Menu Planning on the Metolius
I am the reason they serve free drinks at silent auctions and accept credit cards.
But when I packaged my recent “win” — fishing for 4 on Oregon’s famed Metolius River — as Happy Father’s Day, there was all-around approval and merriment.
Photo by Michael Hatten, www.sacredearthstudios.smugmug.com
When I conceded the fishing on the Metolius sounded a little too serious for my don’t-know-how-to-tie-a-knot flyfishing style and suggested the Iron Chef should go with true angling aficionados, a quiet elation filled the room.
That was back in March and now Iron and his fishing buddies, Bo and Zo, are probably assessing the green drake hatch right now. In
between, however, there have been countless hours devoted to trip planning — what kind of flies, which rod weight, what route to take, which breweries to visit, and finally, menu planning.
Now I’ve taken my fair share of road trips with girlfriends. Those of us who are mothers just pack up in the middle of the night when we hear we’re going on a roader responsible only for our own damned selves. We forget a lot of stuff, but the freedom of not having to pack toddler snacks, woobies, a 1,000-piece collection of Hot Wheels, and a library big enough your car gets mistaken for the Bookmobile is intoxicating.
My best friend Lucy once hopped in the car sporting only a soft-sided cooler, a stuff sack that couldn’t have had more than a Kleenex box, and the excellent non-fiction The Bad Girls Guide to Road Trips.
Jumbos in Bruneau, Idaho — a great place to get Slim Jims and Salt and Vinegar chips.
Menu planning is not on the list. Lucy and I have survived for days on convenience store meat and potatoes (Slim Jims and Salt & Vinegar Chips), a Spicy V-8 doing double-time as salad, and Snickers and a lottery ticket for dessert.
Yet somehow I’m married to a man who most likely has a travel-size bottle of capers in his pocket, just in case.
Happy Fishing, man.
Podunk Meets Paradise 
Jumbos will never be the same!
I can assure you that now we’d substitute stinging nettle soup for the V-8.
I saw a bag of fire-eater cheetos during the pack – and the only thing in the cooler was beer… sounds about right
Yum cheetos!
Dear Podunk:
This was a great trip. The only two meals we planned/prepared for 5 days involved meat. We had no capers… We DID have Tabasco. Goes great with halibut and beer. And V-8 and vodka. And I bet Slim Jims… hope you’ll try it out and confirm, betcha most Podunk readers are waiting with baited breath to know.
Neither “Bo” nor “Zo” works for me… I’ll go with Gus “Iron Chef” West’s Happy Contented Friend, who is 10 bucks heavier now after winning the first-fish pool. ‘Bout damn time, those boys schooled me this spring.
Dear Contented:
Baited breath? I thought this was all about the flies…
Glad you had fun!
Pdunk
Baiting a hook and calling it “fishing” is like putting out a bail of hay and calling it “hunting”…
You have something against camp meat I suppose… what if it had Tabasco on it?
I’m sure you already know that Garrison Keillor said, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for day. Teach a man to fish, you give him another reason to drink beer.”
Can’t say I did know that saying, but it’s on my bulletin board now!
Dear wanderingthecdt
Nice little blog you have here..
I am the Photographer that shot the Metolius River image you are using… Could I have you change the link address from my old PanOramio site to my new Web Gallery.
http://www.sacredearthstudios.smugmug.com
It would be greatly appreciated..
I was going to e-mail you directly but I could not find a email link to you on this blog page.
Michael..