The Grande Circle

My wife and I often will go on an overnight trip to visit one of three places in New Mexico to explore the rich culture, art, fabulous little shops, and of course local dining. And, it's not unusual for me to pack a fly rod in event we drive by a trout stream that I want to wade into and drift a fly. That's what I love about living here, there is usually a trout stream in our destination trips.

The nice thing about a one night trip is I can fit everything in one small duffle bag, including my fly gear. Of course, this requires I bring a fly rod that breaks down enough to fit in my travel bag...and I have a couple of options.

On Monday, we got on the road for some quality time with each other. We've been keeping grandchildren, or been out of state visiting family for much of the last six weeks. Yeah, we deserved a couple of days of just the two of us. I love these little impromptu trips with Sylvia. A few days ago, the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe sent her a fabulous discount offer on a room and she booked it. It was a great room, and some fine dining that included my all time favorite place to eat Chili Relleno. Yup, I was in heaven. Sylvia found some jewelry from a regular seller she likes to support, and we had some nice down time too...just chillin. After wandering around the plaza, we sat at a park bench, people watched, and listened to a band entertaining everyone there. A nice day, indeed.

And then it happened. A big surprise this morning. After check out, we were walking through the hotel lobby and I looked up. I couldn't believe who I was seeing. A classy and beautiful women in her senior years was approaching me and looking directly into my eyes with a big warm smile. It was Ali MacGraw. How can an 84 year old woman be that fit and beautiful? Yeah, my knees went weak...

Once we got into the car and left the hotel and Santa Fe, we headed for a long route home through the mountains. We stopped at a few places and Sylvia set up a chair in the shade to read a book while I took my fly rod and fished a stream. We did that at three different places on the mountain side. The fishing was fabulous, the catching a bit slow, and the scenery simply magnificent. The clouds were huge, but we managed to get off the mountain before any rain hit the area. I loved it!

I'm trying to come up with a name to call this trip we sometimes take, and for now I will simply give it the name, The Grande Circle.

Gear: Orvis Helios ION 7'6" fly rod; Bauer SST3 fly reel; Rio LightLine WF3F; Simms sling pack; Brodin landing net.

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