Thanks Doug. It's been a lot of fun and I feel like I've learned a lifetime's worth of lessons in the few short weeks of travel.
Fish Cheeks. While I was in Wyoming, I spent two days fishing with a couple from Houston, Texas whom I have known for many years. They go to Dubois, Wyoming every summer for a month of fishing. It was Bill who taught me how to tie flies and who gave me a supply of feathers, thread, hooks, tinsel, fur etc to get started tying flies right away. . His wife, Darlene, loves to fish as much as he does, but prefers regular tackle. They know every river, lake, creek, stream up in that area. And they have stories that will keep you entertained for hours. I loved fishing with them and enjoyed eating the catch with them afterwards.
While in Wyoming, they always rent an efficiency type room. Bill knows a lot of recipes when it comes to fixing fish. My favorite is poached trout. He heats a pot of water with lemon, onion and dill, and then drops the cleaned fish into the boiling water until the meat starts to separate from the bone.
When I arrived at their room in town, I could smell the onion and dill wafting through the air outside their door. The aroma carried along wonderful memories of previous years with Bill and Darlene. No one could ever be an outsider or feel unloved in their presence! I could hear them both working in the kitchen, but Darlene was almost instantly at the door on my first rap. Welcoming me in, I joined them both in the tiny efficiency kitchen just off the main room.
The nice thing about fishing with Bill when you meet up with him in Wyoming, is that he always brings his fly tying table, vice, and a lot of material. He makes his flies daily, based on where he plans to fish the next day. That saves hundreds of dollars, and Bill is never stingy when it comes to handing out his 'tailor-made' flies suited for specific water, and specific conditions. So since the table was buried in special tools, feathers, fur, thread, hooks, and beads, we would eat outside on the patio at their backdoor. The back of the motel faces the Wind River. The rooms rent for $75.00/night which is a great deal with the addition of the kitchen and patio. You can walk right out your back door and fish.
I'm not sure who stays in those teepees
While I was helping to take things outside for dinner, I noticed two birds circling about me. This always gets my attention. I'm always on the lookout for a Redtail Hawk or a Peregrine. I didn't have a tripod with me, so the picture is kind of fuzzy, but I think it is a Red Tail Hawk. Pretty cool, isn't it? Darlene said that the two are 'a couple' and she had been watching them over the last couple of weeks trying to push their babies out of the nest and get them flying and on their own. None of these photos are very good, but it will give you an idea of the size of the bird. The first one is a little more clear than the others.
Pretty soon, everything was ready for dinner. ****WARNING**** The following food pictures are gross and may offend. This is the part you will want to skip, if you don't like food pictures. I'm warning you. It's not pretty. Turn away.
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There is a plate of fish set down in the center of the table. Fillets, and heads. (don't look)
Bill turned the dish so it was facing me, and yeah, I was a bit unnerved by the fish with the blank stare. White eyes are creepy. I was hesitant about taking a fish head, but Bill said fish cheeks were a delicacy and that I needed to experience the mild taste and texture of it. The cheek is the flesh/meat right in front of the gill plate; sort of where you would think the cheek would obviously be.
A blessing was said, and we filled our plates. This was quite different than the Mountain House MRE meals I had been eating for the past weeks. Fresh, and plenty!! I think I ate most of the cantelope by myself. I just could not stop. It was so good to have fresh fruit again. I ate everything on my plate and had seconds on the fish!!!
To eat the cheek, you just pull back the scales and the cheek just slides out. It is very delicious. Lake trout is very mild and has a wonderful flavor. The cheek was even better, being very mild, with a texture smooth as butter. These were not large trout, so it would have taken quite a few to make a meal on just cheeks. The cheek was about the diameter of a nickle or a quarter and 1.5-2 times as thick. Very delicate and tasty. In the picture you can see a little bit of where I've pulled back the scale to expose part of the cheek.
End of food pictures. You can open your eyes now and keep reading. hahahah
After dinner, we sat and had coffee and ice cream and talked for a couple of hours. I loved listening to the stories of their childhood and how Bill taught himself how to fly fish. He held the state record for brown trout in Texas for over 20 years. I can't remember the specs on the fish, but he caught it in the Guadalupe near New Braunfels, TX. What a story that is. It was a nice evening and the stories I heard coupled with the hospitality shared is one of those sweet, sweet memories that money could never buy. This was no resort. Dinner was not fancy. There was no room service nor waiters. No dinner music. None of us dressed up. There was no pretentiousness, nor selfishness. These were merely two people who saved all year and lived on a budget so that they could take one month from the year to come to Dubois, Wyoming to fish and enjoy each other in the company of nature and all it offers, and then freely share from that abundance, a simple meal with wandering souls who's lives are enriched from the stories they tell and kindness they offer. That a well lived life!
It's a mule!!! I have mule eyes??? 
and was on my way north toward the Tetons.
