MalibuSheriff

Fantastic Spring Break with my kids in 2016. Both were in elementary school at the time and summited Guadalupe Peak like champs. Mom and Dad were ass whipped tired but kids are troopers. Highly recommend it! On the trail down from the summit:

I snuck out Monday evening to a small lake outside of Tulsa to see if I could catch anything. I threw a spinner bait to start off with with no takers, switched to my fly rod throwing streamers…nothing. I was about to call it a day but decided to try a dragonfly nymph under an indicator and immediately started getting bites. Turned in to a fun evening:

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him…”

Outstanding Sbbruin! My wife and I honeymooned on several different islands in Fiji almost twenty years ago. I’ve wanted to go to the Marquesas since I spoke to a dude in Fiji that had spent the last five years sailing around the world. I asked him what the most beautiful place he’d ever visited and without blinking an eye he said “Marquesas “. Here’s a pic of the island in Fiji, Namenalala, where my bride and I met the sailing dude:

Upper Illinois River and a tributary. When I grew up in Tulsa, 30+ years ago we always had native smallmouth in the Illinois but a big fish was as 3 lbs. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife stocked Lake Tenkiller (which Illinois River feeds) with Tennessee-strain smallmouth in early nineties. Those Tennessee-strain fish have migrated up the Illinois and those fish are huge. Legit 7 lb.+ smallmouth are abundant now both in the lake and tributaries. Below is not my fish/photo but one shared on a guide’s website that was caught recently:

Took the kid on a recon trip yesterday to the Oklahoma Ozarks. We were definitely pushing the season but the smallmouth are starting to get active. He lost a nice two pound fish right at the bank. White bass will be running soon as well. Okie smallmouth water:

I wouldn’t recommend the big canvas tents due to weight. They are fantastic for week-long elk hunting trips to the Rockies where you’re likely to get some snow but will not be practical for Texas or anywhere in summer. The weight and beating or setting it up will make you hate camping. I’d recommend an REI membership as their warranty program is outstanding and they carry excellent brands. Depending on your family’s size, here are two car camping options Big Agnes that are well made and relatively light: 4 person: https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/222999/big-agnes-bunk-house-4-tent 6-person: https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/222994/big-agnes-big-house-6-tent Biggest suggestion I can make is buying a couple of these stackable storage boxes from Academy. Pack your tent, sleeping pads, pillows, and sleeping bags in one and then all your cooking, chairs, tables, miscellaneous in another. You’ll go camping twice as much if you can grab and go and take all the ass beating out of it. https://www.academy.com/p/plano®-storage-locker

Correction. South of the Kansas state line.

Sorry to hear. She was always there every time we ate there. La Cocina de Consuelo was our favorites.

Is there anything in life better than leftover chili?

Once you catch a fish on your own fly, you’ll be hooked. Great hobby to de-stress. We are in the golden age of fly tying thanks to YouTube. You can become incredibly proficient in short order. Follow Charlie Craven, Kelly Galloup, tightlinevideo, and East Rosebud Flyshop and you’ll be well on your way. Kelly Galloup was in Tulsa last week for tying sessions and a couple of presentations. The real deal and someone who takes time to educate all the historic patterns that still fish. Said he fished a hare’s ear, one of the oldest patterns, almost exclusively when nymph fishing.

Heavy breakfast this morning to make way for neighbors blow out Super Bowl party tonight - Jalapeno and Sausage Cream Gravy: Throw caution to the wind boys… Picking beer to win tonight.

Exactly. That’s probably the $20MM to Fox from ESPN.

Sucks down there. Tell everyone it totally sucks.

One that serves West Lake Hills. My brain has jettisoned the specific name.

Spoke with my old next door neighbor and he said they got power back on Sunday. They were without power or water for four days. I cannot understand how these MUD do not have some form of backup power after what happened two short years ago? Oh the memories of gathering snow to melt to flush the dam toilets… If I was still in Austin, I’d be planning a margarita flight bender at Hays City Store on the next sunny patio day. Not much better than that on a gorgeous spring day in the Hill Country! Better days soon folks.

I’m bummed to see the photos of all the downed Live Oaks. My old neighbors in West Lake sent me pics of our old hood and it is in shambles. As several mentioned upthread, the ice storm that hit Tulsa in 2007 was the most devastating natural disaster I’ve witnessed, and I’ve seen some serious shit growing up in Oklahoma and living in Texas for almost thirty years. Tulsa looked like a nuclear bomb had detonated. I didn’t think it would ever be the same. A few years later and you’d never know anything has happened. I’m sorry for my friends in the ATX. Very sorry for the loss of the beautiful live oaks.

Not arrowhead but found this cool fossil imprint yesterday in a gravel bar below Grand Lake dam: You guys have all types of places for petrified wood all over central Texas. This one was from a creek near my in-laws’ old ranch in Hamilton County: Their neighbor up the road had an entire huge fireplace made out of petrified wood. It was stunning, almost museum worthy pieces that he’d found around Hamilton and some creek over by Priddy or Gustine. My uncle and his neighbor buddy both had farms just south of Ponca City, OK and on days off they would walk the sandbars of the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers collecting arrowheads, fossils, and other cool things - including a Pleistocene bison skull (one with the huge horns that angled out versus curved horns like modern bison) and several huge spear points. His buddy’s collection was spread through his barn and was amazing. I always wondered what happened to his collection after he passed away… Those two dudes were incredibly interesting people. They always had a good story or knew some arcane bit of local history.

I literally tripped over this grinding stone while fishing for smallmouth bass in southeastern Oklahoma last spring:

It’s been since pre-kids or at least early pre-kids since I’ve picked up a paintbrush. I used to dabble around with both watercolor and egg tempera, generally painting rural landscapes or outdoor scenes since those are my two main connections that put me at ease. This is an egg tempera of an old Pecan tree and windowsill in Fisher County, TX that was opposite the entrance gate of our old hunting lease. It always struck me that the tree and window were last visual elements looking out to the northwest before the landscape opened up and seemed like you could see to the end of the Earth. Watercolor of the Devils River: Overcast sunset - County Road near Webbers Falls, OK:

Prayers for you and your family. Lost my dad almost three years ago. As others have said, lots of good advice on this thread. Try to spend as much time together as possible and laugh at some memories. The only thing we take with us in life is love.

Johnson’s Stepping Stone Cafe in the metropolis of downtown Bixby, OK. Jumbo cheeseburger basket with fried okra for under ten bucks. <fatass>Me</fatass>

Wha? Highway 64 between TA and Tres Piedras this past week: Damn good snow pack this year in Chama watershed.

That’s what I always love about New Mexico. I love all the beautiful views as well - desert, mountains, grasslands, volcanic areas, high meadows. It’s got a little bit of everything. The vast open spaces always puts me in a good vibe as well.