Camping in a CAMPER! And catching the big one.

 Joe has wanted a camper for so long now.  His wish finally came true.  He found a popup camper that was priced well and after checking it out, by that afternoon it was ours.  And of course, he was overly excited to try it out.

I had volleyball in Thermopolis over the weekend, so Joe decided to load up Quincey and find a spot in Boyson canyon to set up shop for the maiden voyage.  

I gotta say, I wasn't excited about having a camper but it sure was a step up from a tent.  I know that it's not really "camping" when you have a camper but, I don't care anymore.  It got us out into the woods for a whole weekend without having to come home to put Quincey down for a nap or for bed.  It was just perfect for us and working really well!

I think though, the highlight of the weekend was the fish that both Joe and I caught.  Quincey and I were taking a nap and Joe went to try to catch a fish.  He came back all excited and told Quincey he had caught her big fish.  He often says that and it's just a small guy.  But he wasn't joking.  It was a nice big fish.  Apparently, he took his hook when most of his line was out, and he had to fight like crazy to get that fish in.  In fact, it was such a rascal to wrangle in that at one point, he took off his shoes and waded into the water up to his knees to finally be able to bring it to shore.  He said his adrenaline was just pumping and he was so excited to get such a good fish.

That evening he said that he was going to help me catch a giant one too.  I was so doubtful because I rarely ever catch anything and on the off chance I do, it's a tiny little thing. Usually, a minnow.  So, all of us headed back out to the river and Joe showed me what to do - cast and let the line float down the river and then just leave it there and wait for a bite.  

First cast out and after a couple minutes, my bobber went under the water.  I mean, I could still see it, but it was under the water.  Nothing was tugging on it though, but I thought, oh well... let's see what happens if I try to reel it in.  Once I started to reel it in, I felt a small jerk and knew that I had something!  I set the hook as he has taught me and started reeling in as fast as I could all the while yelling for him.  I was up on a cliff 15 feet and I reeled it in as far as it would let me, but I couldn't get the fish up to me.  I had no idea he had set up the pole like this so, there I was with Quincey standing next to me screaming at the top of my lungs for him with a fish that I couldn't see dangling over the edge of the cliff.  A group of people down the river a way started to yell back at me asking if I was okay.  FINALLY, Joe showed up and he jumped down the cliff with his shoes on into the water to get my fish.

We got the fish up on the bank and it was a big one, but we have since decided that it was a suicidal fish.  It had one zombie eye, was super skinny, and it didn't even fight me.  It was the easiest fish to catch and reel in.  So, although it was the biggest, I had caught, it certainly didn't feel like a big accomplishment when I think the thing was just waiting for someone to put him out of his misery.  

When we cooked them up that night, we didn't even eat mine.  The meat on it just didn't look right but Joe's was such a healthy pink color inside and tasted absolutely fantastic!

It ended up being such a great weekend with our new camper and our fish we caught (even if one was already half dead).

Grandpa Comes to Visit

 Our first visitor!!! Grandpa.  He came to see us on his way home from Jackson Hole.  Kinda nice being on the way to Jackson for him. Now, he can hit up two of his daughters in one trip and we look forward to any chance we get with grandpa.

Quincey absolutely adores him.  She gets so excited to see him and talks about him often.  It's not like she is stuck to him when he comes but there is something about him that she is drawn to.  It warms my heart immensely.  

We went to the mountains for an afternoon and relaxed listening to the sound of the river and then hit up a museum as well.  But most of all, we just enjoyed each other's company.

Trip to Jackson Hole

 Joe had never been to Jackson Hole before and, although the Reimers were not there this summer since they were at their lake house, we found a weekend to venture over there and wonder around for a weekend.  

When all was said and done, I think our favorite part was playing with Quincey in their hottub outside.  She just loved it and hadn't been in a hot tub since we moved from Albuquerque.  In just those few short months of being gone, it was incredible to see her confidence level so much higher in the water.  She was jumping in and running around like crazy.

We also took a couple trips into the mountains to "see what we could see" as we like to say.  We didn't catch any fish but had fun trying!

Then, on our way home, we stopped at Brook Lake to explore and fished the river there.  Joe was able to land a couple fish.

And, of course we stopped at the Jackalope in Dubois on our way there and Quincey was initiatied into the club of Jackalope riders.  She wasn't a fan!