After 2 1/2 days of driving, we arrived in Livingston MT, ready for a few days of fishing on the De Puys River, a family owned ranch that is open to flyfishing by reservation. During June and part of July, space is hard to come by and once you get open days, you keep those days year after year. The weather will be clear though windy and the locals say the insect hatches are 3 weeks early.
In the morning we meet Simon Chu, a New Zealander with a beautiful accent. We talk about our backgrounds and learn his parents left China in the 40’s and settled in Queenstown. They wanted him to be an accountant and he got his degree, became a high school teacher and later a guide. His mom calls him a trout bum. His son is a pro cricket player in NZ. Simon was a great guide and taught me a lot of techniques, especially how to properly land the fish, though I still think it is easier if the fish gets away! He tells us the outfitter he works for has access to many private rivers owned by individuals and you can be the only ones out there. Simon was a great teacher and it was a really fun day. I caught several fish with his help and then in the evening by myself despite the wind.
We had a late reservation at Campione, an Italian restaurant that had gotten listed in the NYT. The food was great as usual and the waitress super friendly; she was originally from SJ.
We fished on our own on Thursday. It was not as successful a day but enjoyable just the same.
Friday was a free day and I went fabric shopping for Nina’s quilt. In this tiny town, there are 2 beautiful shops. I got lots of samples for online ordering. I was amazed at the variety of items at the kitchen store and at the local bookstore, all downtown. The shopkeeper said Livingston has grown in the last 10 yrs and now he has trouble getting help because housing is too expensive. I guess that is happening everywhere. The owner of the fabric store was from Monterey! There was a long line outside Mike’s Burger, every time I drove by., a diner type place. I was tempted to try it. People in line said it is so good and the line sometimes wraps up the block. What a disappointment! The burger was small and tasted like a McDonald’s burger!
On Saturday we had breakfast at Pinky’s and then headed out.
