Extravaganza Update!

Greetings, Fellow Extravaganzers!

 

It is hard to believe that February has now come and virtually gone, but that, indeed, is the case!  Just imagine:  Rowdy Group A-ers, four months from today you will have already come and gone to Extravaganza 2009;  you folks in Veteran Group B will be just finishing up your second day of fishing; and those 18 of you in Wacky Group C will still in the batter's box with just a few more days of waiting!

 

Your hostess with the mostess, Kocktail Kathy, and I return to the scene of it all next Thursday where, during the ensuing week, we will be in the final preparation stages for Extravaganza 2009 with our great land based operator Doug Persico of the Rock Creek Mercantile and with our outfitter par excellence "John The Great" Gould of Double Up Outfitters. In fact, just to make sure that Sir John still knows how to guide, he and I will be fishing together two weeks from today--fishing the Bitterroot River in the famous skwala hatch that marks the prelude of better things to come post-runoff.  (The skwala is a stone fly that hatches each March...it is a cousin of the Golden Stone Fly that will be abundant in each of our three Extravaganza fishing groups.)

 

Wow, even though I have been more quiet than usual, there has been a lot going on with the Montana scene.  First, and most importantly, snow still abundantly falls in the Bitterroot Mountains (upwards of 18 inches just this past week) such that our snow pack (that will yield our fishing water come late June and early July) is right at 100% of "normal" (whatever that is nowadays!).  That is GREAT news!

 

Secondly, Kathy and I have the great privilege to announce that six teenage photographers have now been selected by our great friends at the International Wildlife Film Festival (IWFF) to serve as our resident moviemakers during Extravaganza 2009.  The film camp will span for two weeks starting June 22nd and, thereby, include each of our three groups.  These budding filmmakers will be producing a movie to be entitled "Montana Matters" that will tie into a massive collaborative "Montana Matters" fundraising campaign that I am spearheading and coordinating for IWFF and the Montana Wildlife Federation--a campaign that will be rolled out in April by Montana's governor beautifully accompanied by one of the MM spokespersons, actress and model Andie Mc Dowell, and a multi-decadal campaign that will feature its own original commissioned artwork, a cd collection of Montana songs narrated by Missoulian native country and western signer Shane Clouse (the cd will feature his newest, written for us song "Montana Matters"), as well as hats, tee shirts, water mugs, posters, post cards and its own website, all embellished by a custom logo designed with élan (pro bono) by veteran Extravaganzer Dave Studeman and his magnificent Sage Brandworks partners.

 

Thirdly, the progress of the new house that we are constructing along the Blackfoot River is nothing short of magnificent.  You veterans out there will recognize the names of our veteran professionals "Contractor Bruce", "Landscaper Eric" and "Stonemason Karl", each of whom are (blessedly) employed and hard at work in making this 3,000 sq ft dream on the shores of the magical "A River Runs Through It" Blackfoot River a reality.  Those who were with us for last year's Extravaganza saw the property in its raw form; each of you will get to see this masterpiece in person on the day of your Extravaganza 2009 arrival.  I will send updated photos to all during our March Montana stay.

 

So, gang, the rest of the world may be falling apart all around us but all is well in Extravaganzaland!  And what a nice gift each of you has given to yourself--a respite from the economic craziness that surrounds us into the blissful Montana quietude that will be your five day summer companion partner and an opportunity to meet and make new friends in an environment where only having a good time is welcome company.

 

Kathy and I stand ready, willing and able to greet you upon your Extravaganza arrival; we only wish that that date was today and not four months hence.  But, then again, it will be June before we all know it!

 

Best to all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

 

 

Meet Your Extravaganza 2009 Staff!

Extravagant Ones:

Say "hello" in pictorial form, at least, to Doug "The Merc" Persico (in the single photo above), proprietor of the Rock Creek Mercantile at the foot of Rock Creek Road from which the land operations for Extravaganza 2009 will be based; and then say a big "howdy" to your Extravaganza 2009 guides (or most of them, anyway) and outfitter John Gould in the above group photo shot, most of whom have fished with us before (as indicated by a (v) by their names): From the standing left, Dave "Kidney Stone" Heimes (v); Travis "Spey" Wallace (v); Scott "I Met You In Alaska" Belz; Evan "The Shanna/Lori Man" Philippe (v); Outfitter John "The Magnificent" Gould (v); and Chris "I Married Lori" Stroup (v); each of whom are looming over seated Jason "Southern Boy" Coates. Not shown (because they were fishing in South America) are Extravaganza newcomer but nonetheless veteran guides Nick Stipech and Peter Skidmore.

We all gathered this past Friday evening at the Montana Club in Missoula (which will be the site(s) of our traditional welcoming luncheon this year) for h.d.'s, drinks and repast (just as will each of you), along with International Wildlife Film Festival Executive Director Janet Rose, to preview this year's Extravaganza events and to see last year's film, Journey To The Soul.

Hang onto your fishing lines, folks, as, based on the energy in that room, we are all in for one heck of a ride this year!

Best to all from the scene of it all,

Rock Creek Ron

Winter on Rock Creek

Extravagant Ones:

 

Greetings from Extravaganza Headquarters along docile Rock Creek, where, indeed, the deep freeze has set in for the long and chilly Montana winter.  Temperatures here are actually pretty decent for this time of year, however, with highs today expected to be in the low 40's yet evening lows in the 20's.  The attached photos tell the tale:  One of quiet respite from our bustling summer activities, providing a wonderful time for reflection on all of life's bounties that have become our blessings.

 

While California faces one of the most severe drought conditions in 150 years, as our outfitter John "The Magnificent" Gould recently reported to you, the upper elevation snow pack here in the western part of the Continental Divide holds steady, with the January reported snow pack for the Bitterroot Basin averaging 116% of normal.  That bodes well for Extravaganza 2009 as, just perhaps, we will have one of those truly "normal" years (whatever that is nowadays!) when, as we now have so many times in the past, the Spring runoff occurs in an orderly and timely manner thereby teeing up our Extravagant fishing opportunities in late June and early July--years when our numbers of native trout caught and released measure in the thousands.

 

Tomorrow evening your hostess with the mostess, Kocktail Kathy, and yours truly, Rock Creek Ron, are hosting a dinner party for our new guides and their families.  Among the crew will be several familiar names that have fished with us in the past (including, in addition to John The Magnificent,  Chris Stroup, David Heimes, Travis Walker and Evan Philippe) as well as several other faces new to us--each legendary, however, in their guiding prowess.  It is this team that will guide us each down one or more of our targeted summer rivers:  The Clark Fork of the Columbia River; The Bitterroot River and the fabled Big Blackfoot ("A River Runs Through It") River.  Joining us at that event will be International Wildlife Film Festival Executive Director Janet Rose (and her wonderful staff) to roll out the plans for a sequel to last year's teen-aged shot and edited movie Journey To The Soul (which has been placed into the competition for this year's 32nd annual IWFF festival), a movie to be called Montana Matters and to become an integral part of a major fundraising campaign that I am heading up for both IWFF and the Montana Wildlife Federation (more...much more...on that front later!).

 

Sunlight is gradually reappearing here in Extravaganzaland, as we are far enough north and eastward placed in the time zone(s) that extreme shortness of day marks winter's visage just as do our longer summer days (where it will be still light here at 10:30 p.m. at the time of the Summer Equinox), and that is good news, as that sundial indicates that it is just a matter of 5+ months now until we will are (re)convene here at the scene of it all!!

 

Best to all from that majestic scene!

 

RCR