I love these out of state, week long fly fishing trips. You really get to know the guys and the fellowship is always awesome. This particular group is special since we have been together for more than five years now on these week long trips. And of course, knowing each other that well it can get a little crazy at times. John Walker, Pete Drochelman, Ron Fiala “the Berwyn Bear”, Al Blair and Kenny Klimes headed out to Buena Vista, Colorado to fish the central area of the state. They even had the chance to meet up a couple days with one of our Colorado transfers from STL – Tim Graham. Three of us flew out of STL on Saturday morning to meet up with Ron (who flew out of Chicago) and Al who drove from STL. Saturday was a down day as we checked out Buena Vista and settled in to our cabin. A BIG THANKS to Pete’s Uncle, Ed Winkelman, for allowing us to use his cabin for a week. It was awesome! Sunday, we fished the Arkansas in the morning and the upper South Platte in the Tomahawk State Wildlife Area (SWA) in the afternoon. The fishing was ok as we got our “bearings” to Colorado fishing. It seemed here you had to work right up next to the banks. The Arkansas was moving fast while the South Platte was a slower meandering stream. The nice thing about having a cabin right in the heart of Colorado fishing is that we can take our time getting to the water since we were always close. Each morning we had a hearty breakfast and got to know the waitresses maybe a little better than we might have wanted to – ain’t that right Grandpa?On Monday, we fished more of the South Platte but in different locations than Sunday. The South Platte covers a lot of water in Central Colorado and we hit a large area of the Platte. Fishing was the same – you had to work the banks and hopper-droppers did the best. An afternoon storm tried to threaten us but Kenny decided his chances of getting hit by lightening was the same as him winning the lottery – which he has never done. If there is lightening in the area – get off the water and take cover.On Tuesday, Kenny took the gang to the Gunnison river in the morning (Neversink area) and the Hog Trough (Taylor river) in the afternoon. Fish were caught in the Gunnison but the Hog Trough proved to be challenging to say the least. Huge fish just sitting there daring you to catch them. This trip took 2 hours to get to the spots so on the way home we ate at a fancy Taco Belle (is there such a place???).On Wednesday, we headed to the famous Dream Stream (South Platte). We heard the Kokonee Salmon were making a run up the stream so we had a chance to catch one of them besides the rainbow and browns. Al Blair caught the largest trout he has caught on a fly rod almost 18 inches and after that quit for the day. He said he would never do better than that – really??!! No picture – no proof??Thursday was almost a down day for us as we headed up to a lake in the mountains. We were told by the fly shop that Hancock lake would be good to fish and once we drive to it, it would be only a hundred yard walk – Wrong!! Try almost 2 miles at 11,000 feet. That didn’t happen but we did find another lake (Cottonwood) and caught small rainbows and brookies that were roaming the surface for dry flies – a blast. Ok, yes, they did make me try Tenkara and I caught one of these rainbows but how do you reel them in????Our last fishing day, Friday, we fished the South Platte again since we had good luck there earlier in the week. The scenerary was unbelievable as the Aspen were at their peak in golden colors.As I said earlier this group has been together for some time so you can imagine the conversations and their “actions” at time can be questionable. When we got a little crazy we didn’t worry because these people “will never see us again” or so we think. Dancing in the airport train, teasing the waitresses, Wonder Woman, eating ice cream at K’s, sleeping face to face, convincing Al that Tullamore Dew is medicinal (along with gummy bears from Salida), catching?? Kokonee salmon, Kitty, the dance of the killer Crawdad, and more, that stays in Buena Vista – this trip each year is always a blast. What flies did we use? Who cares! These trips are about fellowship. And Ron, thanks for having my back, even though a couple times I wasn’t sure. Pictures say a thousand words so enjoy.