Larry Fishes, Charlcie Shops

June 25, 2010 I could not travel this far without spending more time on the San Juan, but there was nothing for Charlcie to do while I was fishing. Durango has a very fine trolley system that runs by our motel about every 20 minutes, so that allowed me to take the truck and travel the 50 miles back down to the San Juan. Charlcie was then able to spend the day doing the shopping and tourist thing. She visited most of the unique shops, bookstores, and galleries in town. At the river, it was very surprising that there were so few fishermen on the San Juan on a Friday. I was able to pretty much fish the Upper Flats anywhere I chose. Again, it was a very rewarding day for fishing – maybe I do know a little something about fly-fishing. Was able to land several rainbows in the 15”-17” range, although I didn’t manage to catch any of the 20”+ rainbows that this tailwater is known for. The fish are so colorful and healthy here. The walk from the river back to the truck was made a little more exciting as a small snake swam ahead of me on the watery trail, and then as I was climbing up the switchback trail, a three-foot long snake darted between my legs. I was able to tell it was not a rattler, but haven’t had the opportunity to check a reference to see which variety it was. I was able to return late afternoon so we had time to ride the trolley to the Historic District to have dinner on the patio at the Old Timers Café, a longtime local favorite. Dining on an outside patio under the trees in 60-degree, no humidity weather is such a treat this time of year. We are having such a fun time!