August

Fished Slough Creek for a bit, though the wind was killer. No fish brought to hand, so I moved on.

I instead went up to investigate Tower Creek, a brook and rainbow trout fishery near, oddly enough, Tower Store and Tower Campground. I figured the steep valley of Tower Creek would help cut some of the wind.

It did, and I caught fish- picking pocket water for spunky ten inch rainbows and brookies. It was fun, dapping bushy dries behind boulders and pools, some not much bigger than a kitchen sink, and pulling up bright little gems of fish. Shame I didn’t bring my camera. I fished till dark, catching a couple dozen brookies from four to twelve inches, and one rainbow about ten inches long. Beautiful.

I got back to Cooke City hungry, on the prowl for a big, greasy burger. I wandered around the main drag, peering into windows and looking for such sustenance- but all the places had a half hour, forty minute wait. I was impatient.

I did, however, wander across the street to a quiet little establishment with a green awning advertising burgers. I slipped in, and immediately realized why the place was so vacant- it wasn’t a burger joint at all, but a mid-class place seemingly owned and operated by a handful of beautiful women with thick eastern European accents. I, on the other hand, stank of fish and sweat, and hadn’t shaven since God only knows when.

It didn’t prevent me from eating a heaping plate of chicken alfredo. Content, I went back to my campsite and slept.