Family at the cabin - part two

This is two colored pencil sketches of the parents and grandparents at Red Feather Lakes.  The irony of this picture is they are based on photos.  My parents on the left are actually older in the photo than the picture of my grandparents on the right.  Additional irony, I am probably about the age now of my grandfather when this photo was taken.

The family up at the cabin

I have great memories of the times up at the cabin.  We have photos of me on Dad's shoulders, fishing derby with my Cousin Troy and me with our trout, and my mother with my sister as a toddler.

Collectable Colorado Fishing Gear

Wright & McGill, Humpel, Magic Reel are all the names of colorado fishing manufacturers.  Most are lost gone but not forgotten.  Wright &McGill is one of the few still around.  There are still men and women tying flies for the trout streams of Colorado.  This watercolor is of some of the collection.

Our Cabin at Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

We did not go to the cabin much in the winter, but the Rocky Mountains are notorious for their contrary  weather.  A couple of times we did get snow in the spring or fall.  When I went back as an adult with the wife and kids, we did get a quick fall storm which gave us some snow and then melted away the next day.  Such is the Western life, be a good boy scout and be prepared for anything.

James's Birthday

Today would have been your 29th birthday, James.  We celebrated without you and drank a toast in your memory.  You will not be forgotten.  Dad

A series of First - Fishing Pole and Bulldozer

Rudy Weiss was Dad's boss and lunchtime cribbage partner.  He was the one who let the family now about the cabin being for sale.  Ruby gave me my first real fishing pole and I got to ride on the bulldozer which excavated the basement of his larger cabin.  I was probably about 3-4 years old and I got to ride on a bulldozer.  The vignette above is from the photograph of the occasion.  I was scared to death because it was loud and jerky, it was definitely an experience especially once I was safely off the loud machine.

Fishing Gear

Certain Fishing Gear brings me back to the early days of fishing at Red Feathers.  Wright & McGill fishing poles and hooks, Pulaski's Salomon eggs, metal hook holder, the red hook remover, the standard red and white bobber and split shot are all things which bring me back to those days.  Any time I see them it is an instant transportation back.