We arrive at Kelly Galloup’s Slide Inn on Wed. after a 2 days drive through the desert of Nevada where the scenery doesn’t change, just mile after mile of scrub brush and solar farms. Surprisingly, towns seem to be booming with small casinos and lots of new construction. They certainly look economically better off than many small towns in other states like California for example. We overnight at New Frontiers RV Park in Winnemucca, huge and new. The town has big events all summer, bringing tourists in for entertainment and gambling. Crossing the border of Idaho, the arid land turns into green fields of hay and potatoes, irrigated by huge moving sprinklers. Simplot factories, producers of McDonalds french fries are huge, surrounded by potato fields.
We overnight at the Pocatello KOA Journey RV Park, quiet in a residential area.
Camping in Calialto at Kelly Galloup’s Slide Inn has been my dream; we’ve stayed in the cabins before but this is the first time we’ve brought the trailer for an extended stay. We have site 4 and as we set up, our neighbor tells us he and his girlfriend have covid, as did the guy in the site prior to us, and many other campers who had gathered for a July 4th party, great…
We keep our distance and vow to keep to ourselves. After dinner, we head to the Madison River with great anticipation, a short drive away and fish left of Raynald’s Bridge until dark. I hook a rainbow on a dry fly in the dark by feel, a nice start to the trip. (1 fish hooked)
On Thursday, I am still getting my bearings and trying to be coordinated, learning and using the skills I have been perfecting- tying knots, casting, looking at the waters. I get some grabs that didn’t set, hooked a big one under the bridge which was a thrill, land 3 baby fish. We fish morning until lunchtime, then stay in during the afternoon heat of high 80’s, wait out the early evening gusts and thunderstorms, then go out until dark. Sunsets are gorgeous, sometimes with rainbows. Ray spends a lot of time trying to keep the trailer cool. We learn that once it gets above 90, it is a lost cause. All that glass means all that heat. (Landed 3, Hooked 2)
