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We just returned home from camping at Tellico Plains TN, Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground. Managed to take some eclipse shots!

2017 Colorado Journey - Part Two August 1st - so its time to head east and north. After visiting a nice little laundromat in Buena Vista, Twist found its way to a free creekside campsite on BLM land just to the west of Clear Lake Reservoir. Bigger fish can be found on a short stretch of creek east of Highway 24, but there are miles of Clear Creek to fish above the private land near the camp. Next up was a fairly short drive north on Highway 24 through Leadville to one of my favorite campgrounds - Gold Park. There is a very good coffee house/bakery right in the center of Leadville directly across the street from the city hall - and - they have a fairly good WiFi system for catching up on emails, weather and news. After Leadville, the remains of Camp Hale - this is where the US Army trained soldiers for alpine combat during WWII - can be seen just to the East off Highway 24 (when hiking in this area be careful in that there are still munitions here and there) . Gold Park is located about seven miles up Homestake Road. Situated on Homestake Creek all 12 sites in this camp are first come, first served. There is no potable water or electric but there is a pit toilet - all for $21 per night (half price - $10.50 for seniors). Get site 7 if you can! From this camp you can fish Homestake creek, day hike (or backpack) up to Missouri Lakes (my favorite), Fancy Lake or Holy Cross City (ghost town) and Cleveland Lake. These lakes are full of fish with Cleveland Lake holding many 20+ inchers. For serious "Jeep people" there is a jeep trail from right near camp all the way up to Holy Cross City. But - be prepared to lose you oil pan! What turned out to be the last fishing camp of the trip - Yeoman Park - was next. Yeoman is south of Eagle, CO - just head towards Sylvan State Park but take the "left" fork after the visitors center. There is a ton of hiking from here besides the fishing. Also, plenty of deer, elk and bear. Again, no potable water (if you stop at the Sylvan Lake Visitor's Center right near the end of the paved road and ask very nicely, they might let you fill your fresh water tank), no trash pickup, no electric, but they do have pit toilets and plenty of quiet for $4/night senior rate. The East Brush Creek is full of fish (and beaver) and gets relatively little fishing pressure other than very near the campground. What is usually an uneventful four day drive back to the mountains of Western North Carolina did have one pleasant surprise this year. Having left the Oliver factory fairly late in the afternoon I drove to Interstate 40 and began looking for a place to camp for the evening. North of Smithville, TN, Edgar Evans State Park is about 7 miles south of Interstate 40, 45 miles or so east of Lebanon, TN and about two hours drive west of Knoxville, TN. All sites have water and electric and most are on concrete platforms overlooking the lake. The bathhouses are clean and there is plenty of hot water. A couple of "final" thoughts - not surprisingly, the Oliver performed as expected all during the trip. This was the first time that I extensively used the furnace due to the amounts of rain and relatively low temperatures. Sure was nice to jump out of bed, hit the "heat" button, jump back into bed and get nice and toasty. Felt sorry for the "tent people". Also, another tip of the hat to everyone at Oliver. Virtually every person I've ever met in Hohenwald has been very nice. From the Office personnel to the Plant personnel they all go out of their way to make sure that things are the best that they can make them. Now to start planning next year's fishing trip in Wyoming. Bill

2017 Fly Fishing Colorado Journey - Part One Total miles - 4236.2 Total days - 36 (total days without rain - 6) Total fish landed- 237 ( all on foam beetles) Total propane used - 1.5 20 gallon tanks Originally this trip was to last into the first week of September. However, due to the rain and water levels of the streams (high) the trip was cut a bit short. My first stop on the way out is usually Kentucky Dam State Park, Gilbertsville, KY. This park is uncrowded and fairly quiet but it is showing some signs of age. Next up is one of my favorites - Blue Spring. Just east of Kansas City and fairly close to Interstate 470, this park is clean, quiet and has a nice restroom/shower house. Third night was spent at the Kansas Kountry Inn, Oakley, KS. Even though the full hookup sites need a bit of cleaning, it is difficult to complain about $20/night including breakfast. And, in my opinion, it is better than High Plains Camp which is right on Interstate 70. On the fourth night on the road I arrived at Round Mountain Campground just west of Lake George, CO. Having read that there was no water in the camp, I found that you could purchase potable water at the Florrisant water station (right on Highway 24 just east of Lake George) at a reasonable rate. As it turned out, Round Mountain now has potable water (hand pump). From the Round Mountain Camp I fished a number of different places all of various parts of the South Platte River. One of my favorites is Tomahawk State Wildlife area. Note that if you are going to fish this you should plan on arriving either very early (prior to guides showing up) or sometime after 2pm (when the guides tend to leave). Note that in the picture below there is a path/old road to the left which leads down to the stream. I almost always go this way since most of the guides do not. Another place that is good for a few hours fishing where there are not usually any people is right behind the old railroad station in Hartsel, CO. In the picture below, the old RR station is the red building on the left. Next up was Monarch Park Camp - right at the top of Monarch Pass (Southwest of Poncha Springs). Other than a fairly short drive over to the outflow stream from O'Haver Lake this is not a very good "fishing camp". There is no potable water and due to pine bark beetles a number of the campsites are fairly barren. However, nearby there are other sites to be seen. The above is Mt.Shavano - 14,229 feet On to One Mile Camp, northeast of Gunnison and right near the Taylor River. I had never fished the Taylor and was looking forward to giving it a try. One Mile Camp is very nice - almost all the spots are pull throughs, are fairly private and the composting toilets are clean. While there is electric at most sites, be sure to fill your tank prior to setting up from one of the two pressurized water stations in camp (right at the restrooms). Unfortunately, either due to the crowds or due to the high water, the Taylor was more of a challenge than I wanted to face. So, I went above the Taylor Reservoir and fished Texas Creek and Willow Creek both of which had no people and willing fish. Note: if you are this far you might as well take an hour (round trip) and drive the rest of the way up to Tin Cup, CO. A Willow Creek fish fooled by a hunk of foam.

We would like to announce the location and dates for our 2018 Rally. The 2018 Oliver Rally will be held May 4-7, 2018 at Lake Guntersville State Park in Alabama. Lake Gunterville State Park offers many fun activities including an 18-hole golf course, fishing, hiking and biking trails, boat rentals, ziplining and more. More details to come. For now we ask to hold off on questions. We will update the webpage dedicated to the Rally as we get more information. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/rally/

3/4 inch with a six inch extension. Don't use the supplied wrench except in a true emergency or you will put dents in the thin chrome center cap. Plus a 150 ft lb torque wrench! John Davies Spokane WA