My wife dropped me off at the Dad Clark Park N Ride at Oh Dark 15. After a few sips of my fufu coffee, I realized that as the sky was turning azure, there was not a single cloud to be seen, no breeze, and all indications were for a perfect day. Another truck was waiting, then Jim's Banana Cruiser came along with a small parade of pickups. Fishermen love their trucks.Lists were checked, Release Forms signed, and we all saddled up for the Dream Stream. The trip went quickly and the scenery just kept smiling back - including Cow Rock.The group totaled about 25. The Ranger briefed us on the project, we picked up a rake and bucket and hiked downstream for what seemed like a mile - stealing ganders at the stream and occasionally seeing fish. The Ranger drove the ATV with the precious cargo: $2500 worth of prairie seed.
We worked our way back to the parking lot just in time to share a great meal put together by Jim Klug. Jason Agin handed out the new CCTU Conservation T-Shirts. Beautiful green with the CCTU logo on the front and a modified (improved) NTU logo on the back. It has purple!Everyone was well-fed. Even the cows were escaping through the fence to see what we were up to. Sub sandwiches, condiments, fruit, chips, cookies, and drinks. Plenty for seconds. No grumbling in this crowd. Plenty of photo ops.
A Ranger with a horse showed up to patrol the area and another ranger showed up wondering why we had a crowd of people and asked if we were all there to fish. Not often you see 25 people show up together to go fishing. She was excited to hear about our project, but still checked our fishing licenses. Actually, word was out that we had food.Sadly, some left to go home but most donned waders to stalk the stream for large trout. Results were mixed. Some caught a couple small rainbows. We saw a few people catch 24 inch fish, and most watched fish tease, but not take a fly. The rainbows had already spawned and the water level was low. Still it was a beautiful day shared by wonderful folks helping preserve a true Coloradan legacy.Y'all join us! Your name goes in to the raffle bucket for each project you help with. The prizes are pretty grand, but the bragging rights for the accomplishments are better when you return to each site to go fishing with your friends and family.