We've all heard of the expression, "Flying Blind," well have you tried "Eating Blind?" There is a restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland where you do just that and it is so popular that you need to make reservations months out and their success has inspired similar restaurants to open in other major cities around the world.
Blindekuh Restaurant (Blind Cow in English) is in a renovated church building at Muhlebackstrasse 148, 8008, Zurich (01.421.50 50 24) and is definitely an experience to which you need to expose yourself .
I have done business in Zurich for over 30 years and had read or heard about the restaurant several times but never had the opportunity to go or they did not have openings. One morning during our meetings the PR man announced that we were going to lunch at a special place and that we absolutely had to be there on time so be in the car at 11:30.
Driving around Lake Zurich to the East side we wound our way through side streets until we came to a church with the name "Blindekuh" proudly stationed over the front door. My wife speaks German so she knew immediately what Blindekuh meant, whereas, I stood waiting for someone to take me to lunch. Before we went in my group explained to me the meaning of the word Blindekuh and where we were going for lunch in a blind restaurant . Wow, what a surprise.
When we entered the foyer we were greeted by a man behind a counter who explained how our lunch would proceed. First we should study the large menu board on the wall and select our main course, wine and if we wanted tea or coffee. The rest of the meal is set, including soup, salad, bread and desert. Then we were told to remove all jewelry, men's ties, jackets, cell phones, empty our pockets and leave all purses, which are locked in separate lockers. We were then set to restrooms to carefully wash our hands.
Soon a blind lady came out to the foyer and introduced herself to us and announced that she would be the head waiter for our table of seven. She pointed out that she was wearing a bracelet around her ankle with a small bell attached so that when she walked you could hear the bell and to remember that when you did not hear the bell that she had stopped and we must stop also. Then she explained that the first person would put their hands on her shoulders and follow her into the eating area, with each person in our group following suit until we had a Congo line of our party of seven. Once we had ourselves properly linked she then led us through very heavy black curtains into an ante room with very dim light to let our eyes adjust to the coming darkness. After a few moments she proceeded through another set of very heavy black curtains and into "total black."
It was amazing, as when we entered the eating area, all around you could hear people talking, clinking glasses and eating, yet we could not see anything, total dark. The restaurant seats 70 or more people and the seating's were sold out for this luncheon period so we were in a large room with a lot of people.
Slowly we wound our Congo line of seven around tables and past invisible people and then the tinkling bell stopped and we came to a stop at what was to be our table. Another tinkling bell approached and she and our leader explained that they would be taking each person by the hand and leading us to our seat at the table, helping us sit and then showing us how to identify our table setting pieces. Reminding us not to move quickly and to slowly explore each square inch of our place setting.
The server would touch my shoulder, run her hand down my arm to my hand and then move me in the right direction to either the chair, or to the napkin, the silverware and particularly to where my water and wine glasses were placed.
Once seated everyone was cheerful and talking over each other about who was sitting where, had we spilled our water yet and how do we eat our upcoming soup. Laughter broke out when someone asked who was going to swirl their red wine in the glass and watch for it's legs on the sides of the glass.
About that time I began to get a growing feeling of terror, claustrophobia and the urge to leap up and run - anywhere. I had never experienced serious claustrophobia before and it was a feeling I did not like, especially the urge to leap up and run. What a scene that would have been, me crashing through the midst of some 70 people frantically searching for a door opening in a black wall. I touched my wife and told her that I may have to get out of here and would she help me but the deep voice of our PR man came from across the table and said, "here I am handing you a glass of water, take some sips. I grouped out and found Han's hand and glass and began sipping, not working !! Again, I leaned to my wife and said, "I need to get out of here." She leaned back to me and asked, "are our eyes open?" "Yes." "Close your eyes and just sit for a few moments. Take some deep breaths but do not open your eyes." I did what she said and almost immediately I started calming down. Within a minute I was fine. I was sitting in total darkness with my eyes closed and I was OK. My wife said, "think about what you were doing when the fear started, you had your eyes open and you were naturally searching for light, from somewhere or anywhere and you couldn't find any so you mind started to panic." Yes, that was true and I now knew that I had been opening my eyes wider and wider looking for the door to the kitchen, the entrance or anything that showed a glimmer of light, which wasn't there.
So, I sat like a silly school kid fooling around in class with my eyes closed and calmly reached out onto the table for my wine glass. A nice Cab with a leathery aroma and finish.
The luncheon went amazingly smooth, tinkling bells would be heard and a hand would touch my shoulder with an announcement that she was setting the soup down at my left hand. When I had found my soup and my soup spoon I began using my soup spoon to politely scoop up mouthfuls. However, I repeatedly found that I had no soup in the spoon when it got to my mouth so finally I picked up the bowl and drank my soup. The salad was a typical Swiss vegetable salad and by using my left hand as a fence around the outside of my salad plate and with the fork in my right hand I actually got all of the salad into my mouth.
The main course was another typical Swiss dish, Veal with Noodles and very tasty. I cut my
Veal with my knife, found it with my fork and enjoyed every bite. The noodles were more of a challenge, I could spear a few but when I would try to get some on my fork I always had an empty fork when it reached my mouth. After many tries and hearing word that desert was coming to the table I went to drastic measures. I put down my knife an fork and demurely used my hands to locate and corral all of the noodles on the plate, then (I really did) I looked over both my left and right shoulders to see if anyone was watching, then leaned forward and scooped up the noodles with my hands and fingers until I had the plate clean. I even glanced at my wife to see if she had seen what I had done and might admonish me for bad manners.
Desert was wonderful, as well as the coffee (with cream) and people began talking about odd things, like their unusual dream last night, when they got lost in the dark when they were a child or what it would be like to be deaf. I guess the experience of blindness was hitting home with the people and they were trying to relate more definitively with the situation.
When we had finished the delightful lunch the tinkling bells returned and began leading us up from our chairs and into a Congo line for the return to daylight and "our world."
We paused in the ante room again to readjust our eyes and I watched as our blind leaders moved about with such ease in a setting that they completely knew and understood. I also had a much clearer understanding of what these beautiful people have to deal with when they move about in our world of sight.
As we gathered out belonging from the lockers someone said, "Look at what time it is." We had been in the restaurant for over 3 hours.
Whether you are in Zurich or any other city around the world where there are newly opened blind restaurants, please make a reservation and experience something that we wish we never have to live with but also to learn a real lesson on how people cope with never seeing the light of day. Never seeing a sunrise or a sunset and all of the other beauties of the world. Please support them, they are great people.
.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Dining at 10,882 feet
There is a great dining experience outside of Leadville, Colorado and although it is open year around I would recommend the winter experience as it is quite unique and exciting. The restaurant is the "Tennessee Pass Cookhouse" sitting up at nearly 11,000 feet where all of the US Army 10th Mountain Division Troops did their training during WWII
Being the training ground for the Armies 10th Mountain Division it brought the founders of the world famous ski areas like Aspen and Vail to the area. Having trained and skied in the fantastic terrain they saw the future of skiing for the public in the USA, coming back and opening Colorado as the heart of skiing.
To have dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you first need to make a reservation well in advance as they are booked up much of the time. Certainly don't go on the chance that you might get in. When you make your reservation you will need to place your dinner order so go to their web site: http://www.tennesseecookhouse.com/ (719.486.1751) and select from their offerings. I had the Elk, my wife had the Lamb and my brother and wife had the Chicken - Elk. The food and the preparations were excellent. You can also have wine but remember you are at nearly 11,000 feet and alcohol hits you real quick and sometimes, hard.
The restaurant is in a Yurt, which is round with canvas walls but the wood pot bellied stove kicks out a lot of heat and you will be toasty warm. The only really cold experience is going out to the toilet (outhouse) as the only heat source in each little building is a light bulb and the night we were there it was 9 degrees F outside. Be quick!!
Getting to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse means getting to Denver and then up toward Vail Ski Area and off to the South to the town of Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a neat town sitting at over 10,000 feet with spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain high country. Leadville was an old gold mining town and spawned the story about the Unsinkable Molly Brown but today it is the base for the largest Molybdonum mine in the world and is well set up as a tourist town. Be sure to research the story about the Ice Palace Hotel that was built there in 1897 as it was built with a wood frame and then encased in blocks of ice. Was quite a place and was quite a failure.
There are a number of B&B's in Leadville plus a hotel and several motels but we stayed at the Ice Palace B&B on Spruce Street and found it delightful. The hosts were most accommodating and it was reasonably priced.
For dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you need to drive about 12 miles out of town on highway 24 to Ski Cooper and to their equipment / rental building. And you need to be there by 5:30 pm so try to be on time as you have more to do before sitting down to dinner.
The people at Ski Cooper will issue you "head lamps" to see where you are walking and snowshoes if you want to try them, however, the trail to the restaurant is groomed and walking in snow boots or hiking boots works fine.
It is a one (1) mile walk (or hike) to the Yurt and you go up another 300+ feet so it gets your appetite worked up for a dinner. We had a moon lite night and although we needed the headlamps we could almost make our way by moonlight. It was a beautiful night with a temperature of 9 degrees F. When we thought we were getting tired we started seeing lights peeking through the pine trees and knew we were close and then we were there. Light seeping through the canvas walls of the Yurt gave a cozy glow as we climbed the steps up to the deck and entered through double doors. Inside was delightful, well set tables, candle light, a roaring pot bellied stove and nice servers.
Some families came by snowmobiles so that they could bring their children but it is really a place for a quiet and enjoyable meal and not for kids running around the tables. Fortunately they came late and left early.
After a 4 course meal and a cup of tea we bundled back up and headed back down to our car. The walk back was of course easier as we were heading downhill and with the moonlight on crisp snow it was "magic."
My recommendation = it is a must to do.
Being the training ground for the Armies 10th Mountain Division it brought the founders of the world famous ski areas like Aspen and Vail to the area. Having trained and skied in the fantastic terrain they saw the future of skiing for the public in the USA, coming back and opening Colorado as the heart of skiing.
To have dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you first need to make a reservation well in advance as they are booked up much of the time. Certainly don't go on the chance that you might get in. When you make your reservation you will need to place your dinner order so go to their web site: http://www.tennesseecookhouse.com/ (719.486.1751) and select from their offerings. I had the Elk, my wife had the Lamb and my brother and wife had the Chicken - Elk. The food and the preparations were excellent. You can also have wine but remember you are at nearly 11,000 feet and alcohol hits you real quick and sometimes, hard.
The restaurant is in a Yurt, which is round with canvas walls but the wood pot bellied stove kicks out a lot of heat and you will be toasty warm. The only really cold experience is going out to the toilet (outhouse) as the only heat source in each little building is a light bulb and the night we were there it was 9 degrees F outside. Be quick!!
Getting to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse means getting to Denver and then up toward Vail Ski Area and off to the South to the town of Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a neat town sitting at over 10,000 feet with spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain high country. Leadville was an old gold mining town and spawned the story about the Unsinkable Molly Brown but today it is the base for the largest Molybdonum mine in the world and is well set up as a tourist town. Be sure to research the story about the Ice Palace Hotel that was built there in 1897 as it was built with a wood frame and then encased in blocks of ice. Was quite a place and was quite a failure.
There are a number of B&B's in Leadville plus a hotel and several motels but we stayed at the Ice Palace B&B on Spruce Street and found it delightful. The hosts were most accommodating and it was reasonably priced.
For dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse you need to drive about 12 miles out of town on highway 24 to Ski Cooper and to their equipment / rental building. And you need to be there by 5:30 pm so try to be on time as you have more to do before sitting down to dinner.
The people at Ski Cooper will issue you "head lamps" to see where you are walking and snowshoes if you want to try them, however, the trail to the restaurant is groomed and walking in snow boots or hiking boots works fine.
It is a one (1) mile walk (or hike) to the Yurt and you go up another 300+ feet so it gets your appetite worked up for a dinner. We had a moon lite night and although we needed the headlamps we could almost make our way by moonlight. It was a beautiful night with a temperature of 9 degrees F. When we thought we were getting tired we started seeing lights peeking through the pine trees and knew we were close and then we were there. Light seeping through the canvas walls of the Yurt gave a cozy glow as we climbed the steps up to the deck and entered through double doors. Inside was delightful, well set tables, candle light, a roaring pot bellied stove and nice servers.
Some families came by snowmobiles so that they could bring their children but it is really a place for a quiet and enjoyable meal and not for kids running around the tables. Fortunately they came late and left early.
After a 4 course meal and a cup of tea we bundled back up and headed back down to our car. The walk back was of course easier as we were heading downhill and with the moonlight on crisp snow it was "magic."
My recommendation = it is a must to do.
Monday, January 7, 2008
BIRD HUNTING AND TROUT FISHING
Back in 1995 I was invited on a bird hunting and trout fishing week in South Central Montana on the Big Horn River and the Crow Indian Reservation. It was a dream come true. I hunted Pheasant, Chuckers, Hun's and Grouse in some of the most beautiful country I have ever been in. I fished the Big Horn River and caught beautiful Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout. I was served meals that were outstanding (gourmet for dinner from the days hunt) and I couldn't wait to go back.
Well, it took me 12 years to find the time and opportunity to do it but I went again this past November, and it was great. Twelve years ago the lodge was near Harden, Montana and it was a bit of a drive with the guides to the hunting leases and docking for the Big Horn River, but since then they have moved to a new lodge location right on the edge of Fort Smith, Montana and what a spot!!
Getting there by air is to fly into Billings, Montana and driving about 1 1/2 hours out to the lodge.
They advertise that the stretch of the Big Horn River from the dam at Fort Smith and down to where you load out, 13 miles later, has no less than 7,500 trout per mile. That's a lot of trout and I can assure you that you will catch plenty of beauties on your float down the river. I think they open in April for the start of fly fishing and they close on Thanksgiving Day so the season is plenty long with plenty of trout to catch.
The bird hunting, my favorite, runs from the first of September until the end of December but again, the lodge closes on Thanksgiving. Hunting the pastures and draws on the ranches of the Crow Indian reservation is a true pleasure, actually a thrill. The rolling hills lead up to buttes and bluffs with the high country behind. It is only 20 miles from Custer's Last Stand and the national park - a must see - and real Big Sky country.
The lodge and guide service is: Forrester's Big Horn Resort, Fort Smith, Montana, operated by Nick and Francine Forrester and you couldn't find better hosts. The 7 log cabins are all large, sleep 4 to 6, great beds, have the refrigerator and amenities and are warm when the winter sets in. All have a front porch facing West and looking down toward the Big Horn River. The lodge sits just about 100 yards from the original Fort Smith where the wagon trains on the Boseman Trail crossed the Big Horn River and is where you eat your meals, get your fishing and hunting licenses, buy or rent equipment and come to at about 6 PM to relax in the loft lounge and swap daily triumph's or explain how you caught or shot the biggest and the best. Dinner is a real treat, the food is under the direction on Francine and it is gormet! The only exception from eating in a 5 star restuarnt somewhere is that the view is spectacular and the diners are mostly men, cleaned up from fishing or hunting all day so the portions of food are generous. Breakfasts are "great" and lunch will be with your guide for eating around 1 PM somewhere in the field or on the bank of the river.
My trip last November was with my two grandson's, my son in law and included two days of fishing and two days of hunting. The first day was fishing so right after breakfast we bought our licenses and met our guides for the day. My oldest grandson, 14 year old (also 6 feet 5 inches and 235 pounds) fished with me, our guide Dale in the middle rowing us in and out of the fishing holes along the 13 mile stretch, with my grandson standing in the front and me in the back. My grandson is a quiet young man and very bright (they both are - of course) so he takes instructions well and fishes well.
Now, my grandson's and son in law are good fly fishermen, whereas, I am a well established novice so I got plenty of instructions from Dale on how to improve my cast and to hold the tip of my rod down and toward the indicator (I always knew it as a bobber when I was a kid) and to react quicker when a trout hits. Being a better fly fisherman my grandson caught a lot more trout than I for the day, 14 to be exact, and I caught 8 so we had a day of great experiences and photo's of 20 + inch trout, all caught and released.
My younger grandson and his father fished the other boat and also had a really good day, however, the older grandson with me caught more fish than his younger brother and I could sense a bit of competion developing as we talked from boat to boat during the day.
The next day was bird hunting so we met our guides and their dogs out front of the lodge after breakfast and loaded up for the day. It was unusually warm but the morning was cool so we had our long underwear and layers on as we rode the 1 hour and 10 minutes out to the meeting spot with the other guide. My youngest grandson hunted with me, a big boy for 12 years old and a very good shot. We worked a long brushy draw up the slope of a butte for about 2 miles and the dogs flushed some chuckers and a few pheasants but mostly well ahead of us so we didn't get much shooting. We were also getting very warm from the hike and the sunny day. However, the birds were cresting a hill and disappearing so our guide knew where they were heading. At the top of the draw we broke off the hunt and hiked over the top of the butte and down the back side until we came to the start of the upper end of the the draw on that side.
Hunting the draws with the guide and dogs is a great sport, the guide walked one side of the draw with my grandson and I walked on the other side, while the dogs raced down and through the brush and branble of the draw looking for birds to flush. Those dogs can find ways through thick brush at a dead run and stop on a dime "at point" if they sense a bird. Then the guide works the other dogs over to the "point" until they flush the birds and we get our shots.
Our guide that day had a 3 month old pup that he took along to learn the ropes of flushng birds. That pup ran from 9 am to 2 pm with the big dogs, would freeze for a point when the big dogs did and was grinning the whole time.
The downhill draw had the birds and we got plenty of shots. My grandson out shot me that day but we still got our limit for Pheasant and were only 2 short for our limit of Chuckers. One of my Chuckers ended up in a stock pond and the guide couldn't get the dogs to see the bird and go into the water after it. He threw dirt clods into the water, sticks and stones but the dogs just didn't see the bird. Finally he borrowed my grandson's shotgun and fired into the water near the floating bird, then one of the dogs saw it and dove in and got the bird.
Lunch is always better than good, sandwiches, soup, pasta, coffee, soft drinks and always a bag of freshly baked cookies. The cookies get negotiated for but rarely will anyone give up one of their 2 cookies.
Well, it took me 12 years to find the time and opportunity to do it but I went again this past November, and it was great. Twelve years ago the lodge was near Harden, Montana and it was a bit of a drive with the guides to the hunting leases and docking for the Big Horn River, but since then they have moved to a new lodge location right on the edge of Fort Smith, Montana and what a spot!!
Getting there by air is to fly into Billings, Montana and driving about 1 1/2 hours out to the lodge.
They advertise that the stretch of the Big Horn River from the dam at Fort Smith and down to where you load out, 13 miles later, has no less than 7,500 trout per mile. That's a lot of trout and I can assure you that you will catch plenty of beauties on your float down the river. I think they open in April for the start of fly fishing and they close on Thanksgiving Day so the season is plenty long with plenty of trout to catch.
The bird hunting, my favorite, runs from the first of September until the end of December but again, the lodge closes on Thanksgiving. Hunting the pastures and draws on the ranches of the Crow Indian reservation is a true pleasure, actually a thrill. The rolling hills lead up to buttes and bluffs with the high country behind. It is only 20 miles from Custer's Last Stand and the national park - a must see - and real Big Sky country.
The lodge and guide service is: Forrester's Big Horn Resort, Fort Smith, Montana, operated by Nick and Francine Forrester and you couldn't find better hosts. The 7 log cabins are all large, sleep 4 to 6, great beds, have the refrigerator and amenities and are warm when the winter sets in. All have a front porch facing West and looking down toward the Big Horn River. The lodge sits just about 100 yards from the original Fort Smith where the wagon trains on the Boseman Trail crossed the Big Horn River and is where you eat your meals, get your fishing and hunting licenses, buy or rent equipment and come to at about 6 PM to relax in the loft lounge and swap daily triumph's or explain how you caught or shot the biggest and the best. Dinner is a real treat, the food is under the direction on Francine and it is gormet! The only exception from eating in a 5 star restuarnt somewhere is that the view is spectacular and the diners are mostly men, cleaned up from fishing or hunting all day so the portions of food are generous. Breakfasts are "great" and lunch will be with your guide for eating around 1 PM somewhere in the field or on the bank of the river.
My trip last November was with my two grandson's, my son in law and included two days of fishing and two days of hunting. The first day was fishing so right after breakfast we bought our licenses and met our guides for the day. My oldest grandson, 14 year old (also 6 feet 5 inches and 235 pounds) fished with me, our guide Dale in the middle rowing us in and out of the fishing holes along the 13 mile stretch, with my grandson standing in the front and me in the back. My grandson is a quiet young man and very bright (they both are - of course) so he takes instructions well and fishes well.
Now, my grandson's and son in law are good fly fishermen, whereas, I am a well established novice so I got plenty of instructions from Dale on how to improve my cast and to hold the tip of my rod down and toward the indicator (I always knew it as a bobber when I was a kid) and to react quicker when a trout hits. Being a better fly fisherman my grandson caught a lot more trout than I for the day, 14 to be exact, and I caught 8 so we had a day of great experiences and photo's of 20 + inch trout, all caught and released.
My younger grandson and his father fished the other boat and also had a really good day, however, the older grandson with me caught more fish than his younger brother and I could sense a bit of competion developing as we talked from boat to boat during the day.
The next day was bird hunting so we met our guides and their dogs out front of the lodge after breakfast and loaded up for the day. It was unusually warm but the morning was cool so we had our long underwear and layers on as we rode the 1 hour and 10 minutes out to the meeting spot with the other guide. My youngest grandson hunted with me, a big boy for 12 years old and a very good shot. We worked a long brushy draw up the slope of a butte for about 2 miles and the dogs flushed some chuckers and a few pheasants but mostly well ahead of us so we didn't get much shooting. We were also getting very warm from the hike and the sunny day. However, the birds were cresting a hill and disappearing so our guide knew where they were heading. At the top of the draw we broke off the hunt and hiked over the top of the butte and down the back side until we came to the start of the upper end of the the draw on that side.
Hunting the draws with the guide and dogs is a great sport, the guide walked one side of the draw with my grandson and I walked on the other side, while the dogs raced down and through the brush and branble of the draw looking for birds to flush. Those dogs can find ways through thick brush at a dead run and stop on a dime "at point" if they sense a bird. Then the guide works the other dogs over to the "point" until they flush the birds and we get our shots.
Our guide that day had a 3 month old pup that he took along to learn the ropes of flushng birds. That pup ran from 9 am to 2 pm with the big dogs, would freeze for a point when the big dogs did and was grinning the whole time.
The downhill draw had the birds and we got plenty of shots. My grandson out shot me that day but we still got our limit for Pheasant and were only 2 short for our limit of Chuckers. One of my Chuckers ended up in a stock pond and the guide couldn't get the dogs to see the bird and go into the water after it. He threw dirt clods into the water, sticks and stones but the dogs just didn't see the bird. Finally he borrowed my grandson's shotgun and fired into the water near the floating bird, then one of the dogs saw it and dove in and got the bird.
Lunch is always better than good, sandwiches, soup, pasta, coffee, soft drinks and always a bag of freshly baked cookies. The cookies get negotiated for but rarely will anyone give up one of their 2 cookies.
The third day we hunted again but this time we headed for a huge ranch backing up to higher hills about 1 hour from the lodge and as we got closer I recognized that I had hunted this ranch 12 years ago. This is a 60,000 acre ranch (so I was told) and unbelieveable country. We bounce through the ranch stead and maybe a mile back through the wheat stubble and pastures to "Pee Hill" a mound of a hill so named as this where you meet your guide and dogs for the day and of course after coffee and the ride everyone has to "pee."
As we were introduced to our guides I recognized one of them, again from 12 years ago, and remembered that his name was Glen. It turned out that Glen was the guide for my older grandson and I that day and as we talked he said that he had been guiding for over 50 years. Then he looked at me and asked, "How old are you?" 71 I answered, to which he said, "Youre still a kid, I just turned 80 last month, let's go find some birds."
Glen is a full blooded Crow Indian and a colorful guy. As a boy he was a rodeo bull rider and a clown in the bull riding ring, working the circuit for over 20 years. His wife died a few years back and he now lives for hunting and guiding and loves his dogs. Glen could out walk any of us through that rough country and it was a great day hunting with him.
My grandson had moved up from a 16 gauge to a 12 guage that day and it was a bit of an adjustment for him but after we had our lunch and went back to hunting he was hitting the birds well.
The guides are strict and if a hunter isn't reliable or isn't using good gun safety they will politely take your gun away from you for the day. We had no problems but another guest during our stay lost his shotgun for the day for shooting at a bird too close to the guides dog.
Our fourth day was back to fly fishing the Big Horn and on this day I fished with my youngest grandson and with the same guide as the first day, Dale. The weather had turned way cold and snow was coming so we fished the upper 3 miles of the river rather than floating the entire 13 miles. The first stretch was slow and we were not getting any bites, even after Dale had changed our flies several times, and I could tell that this was worrying Dale. He found a good hole on a curve in the river and we started getting hits on nice big trout, my grandson even hooked a "white" which was a big thrill for him. Dale would float us down maybe 100 yards then he would row us back up along the shore and we would work the area down stream again. Soon my grandson had netted 8 nice big trout and at lunch along the bank he asked his older brother again how many trout he had caught the first day, 14 was the quiet answer.
Back in the boat my grandson got a strike on his line and got the fish up to the side of the boat when it slipped the hook and got away before Dale could net it. My grandson was quiet for a minute, he looked up river where his father was fishing in the other boat and being out of hearing range turned to Dale and I and said that his father had said that if a hooked fish touched the boat it counted as a catch so he now had 9 fish. Dale and I grinned and said, OK. Well, 6 more fish got counted, not netted, that afternoon, giving my grandson 15 and 1 over his older brother but Dale and I cracked up when the last one broke loose from the hook a good 10 feet from the boat and got counted. My grandson will do well in the loft lounge in future years telling of his days fishing exploits.
If you want a really enjoyable and pampered fishing and/or hunting experience go on-line and check out Forrester's Big Horn Resort in Fort Smith, Montana, you won't be sorry.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Maple Syrup Time in Northeast Iowa
It is the beginning of 2008 and in two months one of the really fun and interesting visits of the year will be happening in Northeast Iowa. Maple Syrup harvest and cooking time.
Why go to Northeast Iowa to see, smell, taste and buy your Maple Syrup, rather than New England or Canada. Well, to start with it a lot cheaper to get there and a lot cheaper once you are there. Plus, the area us unique, untapped by the tourist trade and the people are nice!!
The area is about 80 miles North of Dubuque, Iowa, about the same distance South of Rochester, Minnesota, about 30 miles West of the Mississippi River at Praire du Chen, Wisconsin and about 10 miles Southeast of Decorah, Iowa. The mailing address is Castalia, Iowa but that is a village that you have to watch for or you will have missed it for sure.
I personally recommend heading for "Greens Sugar Bush" as it sits in the rolling hills along the Yellow River and the Green family, who has run the operation for over 60 years, still uses a team of horses and a wooden sled to bring the maple sap from the tapped trees into the cooking house down by the pond. There the smell of their cooking down the maple sap into Maple Syrup or even Maple Sugar candy is unbelievably taste tempting. And, if you check with their schedule (563-567-8472) they can tell you when the cooking is going to be underway and which weekends in late February or early March they will be serving buckwheat pancakes, sausages, coffee and Maple Syrup for some really inexpensive price. Worth standing in line for on any cold and blustery March day.
To get there look on the Iowa map for highway 52 in the Northeast corner of the State, where it runs from Decorah, Iowa on the North down to Postville, Iowa on the South and about 2 (+) miles East of Castalia you will see a small sign on the South side of the highway announcing Greens Sugar Bush to the North down a gravel road. It is 3 miles of rolling gravel road to the Sugar Bush and you will know you are getting there when the road has made a sharp right and 1/2 mile later a turn to the left and you cross the little bridge over the Yellow River. Keep going straight past the dairy farm on the left and as soon as you come alongside the hard maple timber on your left you will see a driveway and "you are there."
I would recommend staying in the area for at least a day and the best locations are in Decorah, Iowa, with a lot of Norwegian culture. My first choice for a place to stay is the Hotel Winneshiek, a redone old hotel, which is great, the rooms are Victorian and the service is good. Walking out the front door of the hotel, crossing the street and going South one block you will find one of several good restaurants in the town. In the morning, go out the front door of the hotel, turn left and walk about 2 blocks down to the book store for a great cup of coffee or Espresso. Turning right out of the hotel will lead you to a small bakery a block or two down, which has great sweet rolls.
Put this on your list of places to go, it will give you a sense of "down home" and good people.
Why go to Northeast Iowa to see, smell, taste and buy your Maple Syrup, rather than New England or Canada. Well, to start with it a lot cheaper to get there and a lot cheaper once you are there. Plus, the area us unique, untapped by the tourist trade and the people are nice!!
The area is about 80 miles North of Dubuque, Iowa, about the same distance South of Rochester, Minnesota, about 30 miles West of the Mississippi River at Praire du Chen, Wisconsin and about 10 miles Southeast of Decorah, Iowa. The mailing address is Castalia, Iowa but that is a village that you have to watch for or you will have missed it for sure.
I personally recommend heading for "Greens Sugar Bush" as it sits in the rolling hills along the Yellow River and the Green family, who has run the operation for over 60 years, still uses a team of horses and a wooden sled to bring the maple sap from the tapped trees into the cooking house down by the pond. There the smell of their cooking down the maple sap into Maple Syrup or even Maple Sugar candy is unbelievably taste tempting. And, if you check with their schedule (563-567-8472) they can tell you when the cooking is going to be underway and which weekends in late February or early March they will be serving buckwheat pancakes, sausages, coffee and Maple Syrup for some really inexpensive price. Worth standing in line for on any cold and blustery March day.
To get there look on the Iowa map for highway 52 in the Northeast corner of the State, where it runs from Decorah, Iowa on the North down to Postville, Iowa on the South and about 2 (+) miles East of Castalia you will see a small sign on the South side of the highway announcing Greens Sugar Bush to the North down a gravel road. It is 3 miles of rolling gravel road to the Sugar Bush and you will know you are getting there when the road has made a sharp right and 1/2 mile later a turn to the left and you cross the little bridge over the Yellow River. Keep going straight past the dairy farm on the left and as soon as you come alongside the hard maple timber on your left you will see a driveway and "you are there."
I would recommend staying in the area for at least a day and the best locations are in Decorah, Iowa, with a lot of Norwegian culture. My first choice for a place to stay is the Hotel Winneshiek, a redone old hotel, which is great, the rooms are Victorian and the service is good. Walking out the front door of the hotel, crossing the street and going South one block you will find one of several good restaurants in the town. In the morning, go out the front door of the hotel, turn left and walk about 2 blocks down to the book store for a great cup of coffee or Espresso. Turning right out of the hotel will lead you to a small bakery a block or two down, which has great sweet rolls.
Put this on your list of places to go, it will give you a sense of "down home" and good people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
