Stories

As I watched Johnny walking off, out of sight, across a vast expanse of spring-fed marsh, I stood huffing and puffing. 25 lbs overweight from three months of overeating and driving, I could not follow, and realized Death March Dans star had been eclipsed; it was time to pass the... Read More »

The Tar-Baby is an Uncle Remus story published in 1881; it’s about a doll made of tar and turpentine used by the villainous Br'er Fox to entrap Br'er Rabbit. The more that Br'er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes. In modern usage, tar baby refers to a... Read More »

We can all look back into our respective lives and see that any endeavor we’ve done is the result of a contribution from others. 

We recently encountered Troy Cowles in the Coyhaique region of Chile. Troy was a guide at Crystal Creek Lodge from 1989 until 1999. He was... Read More »

The Oxford Dictionary defines a frontier as “a line or border between two countries”.  By the same source a frontier is also considered to be “the extreme limit of understanding or achievement in a particular area”.  While crossing between Argentina and Chile, we... Read More »

While growing up in Alamosa, Colorado, Lynnette’s Hispanic friends had a plastic Jesus on the dashboard of their truck.  My grandmother had plastic Virgin Mary on her 1961 Falcon. My father kept the same Saint Christopher medal on the dash of every vehicle he owned from... Read More »

For the third time in the trip we had removed the camper from the truck to allow speedier, unfettered travel.     

For those of you who don’t remember, ‘Private Idaho’ was a signature song of The B-52’s, a New Wave band, that came out about 1980. My Own Private Idaho was also the title of a strange movie from 1991, starring the late actor River Phoenix with Keanu Reeves, about the roadtrip... Read More »

As in Forest.  As in “The Petrified”, like our friend, Karl Larson, calls The Petrified Forest National Monument near his home in Showlow, AZ.  Here it’s called El Parque Nacional Bosques Petrificados.   

We’d made the call to pick one... Read More »

We’d spent two days relaxing in El Calafate. 

Much like binge watching Breaking Bad, binge watching glaciers is long periods of semi-captivating story building, auto-conjecture and suspense followed by interjections of OMG!! action. 

After a month of running washboard gravel roads and jarring our kidneys, we’ve decided to hit the asphalt road and go south for Christmas and New Year’s.  (Post note, a lot of the route south has been kidney-jarring gravel road) We might not make the glaciers, which was our... Read More »

Lynnette got into the spirit by picking a bow of a pine tree in the campground at Tres Lagos Argentina.    Those decorations are a combination of a handmade Star, some tinsel fly fishing flies, some berries, and walnuts.

There have been very few days we’ve not seen a gaucho in Argentina.  It’s always a highlight of the day to see a mounted gaucho trotting his horse in a field or on the side of the road, he & his dogs hustling sheep or cattle on their way. It’s an honored profession in this... Read More »

“Pass the big lake then you come to where the stream’s washed-out the road.  From there you can either follow the stream to the lake or follow the trail along side of it. When you come to the lake, you will see this shallow pan of sand at the edge of the dark, deep water. Walk out as... Read More »

On our way south out of Trevelin late one Saturday afternoon we were winding our way along washboard roads up and down some hills on our way to the Valle Corcovado. Lynnette was driving and I was dozing when I awoke to a “thump” on the vehicle that sounded like a big rock striking... Read More »

Before undertaking this trip we had read multiple books by persons who had gone before us on such adventures. All of them advised if you find some place you enjoy, get off the road to remain there to rest & regroup for a few days or as long as felt necessary.

“Anything in that box will work”. Rance Rathe, co-owner of Patagonia River Guides, took one look at my fly box filled with beetle patterns before grabbing his two fly rods, his daughter, Julia and son, Ryan, before heading downstream.  “See you guys at the road in a couple... Read More »

That is what was inscribed on the dry bags tied to the horse panniers.  A two hour drive from Coyhaique found us at a trail head with eight horses being prepared by a pair of huasos (cowboys) and the staff packing goods for shipment into the camp. 

Alfredo the huaso (a term like our US cowboy) had made the asado cross from green sticks so they would not burn while exposed to the heat of the fire.  The coals were banked high and the beef was pitted and roasting. As we sat around the fire watching the process Alfredo offered us... Read More »

Fernando, the chef, was building a bank of coals to grille our evening meal.  Walking over to the wood pile, he selected a quarter-round of split log then placed it under his foot, aligning the axe directly towards his toe as he raised it over his head.  I thought: “This dude... Read More »

One of the biggest reasons we love traveling to fishing lodges is is we re-learn what it’s like to be a guest. It keeps it real for us, and reminds us why people enjoy their experiences when we are the hosts in Alaska.  We get to observe someone else create a service product while... Read More »

A cold front had come through the mountains near Coyhaique.  We had been fighting heavy wind and incessant rain the entire morning. The sun briefly broke through to show the surrounding mountains covered with fresh snow. We had a couple nice Browns to show for our fishing effort, but... Read More »

On our way in to Magic Waters Patagonia Lodge from Coyhaique, we noticed what appeared to be rodeo grounds filled with horses, livestock trucks and men wearing flat-brimmed hats & colorful serapes. They men are called huasos, skilled horsemen similar to the US cowboy or... Read More »

Monty, our guide, explained through a story one of his first big insights to fishing in Chilean Patagonia: “One day while fishing I saw a bird flying along just above the river. A Brown Trout broke water, leapt completely out and literally did a 180 in the air and caught that bird.... Read More »

We attempted to cast to Golden Dorado in the dark water at Los Ombues Lodge in Entre Rios province. 

We threw streamers into a windy tail water creek in La Rioja province. 

We’ve passed many a dark water river flushing with spring... Read More »

Estancia Tecka was founded in 1910 by a British concern. Two Argentine families have owned and managed it’s 425,000+ acres since 1960, mainly to raise sheep, of which they currently have 85,000.  In recent years the family has run the Estancia also as a flyfishing property. The... Read More »

Estancia Tecka was founded in 1910 by a British concern. Two Argentine families have owned and managed it’s 425,000+ acres since 1960, mainly to raise sheep, of which they currently have 85,000.  In recent years the family has run the Estancia also as a flyfishing property. The... Read More »

We had six days to reach Coyhaique, Chile. We’d spent a little more time than we wanted in Mendoza, so, there was some time to make-up. Wine, and good wine, is effectively distributed around this country so we don’t need to stay near the source.  We also determined we were... Read More »

When we purchased our camper in Buenos Aires the dealer linked us into an online group of Argentine camper owners. Among the many welcome messages in Spanish, one couple, Jorge & Fabiana, reached out to us. They inquired if we were coming through Mendoza, and, if we were, would we please... Read More »

The lonely road that was Ruta 40 in San Juan province rapidly became a major thoroughfare of commerce as we entered the Provincial capital city of San Juan and followed it to Mendoza. Imagine a four-lane interstate in the United States packed with huge trucks except it’s two lanes, narrow, and... Read More »

One of the most touching aspects of this journey is the number of people we know, or whom we’ve never met, who wish to help us or connect us. 

Franky Matarazzo is the sales manager at a Lagarde Bodega, and old winery in the Chacras de Coria section of the... Read More »

Ruta 40, the Legendary highway of Argentina. It parallels the Andes from the top of the nation to the bottom. Seeing a couple glimpses of this highway on earlier trips is what sparked the interest in this 4-month journey. 

We are slowly learning that our GPS,... Read More »

We snake our way along Ruta 40 in constant awe of the landscape. 

The forest of tall, blooming cactus reduces to thorny Palo Verde, Mesquite, creosote bush and several species of ground cactus. 

We have several days before an appointment to meet friends in Mendoza. What shall we do?  Whatever we want, of course   

With the Andes in the distance we zig-zag around Córdoba Provence. One night is spent in a community called San Alberto, a place... Read More »

It really wasn’t bad, but it had its moments. 

As we said goodbye to our friends at Los Ombues Lodge, Juan Pablo Sanchez Gave us impeccable directions to a place they all thought would be enjoyable to us, La Cumbre, several hundred kilometers west in the... Read More »

A delight to be here again. Los Ombues Lodge is where I landed for my first Argentine experience in year 2000. I have enjoyed it eight times previously and now Lynnette is here for the first time.  She feels this place harkens back to a potentially simpler time in the human... Read More »

We are at Los Ombues Lodge, having made it our first stop from Buenos Aires. A lot of our camping equipment was smuggled down here in a friends private jet. Not a bad smuggling vessel. Our pirate friends buried the treasure pending our arrival. We’ve spent the last couple days... Read More »

That’s Andres Martin-Vers, he and his brother, Alejandro, own Patagonia Campers. He’s preparing the camper tie-downs, state-of-the-art tension hooks. I spent the day with these guys learning how to rig the camper, unload and load it onto the truck and getting checked out on every... Read More »

One full day in town getting rested from travel then the next a whirlwind day running around Buenos Aires outfitting for the trip. 

Our first stop was a black market money changer.  We swapped $2000 U.S. for 134,000 Pesos.  67/1.  It’s sad to see... Read More »

After a solid day of travel from Phoenix to Buenos Aires, and after a restless night on an American Airlines 787 airplane packed tight, we arrive to the green splendor of the Argentine spring at EZE airport.   Agustin Bustos, the Wonder Friend, greets then transports us to a delightful... Read More »

The fly reels are wound thanks to 3 Rivers Fly Shop in Wasilla. Good job guys. 

I am definitely taking more reels than are needed on this adventure. I like old reels. I like old reels the way Imelda Marcos likes shoes (young people, Google her). The sound of a click-pawl... Read More »

It’s always a challenge to pack light, and it’s especially challenging to pack light for a four month trip.

In these final days of preparation we are making piles on top of folding tables looking at our gear and deciding what needs to go and what can be shorn from the... Read More »

100 days into the idea and nothing secured regarding a truck or camper.  It felt very frustrating and unfulfilling.  

From everything I had "heard", a gringo doing anything in Argentina is near impossible due to the considerable red tape to be encountered. Up to this... Read More »

We arrive in Buenos Aires October 30 to take delivery of the truck.  

We began shopping for it January 1.  

It started with a conversation in the darkest days of an Alaskan winter.  Clayton, the head of aircraft maintenance at Crystal Creek... Read More »

This is a dream that’s been 35 years in the making. A dream that was set aside numerous times for the fulfillment of many, many others.

In June of 1984 I set out from Scottsdale Arizona with a good friend, Rick, on a coming-of-age trip to travel around the United States in a... Read More »