I Discovered the San Juan

I Discovered the San Juan

The Delaware River Owns My Soul, The San Juan Is Where You'll Find My Ass

One of the under reported joys of consulting is travel.  I travel to locations that are rarely on even the longest list of exotic locations, but I travel none the less.  In my field, I travel to places where people have been impacted by natural disasters, and do what I can to help them recover and plan for the next event. People, believe me, there is always a next event.  It’s not a bad gig and I have been to 38 of the 50 states and I get a good taste of the local culture.  I have learned to appreciate Shrimp and Grits in Orangeville TX, enjoyed beer with salt and olives in Fargo North Dakota, and I found poutine made with fresh cheese curds in Madison to be worth the pain induced by my lactose intolerance. 

Sometimes, I get lucky.

I did some work in Aztec New Mexico, which is a fine community not far from the Four Corners Region.  If you are really super curious about what I do, you can pop some popcorn and watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mksx0YBoz40 Yes that’s me, in Aztec, NM.

Like many communities, Aztec has had some flooding issues; unlike many communities, Aztec is just a New Mexico stone’s throw from the San Juan River. The River which I discovered on client visit, in all fairness the San Juan was discovered by someone else several thousand years ago, re discovered and renamed by someone else entirely several hundred years ago. (Our aboriginal Americans were not big on Roman Catholic Saints) The river runs from Colorado, is dammed a few times, joins the now tainted Animas River and then flows west.  None-the-less, I discovered the river for myself in the summer of 2016. 

The river is a tail water of the Navajo Lake and flows over cobblestone and limestone bedrock.  The water coming from the dam is a chilly 45 to 48 degrees year round and is tempered only slightly by the New Mexico sun. Due to outstanding water quality and abundant limestone, the river supports a ton of aquatic insects, and upward of 5000 trout per mile.  The braided tail water is beautiful with clear waters and green, beaver filled lowlands abutting red and white cliffs.  The overlooking cliffs protect this place from the outside world and channel the sounds of the river as it goes about its work cutting the canyon deeper.  The first few miles of the river downstream of the dam are “quality Waters” where a fly fisherman may cast for monster trout and then return the fish to a lax day of sipping bugs from the water column.

Some coworkers also discovered this river with me, and deserve due credit, but will not find it here.  I discovered the river. 

We had visited clients in the morning and found time to fish in the afternoon before taking the beautiful drive back to Albuquerque.  After a Blake’s green Chile cheeseburger (GCC) and the necessary prerequisite stop at the Local Fly Store, we found a place to park and prepare.  Unaware of what was ahead of us, my companions and I dressed in waders and gear in the parking lot.  We shared a few sips from a bottle as we tried to figure out the advice the fly shop proprietor gave us.  “How the hell do you tie two flies to the same leader?” Was the general frame of the conversation with more colorful language thrown in, as you might expect from grown men in plastic pants. 

Eventually decisions were made and we worked our way to the river trail. The canyon walls on our left and right dropped straight down and formed a small dry meadow. The river was masked by tall reeds and some small cottonwoods, maintained by the beavers.  In the span of a few hundred yards there were 3 distinct biomes. When we could see the water we were impressed by its size and quality.  The water clarity was so good you were fooled, water that looked ankle deep was knee deep, and we soon learned all of it held fish.

Once in the water I watched as my experienced companions began casting and working toward the far eddy seem.  A nearby pool was anchored to a small island by series of bounders which looked like excellent trout habitat.  After all, the trout we were used to catching hide in the stream banks in the middle of the day.  I kept my distance and watched, hoping to learn a thing or two.  I had yet to cast a fly rod and didn’t want my newbie bungling to ruin the water for others.  I stood mid-stream in a low riffle about shin deep. I chose this spot since it looked like no right minded fish would inhabit it, wide open, shallow and without an eddy. I stood and watched and began to make a few feeble casts, mirroring my friends. 

Promptly my back-cast caught the collar of my shirt. A gust of wind, timed perfectly, finished the job by tangling the now slack line around me and my equipment.  There I stood, mid-stream wrapped in fluorocarbon and hooked.  I spastically fumbled with my gear, clipped and retied the tippet, and generally floundered about. Flustered and slightly embarrassed, I became aware that there was a trout, a large trout, comfortably holding court in the wake my legs made in the current. I slowed the pace of my spasms hoping the submarine trout would stick around long enough to see what I had to offer. After all, this was no place for a trout of that size, it was broad daylight and I was by no means stealthy, he should be 4 miles from me, scared hiding.

Just as I finished recovering my composure, and retying the terminal tackle, I watched my submarine swerve left. I was stunned, as if he knew I was ready to fish, he turned and left my wake.  As I walked away, my feet disturbed the mossy bottom the submarine returned and began feeding on the benthic bugs I had kicked into the water column.  Completely unconcerned, he mouthed the moss and alternately sipped bugs from the surface and middle of the water column.  A few times his open mouth would breach the surface like the shark in jaws. Soon the fish was joined by others and they began to compete for the water closest to my feet. Lunging forward to eat the bugs, then darting to the side as a competitor approached, aggressively defending each space. I had never seen anything like this before and excitedly shouted to my companion….who likely had his own fleet of fish in his wake, but lacked the polarized glasses to see them.

I stood and watched the fish for some time, moving my feet just enough to keep the gravy train rolling for my aquatic friends.  Simply amazing to watch these fish, David Attenborough began a narration between my ears and I forgot for a while I was there to catch these beasts.  Reality set in and I realized I had an excellent laboratory at my feet.  I could drift fly after fly in font of these fish and see the fish react. I didn’t even have to cast, and moreover even if the fish didn’t strike it was an awesome thing to watch.

I grew up casting for trout on a small stream, worms, minnows, and eggs as bait.  I size 10 hook was as small as I was accustomed to.  When the guys at the fly shop handed me specks of dust in size 24 and smaller I was incredulous but bought them just the same.  To be safe I also bought some flies I could see, in case the local experts were jerking me around.  When I faced this fleet of submarines I could not believe that such a large fish would be interested in a fly I could barely see.  I drifted San Juan worms, Parachutes and even Wooly buggers at the fish and slowly worked my way to the smaller flies.  Eventually I reluctantly tied on the dust specks and hit pay dirt.  (I don’t remember the official name of the fly that worked, I called it cricket poop.) Sometimes it pays to actually listen to the old guys at the fly shop.

I saw the fish turn and flash in the sun before I noticed the strike indicator move. I yelled “Fish On” instinctively as soon as the fish was hooked.  Later learning this was an unnecessary foul for the quiet and dignified San Juan. The fish quickly left my wake and headed upstream, pulling drag, he jumped and turned and sulked for a short while before making his last run.  I worked the fish to shore before netting him for a few pictures.  A beautiful Rainbow trout hooked just barely in the corner of his mouth.  I didn’t measure him but I think he was about 12 inches long and fat.  As I write this the perma-grin returns.  He was not a large fish but beautiful in a beautiful stream.  You always remember your first; today the second fish was even bigger.  Caught and released in the same manner.

I showed my fishing companions the fly I used and gave them the spot in the stream.  

I left satisfied.  The river now calls me.  I have since learned the fish I caught are not remarkable by San Juan standards. I know all days on the river aren’t this perfect, I know that eventually casting technique and experience will need to be honed.  But for now, memories of the 2 San Juan Rainbow trout I caught that day, in perfect conditions, under a beautiful sky, is all I need.

10 Simple Rules for the New Freshman, or the Repressed Sophomore

10 Simple Rules for the New Freshman, or the Repressed Sophomore

A few weeks ago I was moved to write some back to school advise which I sent to a kid just entering college, attached to the letter was some cash.  My hope was to use the cash as a lure, to ensure the letter was read.  College is a personal experience; and as I'm fully aware, what was true 20 years ago, may not be true anymore. None the less, what follows are my thoughts, and then a few more that came from an old friend. I thought some of you might find this useful, or perhaps offer your own advice as a comment.

Student:

By now you have your stuff unpacked and are falling into the swing of campus life.  I remember my first few weeks in School.  It was exciting and scary.  I’m sure you have sat through a lecture or two from your folks and others about what college means and how you should behave, and study, and whatever else.  I’m writing to wish you the best and continue the trend, but without the tone you might expect.

So take a deep breath, and read on.

College is a fantastic opportunity to invent the person you want to be.  No one on that campus knows anything about you, other than what you allow them to know.  You have no baggage, no history, a clean slate.  You are there to open your mind, and set yourself on a path forward that best suits you.  Don’t worry if you don’t know what that path is, you aren’t supposed to know yet, but you need to take the first steps.  Those first steps, and those that follow, need to be for you, and for you alone. 

On paper, College is about the degree and the job, but in reality the things less tangible are really what is most important.  You are in school to learn how to meet different people, to learn how to care for yourself, and to learn how to fix mistakes.  The degree will be the easy part for you, but keep in mind, it is only part of the equation.  College is the last time you can invent yourself and make mistakes without the fears of real life holding you back, you don’t have a mortgage, a kid, or a wife, your life is yours, enjoy the freedom to explore a bit.

My experiences are of course different than yours will be.  However, I think there are some parallels.  I entered school “knowing” what I wanted to study, “convinced” I would remain in the band, “certain” I wouldn’t socialize with drinkers and smokers, “loving” my girlfriend, and “living” as a button down, straight laced, preppy white kid. Nothing worked out as I thought, and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. 

I met a few people who opened my mind and introduced me to other people, and I found that by “saying yes” life became more fun, and more interesting.  These folks helped me to figure out who I was, and in the process, I was able to find my path in the world.  I did some dumb stuff, and sometimes I got caught.  I did some smart things and was sometimes rewarded.  I remember the dumb things more than the smart and my memories now are of ridiculous conversations, questionable dinners, and dimly lit rooms. I built some short friendships and some long ones, I learned that long hair doesn’t make you a bad person and people who smoke and drink can be a lot of fun.  I learned how to cook, how to work all night, deliver the essay, and then sleep.  I learned that I wasn’t smart enough to be a chemist, and that if I really didn’t like the folks who were in my chemistry classes, I wouldn't like them in the chemistry field.  I learned that you always should give people the opportunity to speak, before you make up your mind about them.  I learned to love classic rock and sometimes you need to drop everything for a friend, a girl, or just because it is a beautiful day.  I learned how to explore a cave, fall from a rock wall, and swamp a canoe.  I learned that 20 bucks spent on pizza shared with your friends is worth it every time and that sometimes it’s good to go for a long walk. You will learn different things at your own pace, but it is important you give yourself the opportunity to learn and create your own list.

So I offer you the following advice, based on my experience.

Learn to cook: I learned as a short order cook in the Student Union, the job paid for my       books and pizza, fed me for free, and chicks dig it when you cook for them.

Learn to Bullshit: Sitting on the steps or hanging out in a friends room, learn the art of a fine story, feigned interest, and most importantly how to read your audience.  These skills will take you far later in life and will make college more fun.

Say “Yes” when asked to join:  Folks will ask you once, maybe twice and that’s it.  Unless it’s really illegal, will hurt someone or violates your core being, say “Yes” it will open so many more doors for you.  Stretch yourself to make “Yes” happen.

Get out of your room:  A college campus is a living thing, experience it.  Join a club, get involved.  You will meet more people, who will take you on adventures, and help you when you need it.  Life is about connections.

Forget what you know: The person I was and wanted to be as a freshman was not the person who left that school.  Once I started letting go of what I “knew” and what I “wanted” and let go of the notions instilled in me by high school and parents and began making my own determinations, the world changed color and I learned so much more.

Take Public Speaking: I don’t care what your degree is; you will eventually need to speak with people.  Learn in college when it doesn’t matter what you say.  The class will help you understand how to be comfortable with yourself and know how others  perceive you, which is powerful knowledge.  The skills learned will help you land a job and a date.

Buy the Pizza:  When you have the cash buy the first pizza and share it, don’t be the guy who does the math and offers $2.35 for his slice and a half.  It will come around, and if it  doesn’t, find new friends. Also, Pizza crust is fair game once it hits the box.  There is  no shame is scoring it for yourself.

Don’t Drink Alone: You’re in college and there is booze and drugs and whatever else there.  Don’t be stupid with them….and never be stupid alone.  If you are gonna drink, find a friend to join you…..Don’t let a friend drink alone either.  You don’t have to drink, but you need to be there.  Friends keep friends from doing stupid, and when stupid does happen, friends are there to call for help. 

Ask for Help/ Learn to Help: The entirety of the University is there to help you succeed, use it.  Have trouble in math, they will get you a tutor, struggling with English 101 there are free tutors for that as well, and as a bonus she might be cute. Are you an expert in the Organic Chem class?  Offer to help your class mates, that simple act of explaining a subject to another will enhance your knowledge….and they will owe you one.

Embrace Change:  Change happens, get used to it.  College will change your mind, and your body.   It’s not bad it just happens.  Your major might change (mine did 4 times) your friends might change, your life will change.  The trick is to guide the change by making dumb decisions and learning from them and making smart decisions and duplicating them.  Nothing goes perfectly to plan, the sooner you learn to adapt, the better off you will be. 

I recieved the following from a good old friend, who has more degrees and a significantly longer and different college experience. Below is part of the excellent advise I received from my learned friend Mike S.

- The best study technique in the world requires just a simple timer, even a cheap cell phone probably already has one. Set the timer for 20 minutes, and commit to not take a break for anything this side of a fire alarm until it goes off. No social media, no video games, nothing but straight work. Then after the timer goes off reset it for ten minutes and do whatever you want. Repeat the cycle until your work is done. Though you probably can't tolerate more than four or five hours total of it on any given day without burning out. It's a great help, but not a miracle.

- Conventional wisdom on finding a passion to pursue for your career is backwards. The easiest way to make yourself excited to do something is to become damn good at it. Nobody gets excited to play Mary Had a Little Lamb, but anyone who can pull off a decent version of Over the Hills and Far Away feels like a million bucks while doing it. It may be one of the hardest things you do in your life, but pick something you like just somewhat and push yourself to be good at it. Don't tackle more than one thing. Don't expect instant results. But when you kick ass at physics, or music, or teaching, or German, you will enjoy it ten times more than you did when you kinda thought it might be cool.

- On relationships: a surprising number of people have a romantic ideal that they'll build a fantastic platonic friendship with someone, and then later layer a romantic relationship on top of it. That's wonderful when it works, but when it doesn't the person can become bitter and disappointment because they invested weeks, months, or even years into something that failed. Stereo-typically a guy does it with a woman and then later starts moaning that nice guys finish last and they are stuck in the friend zone and so forth. But it can happen to anyone regardless of sex or orientation. Don't propose marriage at first meeting or even necessarily tell someone you think they're attractive the first week you encounter each other. But if you want to date someone, don't wait too long to express your interest and ask them out. You'll still be hurt if they refuse, but better to learn the bad news sooner.

The point is college is what you make it, life is what you make it; and those you allow in, make it.  Now is your time to find you, be you, and learn who you want to be.  Enjoy it, life is to short to take too seriously.

Spring Break Report

Spring Break Report

I have seen the Grand Canyon, Rafted the Snake River, witnessed life come into and leave this world but for a brief moment, those things all paled in comparison to the beauty of my first California Burrito. I had been to CA before but only on business so when asked to join some friends for a spring break trip to Oceanside in Southern CA, we jumped at the chance. More about the burrito later. No worries, we will get to the burrito in due time.

The kids were excited to see the Pacific Ocean.  They hadn’t seen the sea since before we moved west, and needed a dose of salt water.  I was intrigued by the prospect of a long drive through some fairly deserted terrain.

You owe it to yourself to take a long drive in the desert.  It gives you some perspective on why it is such a popular theme in today’s movies and yesterday’s books.  Part of it is the huge amount of suck involved if you instead walked across the desert, but the rest is the stark beauty that forces your mind to warp as it searches for color and tries to comprehend the empty distances.   Moreover, the drive from Albuquerque to Phoenix through the White Mountain Plateau is amazing and it will eventually take you through a saguaro cactus forest that is truly stunning.  These amazing cactus's are huge and seem to stand against the laws of nature, the cactus bottoms impossibly small against the buck of their arms.  We didn’t stop for a picture with these magnificent guardians of the desert.  But we should have, perhaps my biggest regret of the trip.

The kids didn’t appreciate this much and were focused on their movie screens and the thought of the hotel pool in phoenix.  You could smell the flowers and humidity as we entered Phoenix. It was a 7 hour drive by the clock that went by exceptionally fast. The hotel pool was a welcome relief, but so was the hotel happy hour which provided free snacks and booze for the adults. The kids played on the elevator, racing it between floors and alternated between the pool and the hot-tub for “treatments”.

Driving west from Phoenix through the Mojave Desert is not to be taken lightly.  There is little to see except for craggy black cores of ancient volcanoes and huge dust devils.  I can’t imagine making the drive in the dark, though there is almost as little to see in the daylight.  We passed through towns that sold gas and cold drinks and wondered how hard it must be to date in such a small isolated town.  These towns are legacies of mining booms. One town claims the grave of a United States soldier who pioneered the use of camels…..We entered California and immediately the desert became an irrigated field.  Like Dorothy, we were stunned by the immediate availability of color.   

As we left the Mojave and descended into the green palm covered Coachella valley we stopped at the Oasis Date Garden.  Ever had a date? No not a Prom Date, but a medjool date.  The Phrase “Date Garden” sounds like a thinly vailed code word for a brothel…Honest this was a farm where dates were grown using water robbed from the Colorado River.  The place serves date milk shakes which alone are worth the drive through the desert and is green and lush like the oasis it is.  These fruits were so good I remain amazed that Americans don’t eat more of them.

As we moved deeper into California we passed a few landmarks you might recognize from Top Gun and made our way into Temecula, to visit with our companion’s family.  It’s always a great honor to meet your friend’s families and I’m always reminded how similar we all are.  We were warmly welcomed and found ourselves in an excellent shaded backyard with a welcome glass of ice water. The kids were happy to be free of the car.  My sons “discovered” an orange tree laden with fruit; they had never seen one before.  I’m not sure if they picked one and then asked permission to eat it, or did it the right way around, but eventually the boys pocket knives where slicing into fresh oranges.  The trees owner cautioned that the fruit wasn’t ripe yet, but the kids couldn’t care less and ate them with great relish.  Honestly it was the best orange I ever tasted, can’t imagine how good it would be at its peak.  Watching kids eat fruit and ask for more is definitely one of life’s simple pleasures.

We found our rental home in Oceanside on top of a bluff.  We could see and hear the ocean as it was only cross the road and down the stairs to the beach. We finished packing just in time to have a cocktail on the deck as the sun set over the ocean. The cliché of the California sunset is huge, but now that I have seen the sun set over the ocean I believe it.  Just as the sun sets it turns red and then due to some atmospheric alchemy appears to melt the orange disc wavers and warps while it slowly kisses and then dives into the sea. Kids reported that the beach had rocks which bounced into your toes, the water was cold, but they loved it. The kids had no use to watch the sun set, and that suits me just fine

We spent the next week alternately enjoying the beach and the sights in San Diego.  The water was so cold you had to have either a wet suit, or be a kid to enjoy it.  The kid’s body surfed and boogie boarded to exhaustion.  We did the aquarium, (which to Nugget’s delight had Flamboyant Cuttlefish, his favorite cephalopod) and enjoyed life.  We took the tour on the USS Midway, a huge historic aircraft carrier.  I ventured to the very front of the Midway, on the ramp at the end of the catapult and looked down at the massive prow of the ship.  I was standing on steel but felt as if it would give way, every twitch of the moored ship was magnified in that spot which is perhaps the best place to comprehend the vast size of the ship.  Across the bay you could see two other active carriers and whatever other ships at the naval base.

The San Diego zoo is amazing and should be on your bucket list. The zoo is clean, shaded, and well done. The city surrounded you but could not be seen or heard, you felt remote and isolated.  The zoo made great use of the hills and valleys and had an air tram like a ski gondola to take to go from one end of the park to the next.  We all loved it. 

Introduced the kids and Lover to In-N-Out Burger, they fell in love instantly as was expected. Porter ate his like it was the first thing he had eaten in years.

I had the distinct pleasure of celebrating my 40^th birthday while on this trip.  I spent the day on the beach fueled by exceptionally strong rum and cokes furnished by our companions.  Life was mellow watching the kids enjoy the sea.  A few days before I braved the insane Iron-man athletes to bike to the local bar for Taco Tuesday….Fish tacos in Oceanside with bear on a Tuesday is a beautiful thing.  As I sat in my chair, mellowing in the sun on my birthday I remembered the tacos, and how scary the short bike ride home was filled with beer and passed by hard core dudes and dudettes on bikes as they prepped for the Iron Man competition to be had the day we departed. A California fish tacos is a beautiful thing….worth the risked life and limb. 

That evening we toured the various breweries of Ocean side including the much applauded Ballast Point Brewery….we made it to a few places and when properly lubricated our companions took us to a 24 hour burrito shack, and insisted we eat the California Burrito….never has food tasted so good.  The burrito had ingredients I can’t remember but there was something special about the tortilla, the avocado was fresh, and best of all included french-fries built into the burrito.  In my first bite I was transported back in time to a night at Rutgers University, Drinking with Co-Workers were I was introduced to the “Fat Bitch” sandwich.  4000 calories of whatever is at the bottom of the fryer, covered in marinara and mozzarella…..this burrito reminded me of that night, but surpassed the Fat Bitch handily.

Our drive home was long….we traveled north and then East.  We happened apron the strangest accident on the road, a small plane, had crash landed and ran into a parked car on the side of the freeway.  It was so odd to see the plane there with the first responders.  The poor occupants of the car, impacted out of the blue as they had pulled well off the road for a cell phone call (according to the paper). We stopped for the night in Flagstaff and by chase ate at the Beaver Street Pub, a place I had last visited in college in the late 90’s….some 18 years later I ordered the same artesian wood fired pizza and thought about how many rotations of college wait staff the restaurant went through in that period of time…..instant nostalgia.

We were happy to be home, but had a great trip. There are worst ways to spend your birthday, and no better way to enjoy life.