A Shakespearean Mystery Writer; Fish On! New Facebook Page; Need E.E. Help! Thank You Suzanne!

While w-a-l-k-ing the puppies in t-o-w-n, we met a neat couple who wanted to pet Rudy and Gretchen. (Dog owners will understand that we have to spell out those words because our dachshunds would go crazy if we said them aloud.) Lynette is a retired English teacher who is writing a series of murder mysteries based on plays by The Bard himself, William Shakespeare. Cage is a software engineer for a telecommunications company. Both formerly lived in Blacksburg, Virginia, but moved back to Colorado to enjoy the unique atmosphere and outdoor activities that this state offers. We discussed writing and our working lives and how nice it is for at least two of us to be retired (Cage still does that nasty four letter word, w-o-r-k). Lynette and Cage are good examples of why we love to travel in The Bus all over this great country - they are interesting, friendly people that we wouldn’t have ever met had we not “gotten out of Dodge”. I wish Suzanne had been there to meet them, but she was back in Virginia Beach, and I forgot to ask for their number, but maybe they will read this blog and we can get together before we leave the area. 

Sunday was a Good Fishing Day for Your Faithful Correspondent. Jerry Bianchi, husband of Rusty Bianchi, who is cousin to “Grits Girl”, AKA Elizabeth Magee, joined me for a day of trout fishing at St. Vrain State Park, where we are staying. Jerry scored his first trout within an hour, and the second later in the day. Here is Jerry pondering the mysteries of trout fishing with Long’s Peak in the background... not a bad place to spend the day. 

Jerry was very helpful in teaching me some of the finer points of trout fishing, such as which lure to use for these particular Colorado lakes (such as the “Wooly Bugger” lure shown at right). These lures are only an inch or so long, since the trout themselves are only about 12 inches long and have small mouths. 

I changed lures from my Mepps spinner to a Wooly Bugger, and within a few minutes, had this nice rainbow in the cooler. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are among the most sought after food and sport fish in the world, and fight like much larger fish, often throwing the hook and disappointing the poor fisherman. 

A Fish and Wildlife Officer (armed to deal with potential elk poachers during hunting season, but not usually an issue with fishermen) named Josh came around to check our licenses and fish, and stated that ours were good size for these lakes, probably just over over a year old. It seems that the heavy fishing pressure doesn’t allow fish to reach really large sizes in this near-metro area. Josh also gave us very useful information on the five small lakes here. He was the friendliest wildlife officer Jerry had met. We certainly appreciated his advice. 

Not only did Jerry help me with local fishing techniques, he also took me to a great Mexican lunch and donated his two rainbow trout (yes, Bob, I know that I was out-fished) to Suzanne’s Trout Dinner Larder. (I think Jerry knew that My Lovely Bride would be going trout-less unless he made a big sacrifice...)  The three rainbows, a perfect amount for two voracious trout-lovers, made a delightful meal as we enjoyed sunset over the Rockies Monday evening. (Only half of the fish are shown here because our frying pan could only hold that much at one time... Part Two of the feast was still on the stove). 

On Sunday evening, My Lovely Bride flew back from Virginia Beach. I thought about asking her to take a shuttle, but Prudence gave me some advice and I made the 90 mile round trip to pick her up. With delays in Norfolk and Atlanta, she didn't arrive at Denver International until 2100. With the enthusiastic face licks she got from Rudy and Gretchen, she won't have to bathe for several days. The Denver airport is the largest in the USA, covering 35,000 acres, and is guarded by this enormous blue horse, whose eyes are lighted red at night. 

While you folks back in Florida are baking in the heat, we are wearing fleece out here in Colorado, with nighttime temps in the 40s. The Bus has two heating systems, diesel and electric. The electric works fine, but is slower to provide warm air than the diesel. When I lit off the diesel system the other day, it didn't work. In the process of troubleshooting, I removed the cover of the electronic control module (ECM). I expected a simple circuit board and a couple of fuses. Here is the suspect board... I think maybe I should have studied advanced electrical engineering... 

As many of you may have heard, Suzanne's new Facebook page is up and is getting rave reviews. Just search for Suzanne Giesemann on Facebook. Thanks to Bev Garlipp for all her hard work in making this happen, and to Renee Scalzini for her beautiful graphic artistry. On a related note, we just heard from Suzanne Gotesky commenting on this blog; Suzanne was concerned that I would get a swelled head from her very kind comments. Who, me? Suzanne, you made my day!