(Rhea begins the adventure.)
Our trip to Montana began by meeting Bob and Larry, owners of the Lost Horse
Creek Lodge, at the SeaTac airport and then flying into Missoula, Montana.
Once off the plane we saw just how smoky Montana can be in the summer, due
to forest fires. On the way to the lodge we drove through Hamilton, a cute
little town full of very friendly people (many of them Seahawk fans!)
 When
we arrived at the lodge we were greeted, once again, by some of the friendliest
people we had ever met, including Sam, a New York girl who moved to Montana
just to work at the Lost Horse Creek Lodge. Everyone made us feel so welcome;
they even hung up a big “Welcome Seagals!” sign on the front
of the lodge. It was great! Then the four of us were each taken to our
very own adorable little cabin to unpack and get situated. Afterward we
headed back up to the lodge for dinner, where we were accompanied by well
known fly fisherman John Foust and his lovely wife Edna. After dinner
we socialized with the locals and relaxed while Shelly entertained us
by singing karaoke.
The second day at Lost Horse Creek was the day we rode horses. After
breakfast we all picked out the horse we wanted to ride, and Chuck, the
wrangler, saddled them up. He also led us on our four hour ride. As we
began our trip we were all excited, especially Tiffany, it being her first
time riding a horse. We rode on and off paths, through the trees, up hills,
and then down some very steep ones. We crossed a creek several times and
when we did Shelly’s horse would stop midway and start splashing
around in the water; soon all the other horses were following. We found
this very entertaining, but probably the funnest part of the ride was
when we started trotting and galloping with the horses. The horses apparently
liked it too because we had a hard time getting them to stop!
(Shelly picks up their fly fishing experience.)
Montana was an amazing trip that the four of us won’t soon forget!
Most of us had never been fly-fishing before so we were very eager to try
it. The water was beautiful and the scenery breathtaking. We could tell
that this was going to be a great four-hour float trip down the Bitterroot
River.
 We started
off with a little "fly-fishing 101" since this was our first time.
We went through how to cast, strip the line and how to bring in a fish.
Fly-fishing is definitely more than bait, hook and hope for the best. It
takes a skill set, and we were fortunate enough to have excellent guides
and instructors like John Foust. John was the on-site fly-fishing expert
for the movie “A River Runs Through It.”
A short 30 minutes later and four Sea Gals had learned how to fly fish.
We boarded the rafts and headed down the river. Each of us either sat in
front or the rear of the raft and the guides sat in the middle and directed
the raft downstream. All through the day we kept getting bites and tugs
on the line, which fueled our excitement, but no luck yet in catching any
fish. We stopped midway for a bite of lunch and to relax a bit. Mountains
and endless sky surrounded us; I guess that’s why they call it “Big
Sky Country.” It turned out to be such a warm and beautiful day!
 We finished
up our lunches and headed out again in hopes of that big catch! The end
of the trip grew exciting as we all had a chance to play tug of war with
a fish. Since it was a catch and release river, we had to let the fish go,
but not before we snapped pictures of them.
All in all we had a great time, and we appreciate the opportunity to have
been part of a great Montana fishing trip!
Rhea agrees.
The entire trip, in general, was a great experience; all four of us definitely
had a good time. The lodge, the people, and the environment were all extremely
friendly and relaxing. The Lost Horse Creek Lodge seemed to be the perfect
combination of wilderness and civilization, and would be the perfect get-away
for someone who wants to try “roughing it” without actually
doing so.
Memories of the trip are in the Photo
Gallery. |