A great way to end the season

Here in southern Utah, surrounded by the towering red rock walls of Zion and
Bryce, most people only think of this as desert country. Yes, summer can
hit 120 here, but the Fall, Winter and Spring are incredible.

Last week I took my 9 year old son out of school after lunch and took the
beautifully scenic 1 hour drive to the best fly fishing lake I've ever known
(keeping in mind that I lived in Mammoth Lakes, CA for 10 years and fished
and guided at all the Eastern Sierra hot spots).

We arrived at the reservoir about 2 pm and were in the water in our tubes
by 3pm. This was my sons first outing in a tube and only his 3rd FF trip.
We floated the lake on a calm still afternoon and talked about the Solar
System, why eagles soar, and why a trout thinks a worm would taste good.

We caught about a dozen fish, lost a whole bunch more, and never saw another
person or car. We talked about more things then I have thought about in a
long time. After we were through, we sat in the truck and drank some hot
chocolate and watched the fish rise as dusk descended. Soon deer and elk
were cautiously coming down to the water for a drink. We sat transfixed as
we took it all in. We started home when my son Clinton (named for his
grandfather, not the president) asked me, "Dad, when grandpa died and you
put his fishing pole in the coffin, do you suppose this is what heaven is
like?" I smiled and said, "I sure hope so."