Trout Fishing in America

I did everything that I said that I was going to do this weekend, except for maybe the "getting as much work done as possible" part. I did, however, manage to do about four large loads of laundry yesterday! Whoo hoo!

On Thursday, I went to the Tribal Fair and wandered around. It reminded me of the T-burg fair that I went to last year, complete with greasy food, Ring of Fire, the Zipper, the Super Shot, and the "Simulated Adventure Ride." Some major differences: My two friends and I were the only ones I saw who were white; instead of a Demolition Derby there was a rodeo; and there were stands bordering the fair that sold Apache food: Acorn stew, Fry Bread, Apache Burgers, etc.

I had my first Apache Burger. Apache fry bread is like fried pizza crust: it's relatively flat and greasy. For an Apache burger, you take two hamburgers and whatever other toppings (cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, green chilis) and taco it into a serving of fry bread. Mmm, greasy deliciousness. While enjoying that, I went and watched the junior rodeo, cheering for tiny little Apache kids on huge, beautiful horses or watching them get a ribbon from a bull calf after it had been roped and racing it back to the starting line.

I spent the rest of the weekend camping at Hawley Lake (photo above is not mine, but that's Mt. Baldy in the background, the highest peak in the White Mountain range). I saw elk; went trout fishing (trolling) for the first time (with some success!); ate camp beans; enjoyed the rain and stars and moonlight; told stories by the campfire; read; hiked; and went searching for animals (elk, turkeys, deer, osprey, sand hill crane). Another lovely weekend here in the White Mountains.