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Saturday Aug 21, 1999 Got up and had coffee at Sharf’s restaurant (coffee not particularly notable; usual fare for restaurants). Location wa by old Montana prison. Undoubtendly we would have had some of our party from the year before committed to there given that there was a high school dance the night before! This trip was pretty tame but we caught a lot more fish!
Talked to waitress and a customer at the breakfast place who recommended we fish the Clark Fork river by town, the Little Blackfoot by Garrison, Warm Springs by Anaconda, Georgetown Lake, the Catch & Release Ponds by Warm Springs Cr. along I-90. First we had to get our Montana fishing licenses. Found the Ace Hardware store. They suggested the Clark Fork and the toxic tailing settling ponds for Catch & Release Fishing (same as the ones by Warm Springs Creek along I-90). 2-Day license was $10. Took exit 20 off I-90 and found the famous Catch & Release Ponds. These ponds (which are really big!) are part of an EPA Superfund cleanup program to cleanup the toxic heavy metals being leached from the mining tailings from the Anaconda copper mine. So we are now fishing in water in which signs advise you not to swim but you can picnic along the shore and you can fish (and wade) but you can’t eat the fish. Which by the way, can be pretty large as we saw!
Fished in Warm Springs Creek (just downstream from the state mental hospital), also fished in Silver Bow Creek (outflow from the ponds), and in the Clark Fork (which is formed by the joining of Warm Springs and Silver Bow Creeks. Also fished in the settling ponds themselves as well as in some additional ponds known as the Job Corps ponds. While there were lots of fish and some really big ones, the whole ambience of the superfund cleanup site, the I-90 adjacency, and the "drive up and fish" process made the experience fun but not as enjoyable as the more pristine and aesthetically attractive fishing in Yellowstone. However, we did have all the advantages of being close to Deer Lodge. Had a huge thunder and lightning show come upon us in the afternoon with the requisite large and hard hailstones. This one really pounded the water with large hailstones; wonder what the fish were thinking when this was going on? Finally got off the river/creek after the hail pounding and started to head west. Drove by the Little Blackfoot River in Garrison but couldn’t find public access; only access we saw was through a private campground that may have been where the guy in the breakfast place was sending us. Not clear. Kept on heading west and stopped to look at the Clark Fork by Bearmouth where two of us had an interesting night a couple of years ago. Floated a live hopper down the Clark Fork and it went forever it seemed but no one wanted to rise from the depths to eat it. Back on the freeway and headed west. Cruised by Missoula, then St. Regis, and then stopped for gas in Wallace. It was late in the afternoon and no red lights were seen to be turned on except for traffic lights. Heading down the highway decided to run on in to Seattle. Traded driving shifts as we went and arrived in Seattle late in the evening. Home at last! Sunday August 22, 1999 JR & AM returned the minivan to the National Car Rental folks. They said fine; the trip was over. Time to plan next year’s trip!!! Trip Summary Statistics (courtesy JR) Total Miles Driven 2559 Total Fuel Used 137 gallons Total Trip Average MPG 18.67883 (approximately) Highest Price Paid for Fuel $1.469 (West Yellowstone) Lowest Price Paid for Fuel $1.379 (DeerLodge) Average Price Per Gallon $1.415 Total Hotel Bills $674.43 Highest Paid Hotel One Horse $101.65/night Lowest Paid Hotel Scharf’s $43.68/night Average Price Paid per Night $84.30375 Total Paid into Kitty $960.00 (not including van and first night hotel) Total per person paid back from Kitty $49.00 Total cost of Kitty per person $271.00 Total cost of van rental $493.74 Total cost of van per person $164.646 Total fuel saved not using Andy’s Truck 118 gallons Total cost of fuel not used by average price $166.38 Total cost of van by not using Andy’s truck $327.56 Total cost of van per person not using Andy’s Truck $109.1866 Total Amount JR spent on trip $760.00 Total Value of Trip $ Priceless
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