Summary: Memorial Day Night (or, Cadillac Ranch)

(still posting the entries written en route to Flag)

In order to make some headway towards Flagstaff, and leave time to catch a glimpse of the Grand Canyon, we left our little desert camp and drove a couple of hours to Bluff, UT, where Ike’s old pal Clay and his wife Anne live… or used to. Clay is gone already; Anne is still in town but not for long and not living in their house before the big move to CA, and since we all needed showers badly and their water is now off, we called ahead to the Cadillac Ranch in Bluff and reserved one of their last spots available that night.

Ike had procured two camping guidebooks before the trip, which have already come in very handy – and in this case when Ike and Nate were looking for a place near Bluff, we were all very excited to hear that not only does the Caddy Ranch provide bathrooms, showers, electric and water hookups, but FREE FISHING in their little pond.

Upon arrival, we dropped Nate off (he’s quite experienced w/ a hook and line) and drove the Chief to the convenience mart for a few supplies. By the time we got back, Nate had hooked 3 bass (Basses? Bassi? just kidding) and was working on grabbing a fourth. And this was without bait, with only a rubber worm! A few minutes later Ike reported that Nate caught a big daddy bass and had sated his fishing frenzy for the night.

It was quite a sight to see Phil and Nate working on cleaning all the fish and Nate cutting a couple fillets out of each. Especially since this was done on top of a rock, at night, with Ike holding a lantern and visiting with Anne, while I stood at the ready with a plate for the fillets. We didn’t have anything except pancake mix to bread the fillets with, and after Chef Nate proclaimed that to be too weird, he simply pan-fried them with butter and lemon, salt and pepper. We stood by the Coleman and ate them by hand, and called it a magnificent fresh dinner (had our fridge issues been resolved, we would have certainly had at least a salad with, but alas... that's another story).

Phil was not as interested in the meal, however. He had been holding each fish while Nate worked on the fillets, and got bitten a few times by the bigger ones who were understandably upset about their near future. Phil said he was happy to help with the task, but is not much of a fish eater and after having the role of assistant fish-cleaner, it was a little too personal for him to make a meal of them also. Perhaps a karma thing, and I can understand; after all, I didn’t have to hold the fish. I was right next to all of the task and did not find myself to get too upset, thankfully, because I am a fish eater and don’t want to stop being one. Maybe next time I need to get my hands into the task and see if I can handle it and enjoy the meal afterwards. Hope we get a chance again, especially if there are trout to be had!