UP TO THE SIERRA WITH NADIA and MILES…

I have been somewhat remiss in putting up posts. Life has a way of taking over. I completed a miniPCNL surgery in June, 2022 to remove all remaining kidney stones and fragments. The Doctors tell me it was successful and now it’s question of preventing the formation of new stones – given that my Ostomy is a creator of the same. Got slammed by COVID  early in January, spending four days in the hospital and a visit with Ally to the emergency room a week later for COVID / COPD related breathing problems…Got all my vaccinations and  boosters so I am still above ground and sucking in air… it would not have been so pleasant had I not done that. The anti-vax crowd can take Elmo’s rocket to Mars or just drop dead…Three members of my Senior Georgia Military Academy class are gone due to COVID. One was a best, lifelong friend who refused to get vaccinated and had become a devoted cult member … SMDH

So I have all these pictures to put up and I will start HERE:

Departing Los Angeles for Bridgeport, CA with my oldest daughter Nadia and my Grandson Miles…

The remains of the Homestead, where Hwy. 14 turns into Hwy. 395…burned to the ground in April 2022…a lot of great meals were served there to my family from the 60’s on…

The remains…

Approaching Red Hill above Little Lake…Owens Valley ahead…

…another casualty …the Ranch House in Olancha, CA…

Owens Lake in need of water…

…somewhere down there, on the road to Owens Lake, out in the sand and sagebrush, lies a wedding ring that my Mother tossed after an argument with my Father around 1953…

The Winnedumah Hotel in Independence, CA…a bit of roadside history…

…walked a lot of miles in the sand and alkali dust over there on the right with my Dad, Twin Brother and kids…

Ally likes this BBQ joint in Big Pine, CA…

A family favorite in Bishop, CA...Schat’s Bakery…

Crowley Lake…Mammoth Lakes ahead…

Gotta’ stop here for a few essentials...Troutfitter

Mono Lake, CA where the seagulls breed and brine shrimp live…

Coming down the grade towards Bridgeport, CA…

Virginia Creek Settlement source of most excellent pizza and other good eats…

I have not been here since October 2017 so it’s treat time for the guys… Bridgeport Inn

The only place I will order meat loaf with mashed potatoes…Yummy

The Usual Virgin Bloody Mary…

Miles is so easy to feed …chicken nuggets and fries…

The Old Guy is pleased…

…an early evening trip down to the East Walker River…

..warm, dirty water with lots of algae and biting bugs…

Miles at the pipe…on the East Walker River…

Very little water in Bridgeport Reservoir…

Just a pretty sunset looking up towards Twin Lakes…

Early morning sunrise from the Walker River Lodge…

Heading up to Little Virginia lake for some coffee and bacon with Carolyn Webb…

That guy can’t wait to wet a line…

The catch board…

Time to rent the boat…

…so I let Miles row…

Not bad Miles !!!…First time Miles has fished since 2017…

OK…the Old Guy…

We quit around noon and decided to head up tp Green Creek. I haven’t been up there in quite a few years…

Nice pull in spot…there’s water…a biting bugs …

The fenced meadow…

Wet wader, scaring the Brookies…

We decided to have dinner at the Virginia Creek Settlement… no pizza this time…

I haven’t had this since I was about seven years old…

Taking a look at the menu…

Went with the fettuccine alfredo with chicken…

Burger Boy…

Salad Mom…

So…they raise Trout at the settlement that are planted in Green Creek. Miles go a bag of pellets to feed the guys…

He really enjoyed this…

…a quick run up to Twin Lakes to see what was going on….

...the dude ranch where Miles wants to stay on his next visit…

Last day of fishing…back up to Little Virginia Lake…

Miles can’t wait, so while we eat, he does the fly and bubble from shore…

There he goes…rigging up…

He caught one while waiting for us to finish eating…

…was a bit slower than the previous day…

There…pure joy !!!

All the Trout we caught were released to make someone else have a good day…

WE again quit around noon and drove to Leavitt Meadows for Miles’ and Nadias’ trail ride…

…geared up…

Trail riders…

While those guys went off into the hinterlands, I went down to the West Walker River to peek at the flows…

Very low and warm…

Miles the dog whisperer…

…next on the agenda was a soaking at Travertine Hot Springs…

Miles is an alien…

One more go-round at The Bridgeport Inn…

Garden salad…

Prime rib, Mashed potatoes and real horseradish…

Back to LA…

…but not before a stop at Schat’s in Bishop…

…YIKES !!!

Guys got the goods and some lunch stuff…

Wanted to give Miles one last chance at a Trout, so we stopped at the George’s Creek Sand Trap above Lone Pine…no moving water, algae and muck…

Really disappointing…

When one knows they have left the Owens Valley…Red Hill headed South…

 

These are the soft hackle patterns that I tied for this trip and for Cairo’s trip up to the Sierra…

 

NEXT: Cairo in the Eastern Sierra…

 

PT/TB

 

 

 

 

 

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From THE DESERT to THE MOUNTAINS – Palm Desert / Idyllwild, CA…

Nadia, Miles and Planettrout took a ten day trip down to Palm Desert and its environs to fry in the the 116 degree heat and visit a place( Idyllwild, CA )in the nearby mountains to cool off…

Base camp…one simply does not go outside in the heat of the day…

White reflects heat…built into Nadia’s design of this house…

Pretty Bougainvillea ..at dusk…

While we were there, I went through a collection of photos I had not seen since 1977. Most of them will appear a different places in this BLOG soon…

Nadia cooked up some great meals while we were in Palm Desert…Prochuitto and melon…

Lamb Chops and mashed potatoes…

Miles , John Wayne and Omi…

Palm Desert sunset…

Puffy clouds at midnight in Palm Desert…

The route from Palm Desert to Idyllwild, CA…depending on traffic, it can take awhile to get up there…did I mention complete halts and flagmen ???

Up da’ mountain, Palm Desert below…

Cloud lake , had me fooled, up in the mountains…

A pretty meadow close to our destination…

Looking South at the opposite end of the meadow…

Masked guy in front of Mountain Mikes…he scored some neat stuff there…

Some necklaces for Lil’ Moo…

A leather bracelet with a magnetic closure for Big Moo (Michael Barker)…

A local bakery…

Miles wanted me to buy this ride for him…

The obligatory visit to the candy emporium…

Red Vines…Mmmmm

Masked Banditos wait for their order of Submarine sandwiches…We decided to drive down to Hemet Lake and have lunch by the water…

Waiting for the flagman…on the way down the mountain…

Some of the mountain homes in the area…Arriving at Lake Hemet…need to purchase a day pass to park at the lake…

This looks ok…

Miles decided to get his feet wet after lunch…

Flowering trees along the road on the drive back down to Palm Desert…

More flowering trees…

 

Miles…sporting his necklaces while we stop for some photos in this really spectacular environment…

Panorama of Lil’ Moo and the mountains…

Miles and Mama (Nadia) posing…

Cairn in the clouds…and NO…I don’t ever put these things up…I detest them on Trout waters…

Mountain view…

Desert cactus…

More sharp vegetation not suitable for sitting on…

A final look North of the mountains…

Back at the Casa to watch the sun go down…

 

NEXT: Some RETRO stuff…

 

 

PT/TB

 

 

 

 

 

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The PACIFIC KING …A RETRO Fly Pattern – FINITO

This is the first fly pattern I ever tied, back in 1974 before there were Vimeo vids., You Tube vids., SBS’s on Forums and BLOGS and books with SBS diagrams (in color). It  appeared in Roy Patrick’s “Tie Your Own Flies”, published in 1956…

PACIFIC KING – Roy Patrick – Daiichi 1560, #18…

I tied this pattern on Mustad 3906 hooks in sizes #12 – #14 when I first began tying…there was not much else around. Here is the recipe for the original pattern which Roy Patrick designed for use in the Eastern Sierras in 1940…

The “original” recipe…

I first saw the pattern in this great listing of patterns – over 1000 in here – published in 1970. I picked it up in 1974…

This book, published in 1956, has the SBS for the pattern…drawings – no photos…

Some PACIFIC KINGS in #18, note that the tail is omitted, to imitate and emerging Caddis Pupa…I did this on the first batch I tied, as well…

Materials for the PACIFIC KING…

HOOK: Daiichi 1560, #12 – #18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, White – Under Abdomen – Tiemco 16/0, Black, Thorax forward

ABDOMEN: Micro Floss, Insect Green – Cascade Crest

BACK (OVER ABDOMEN): Micro Floss, C. Brown – Cascade Crest

RIB: Ultra Wire, Black, SM or x-sm – 4 turns

BEARD: Speckled Hen Hackle, Black, Nature’s Spirit

WING: Black Squirrel Tail, White Fox Fur and Feather

This is the place I first tried out this pattern…”dapped” and swung in the current…

Michael and Ally standing in Lone Pine Creek, Lone Pine, CA in just about the same spot I caught my first Trout on this fly pattern…

Lone Pine, California…in the High Sierras…

Another spot, on Lone Pine Creek, where a “bow and arrow cast” would work…and did – with this little guy…

Ally and HERO…above that same section of Lone Pine Creek where she and her brother Michael were standing in the middle of the stream…

PT and Nadia rockin’ it at Chilko Lake, BC where this pattern took some nice Rainbows back in ’76…

Jean Marie, swinging a PACIFIC KING, on the Roaring Fork River, near Aspen, CO…back in the day…

PT… used that pattern on the Frying Pan too !!!

Another good location to use this pattern…The East Walker River…in the early Summer and Fall…

Lil’ MOO…on a mission to find the elusive “German Black Squirrel”…in Bavaria… last week…

NEXT: An ANNELID

PT/TB

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MICHAEL N’ AIMEE…In for a minute – From NYC…

Michael and Aimee came back to LA for a brief visit this past weekend…so we did what we generally do…,get together and BBQ…

Little MOO flies … thanks to Dad (Greg)…

The Grandkids with Granpa Hong…

Aimee’s Mom, Michael and Nadia…

Ally and Greg make certain all the veggies and salads are ready…

Michael handles the flippin’ chores…

Ally and her Grandfather…

Ally and her Mom, Jean Marie…

Ally, Jean Marie, Aimee and a hidden Michael…

Little MOO ready for his close-up…

Busy eaters…

Michael says something funny to Aimee while Little MOO gets all grabby…

Michael floatin’…

Michael and PT go through some fly boxes for patterns to be used back East… on some waters Michael visits…

PT/TB 

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MUSSO and FRANK GRILL – Old Hollywood…

With our visit,  this past weekend, to this legendary Hollywood eatery, four generations of my family have broken bread here:

Musso & Frank Grill, 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA…

This is how it looked in the early 20’s …

When my Dad (Jess Barker) came from New York to Los Angeles, this was the first place he ever ordered dinner…at this counter…

That would have been around this time…and about same time he started bringing my Mom here when they were dating…

This is the booth they liked to sit in, in the main room…where Greg and I had our first meal here in 1948…

This is the other side of Musso’s, from the entrance. off Hollywood Blvd.

Lil MOO (Miles) and Mom (Nadia)…in the booth for his first visit…

The Bar, where the best Martini in Los Angeles is made…

Ally ( with one of those Martinis) salutes her sister, on her birthday…

THE MENU…

Dad (Greg) and Miles wait for the food…

New York Steak, Creamed Spinach, Onion Rings and Sauce Bearnaise…the usual with my companion…

Miles (where he isn’t supposed to be) getting ready to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mom…

Happy Birthday Nadia !!!

Miles likes this place and that is good…because we are coming back next week – to celebrate Michael’s graduation and move to NYC with Aimee…

PT/TB  

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MICHAEL and AIMEE’S WEDDING…

Ally and I went North to Occidental, CA for the wedding…These are some of the photos that we took. The other photos I took, were taken with film and will be added with some additional photos taken by other guests and family, at the wedding…later…

Occidental, CA ….just West of Sebastopol…

ALLY arrives on time so I can get a photo of before sunrise on the I-5, near the Grapevine…

Somewhere in the Central Valley…South of Bakersfield…

The only photo I have ever taken of the Golden Gate Bridge…North into Marin County…

The hilly, curvy roads of West Sonoma County…got lost more than ONCE…

ALLY, working on the slide and video presentation for the wedding…

The families gather for the Friday dress rehearsal…

Jean Marie and I prepare to walk Michael down the aisle…er, path in the field…

Ally checking Michael out while Mom takes his picture…

Michael…waiting for Aimee…

There she is…

Ally and Jean Marie approve…

After rehearsal Pizzafest  for Families and friends at the Union Hotel in Occidental, CA…mmmmmm good !!!

Nadia and Greg chow down while Lil’ MOO (MILES) is electronically inclined…

Michael and Jean Marie…posing…

Nadia and Michael…posing…

Nadia showing Aimee a load of baby photos…Hmmmmm…

Lil’ MOO , Lammy and Auntie Ally…

My Daughter Nadia…is henceforth, NOT ALLOWED to touch my camera settings…

PT with Michael and Aimee…

Greg and Lil’ Moo at the house in the redwood grove that Nadia found for us…

In the background – the Yoga and Meditation platform…

Nadia’s viewpoint…

Surrounded by a redwood deck…

A view from the back of the house…

Nadia catches up on herbal reading…

Ally continues working on the slide show…

PT takes a stroll to the meditation garden…

Putting things into perspective…

Lil’ MOO wants to look for bears…

Thanks Nad, this place was GREAT !!!

The seating is ready…

The dinner tables are ready…

Michael has to run additional wire for sound and lights…

Ally gives further instructions…

The dance area is done…

Aimee and Ally prep the wine bar…

The Wedding Cake table for serving…

The guest book sign in and leave a Polaroid…

Where U been, Where U going…pin the map, leave a card…kittys and dogs eat here…

Flowers and candles...everywhere…

Michael does more chores…

Ally tests the minted water…

One last beer with the guys…

Ally and Michael…

Michael with his Grandparents, Larry and Marie, Dad, Ally and Jean Marie…

Ally and Dad…

The Groom waits…

…for Aimee, on the arm of her Dad and a kiss from Mom…

Michael and Aimee exchange vows…(all this was shot on film and will be added to…later)

During the ceremony, Lil’ MOO samples a GRAVENSTEIN APPLE while O’POP fiddles with his film camera…

Miles, Nadia, Greg, Aimee, Michael, Aunt Cindy and Jean Marie…

Just ALLY….

Michael and Aimee a moment alone …(well, kinda’ – Nadia captured them)…

Lil’ MOO, looking to make mischief before the wedding dinner…

Aimee’s Sister, Noelle, offers a toast…

Nadia catches Dad – lost in thought…

A toast from Michael’s friend…one of many…

First (MARRIED) dance…

The Wedding Cake…

Michael shares a few thoughts before he and Aimee cut the Wedding Cake…

Aimee gives Michael the first bite…

Back to San Francisco…

Ally picks up HERO – aka/Zero from her friend Liz in San Francisco on our way back to LA…

Next: MORE for above and the flies…

PT/TB  

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TRAVELIN’ TIME…

Well, everbody is moving around…

My Grandson Miles at LAX, last night, being chased by his Dad – Greg as he prepares to board a flight to Munich with his Mom – Nadia to visit his Grandmother in Augsburg, Germany…

…meanwhile, PT is headed up to the Eastside tonight, to hook up with Michael and Aimee who are driving over from the Bay area…

…and, in a couple of weeks, Michael and Ally are going to China with their Mom (Jean Marie Hon)…to get in touch with their “roots”…Actually, Jean was in Hong Kong in early 1985, doing a movie pilot for CBS-TV, Titled “Blade in Hong Kong” and Michael was all over China in May, 2010…This is Ally’s first trip…

Michael, on the Great Wall…May, 2010…

I will obviously be putting up a lot of photos and reports…the recipes for the below patterns, with some information on their success, WILL be posted when I return…

P/TROUT-OUT…

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MIKE n’ MILES…

My son Michael and fiancee Aimee came down from the Bay area to celebrate the arrival of Michael’s new nephew Miles…they look good together…

Ally, The “BABY WHISPERER” takes over for a while…

Nadia (MOM), ANGELO (FF DOG) Greg (DAD), Miles, Michael and Aimee…

PT/TB

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MILES HAS ARRIVED !!!

The new Fly Fishing Grandson came into this world at 6:47 AM (PST)…

MILES via IPhone…

Teensy – Weensy…

DAY OF MILES….

Picking up Grandma, who flew in from Germany, at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA…

Auntie Ally, “Where’s the food?”….

Ally, Nadia and Miles…

Ilse. Nadia and Grandson…Miles…

(Auntie) Ally, (Grandmother) Ilse, (Dad) Greg, (Mom) Nadia…and Miles…

Grandmother and Grandson…

Mom…sideways snuggle and white noise….

Auntie and Nephew…Nadia has dubbed Ally – “the baby whisperer”….

DAD (Greg), MOM (Nadia) and…MILES…

Grandson and some “old guy” who will be forever GRATEFUL for this:

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.

We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.

We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.

No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.

That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.

We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.

Self-seeking will slip away.

Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.

Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.

We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.

We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

3rd ed. Big Book pg. 83 & 84

Congratulations Nadia and Greg !!!

PT/TB

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A BABY SHOWER…

Well, it’s getting to be about that time…So, my daughter Nadia decided to gather family and friends together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the new addition to the clan of Fly Fishers…

The HAPPY MOM, my oldest daughter, Nadia…

Ally and Angelo, before the MOB arrives…

A part of the spread that Greg and Nadia put out…

Jean checks out the “ONEZIES” room, set aside for adults to do some painting…

The BABY’S room…still space for a fly tying desk…

Ally and her Grandfather…Jean’s Dad…

More food…

Nadia and Greg schmooze…Ally observes…

The painting table…

Barry’s creation…

Rex freehands…

Susanna’s FINN…ISHED….

Jean paints and reports on her progress to Michael in SF…

Susanna, Nadia and Ally…

Finnegan shows his Dad how to do it…

Ally’s effort, with Chinese characters provided by Great GrandaMA…

PlanetTrout’s rather lame attempt at at a Trout and Fly for his GrandSon…

Something a bit more macho…my girls…Ally and Nadia…

L-R. GREG (The DAD), NADIA (The MOM), Angelo (The DOG), (Great Grandmother) Marie Hong, (Grandmother) Jean Marie, (Sister/Aunt) Ally Barker, (Grandfather) Tim Barker…got all that???…

PT/TB

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