the boat lanes are always productive. This trip we waded the river, Shifty did his homework and got all the "hot" flies and info from one of his co-workers that fish the river every week.

Fishing Jordanelle with Jim

Friday, I picked Jim up at Harmon's at 5 am and we headed up Provo Canyon to our destination, Jordanelle Reservoir. Jim is a dear friend and mentor of mine. He is one of the finest men I know and I love calling him my friend. We retired out of Alpine School District together last year. He mentored me in many ways as an assistant principal and athletic director. Jim taught me what it meant to put the kids at the front of each decision made. So I was happy that we finally got to go out fishing together, he still works with the state and Orem PD and BYU Security as an officer, so his time is tied up. However, in a couple weeks we are going to Alaska to fish the Kenai River, a trip I have been trying to schedule in for years and it came together this year. Jim and 3 friends go every year for the past few years and he had an opening and I had the time to go!! Can't wait, but for the trip today I introduced Jim to Jordanelle a lake he had never fished.

Southern Florida Escape - Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Keys

Day 1 - Left SLC at 5:15 pm and landed at midnight in Miami, caught the shuttle to the hotel and woke up early for the second day.

Day 2 - Got the rental car and they tried to give us a small car after we paid for a full size and we fixed that with an Infinity Q60, yes it was a sweet ride for the week. We left and went to South Pointe Park, Miami and walked out on the pier and up the beach for a while. We took a few pictures and waded in the water a little. We went to lunch at Scully's Tavern and it it did not disappoint. I think this make 20 Triple D spots we have hit in our travels. After lunch we made our way to the condo. Condo? is a stretch for this place, Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort and resort is definitely a stretch of the imagination for this place. We checked in and landed on the 9th floor. This place was tagged as a 4 star resort and it is lucky to be a 2 star. A converted hotel, located a block off the beach which was the plus part of this place. The area was the more run down part of Ft. Lauderdale. We made the best of it and realized we only needed to sleep there. AC worked good thank goodness. We went to the beach that afternoon and the water was a nice warm water and the surf was easy. We hung out on the beach for a couple hours and then went back to our room for a quick shower. First of the follies, the shower door fell over on each of us and we had to call maintenance to fix it. We finished up and went down the block the Parrot Tavern a local place with decent food. That evening we sat on the balcony and watched the waves and ship lights turn on.

Day 3 - Sally signed us up for a presentation! 3 hours later for a supposed 1 hour thing we hit the road but had a visa card with $100. Good thing from it though was our presenter told us a lot of things to do in the area. So we followed his advice and bought a ticket on the water taxi for the day. We boarded at the Double Tree Inn and rode it all day. You could get on and off at any stop. We checked some of the areas and then got lunch on Olas Ave. the hot spot for food and entertainment. We found a good place and had lunch on the visa card. This area of Florida is home to the most, biggest and most expensive yachts, Ft. Lauderdale is built on and around canals and homes line them. Each home has a dock and generally has a yacht parked there. We seen Stephen King's old yacht at 176 feet he is having a bigger one built. We seen yacht that spanned 250 feet plus and they were amazing! Most of them are registered in a different country to get around taxes and labor laws. My poor little Fish Steeler wasn't as big as the dingy's these boats use to transfer back and forth with. It was amazing seeing all the boats. We passed by the sand bar gathering spot where boats come in and anchor up all day and party. We seen it early with the tide out and then later with the tide in and it had risen about 4 feet people still partying. We watched the taxi driver's pay the toll to the bridge keepers! We made our way back to the condo and went to the beach again for a while and then out to dinner.

Guide Psycho Paul

Day 4 - Everglades Alligator Farm!! We woke early and headed south to the Everglades and first stop was the alligator farm. Here we rode the Airboat into the everglades and got to see up close and personal a number of alligators and turtles. The boat ride was great! Our driver Psycho Paul made it fun and we got soaked! We toured the rest of the farm and seen the shows they put on with snakes, alligators and feeding time. We ate the food truck, where I had to have....alligator of course, mine was much better than Sally's. We left here and headed farther south into the Everglades National Park, where we got our stamps. We drove to end of the road and stopped at the Flamingo Visitor Center and seen Manatees swimming around in the shallows, that was awesome. From here we drove to the Biscayne National Park and walked out onto the jetty about a quarter mile. Seen some fishers and a lot of small fry fish in the shallows. Got the history of the park and our stamp. We headed south from here looking for dinner. We tried the South Beach spots only to find it packed with people and cars. South Beach is definitely a sight to see, but be prepared to cough up some cash for parking. We didn't stop and headed back toward Ft. Lauderdale. We got something to eat and went to the beach for the evening.

Day 5 - Flamingo Gardens is a local garden and wildlife refuge. We had seen it advertised and decided to give it a shot. We arrived at opening and spent the morning there. We seen a bird show and went on the train tour around the grounds of the 80 acre park. We visited all the sites and the flamingo pool. It was alright and for the kids they had a quite a few things to do and interact with. They had dinosaurs all around the park giving a history of them. From here we found lunch a good spot, Blue Moon Diner off the beaten path and local for sure. Great food and prices. After lunch we headed to the Swap Shop. The Swap Shop is a flea market of all sorts of stuff. It was huge but the prices were not flea market level. The best thing there was we ran into the elders of the are and visited with them for a few minutes, one from Riverton and the other from Farmington. We said our goodbyes and made our way back to the condo and spent the evening at the beach.

Capt. Jay

Day 6 - Florida Keys!!  We drove south onto highway 1 and traveled to the end landing in Key West. We woke up early and made it to Key West by 9 am. We spent the day touring and walking around Key West from Duval Street south. We parked at the hotel we were staying in that night and rode the shuttle to the south end of the key. We walked around for a little bit had lunch on the pier and got a couple pictures of Margaritaville and then rented a scooter to go see some of the sights. The scooter was an interesting time for sure, but we made it and have some memories form it. We stopped at Ernest Hemingway's home and the light house and then went to the farthest point south and took a picture. We drove around on the scooter for a couple hours before we decided we better turn it in before we killed ourselves. After that we went back the hotel and got ready for our dinner cruise and fireworks show. It was the 4th of July and we watched the fireworks form the Atlantic Ocean! The dinner cruise was a hoot!! People were drunk getting on the baot and continued to get drunker, there was a party that had renewed their wedding vows on their 20th anniversary and they made the whole trip fun and let us hang out with them. The sunset was great and the fireworks show was splendid! We made our way back to the dock and caught the last shuttle out of old town. We made it back to the hotel and went for a midnight dip in the pool. We didn't scream like Chevy because the water was nice and warm.

Day 7 - We made our way back up the keys this time taking our time and seeing the sights. We stopped at the Green Turtle another Triple D spot and enjoyed a good lunch and then we stopped at the World Wide Sportsman Headquarters in Islamorada. Sally put up with me during this time and let me look for a couple hours and buy a couple things, she even bought a shirt. After that stop we continued on and stopped a couple times to look around and then back up to the condo. We went to the beach again, stopped at the Permanti Brothers shop picked up a pizza for dinner and rested that evening.

Day 8 - We rested and slept in. We didn't have real plans for the day other than to go see the Dolphins Stadium. The Hard Rock Stadium was cool but we couldn't go in, they were renovating it. We did get to go to the team store and get a couple pictures. Neither of us being Dolphins or Canes fans it was cool to see. we tried once again to get into South Beach and have lunch, but were turned away again with no parking available so we went back to the Blue Moon Diner again it was great!  We returned to the condo readied our stuff for departure the next morning went to the beach and finished off the pizza.

Day 9 - We boarded at 7:15 am and were home by 10:30 am in PG. What a great trip! Highlights were definitely the airboat ride and the fireworks for me. I think Sally would also include the Everglades National Park. We won't travel that direction again during the summer months, the weather was great but it was also hot and very humid!! Next summer we are going for the north regions and Canada.