Been dealing with a bad knee for a while and I can't take it anymore. Saw the Surgeon yesterday and he took more X-Rays to confirm my left knee is bone on bone   He said the soonest he could do a full replacement was Christmas Eve    I mentioned I was hoping to have it done between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he looked at his schedule again and said he thinks he can squeeze me in sooner, looks like I'll be spending lots of time with Mongo next month

 I had a brainstorm and decided to start a project just in case we wanted to getaway for a weekend without dragging the 5th wheel. Since I got a camper shell for Bad Pig, why not spruce it up a bit and make it habitable for spur of the moment trips The 5th wheel hitch comes out no problem but the rails remain in the bed, so I had to work around them and this is what I came up with
 



Skinned it with 1/4" plywood to keep the weight to a minimum, everything else is 1/2" and 3/4"



I had an idea of what I wanted but no specific plan, just build as I go and I will admit that only having one eye sure made things tough, I measured multiple times and got different measurements     Just had to take my time and keep plugging along ! Time to build the drawer and put a lid on the bed platform




I used a torch and burned the Plywood to bring out the grain, sanded and put a sealer on it, turned out cool I think


Next was time to build a side cabinet for more storage and a support for the bed extension.



At this point my knees and back were killing me from going in and out of the truck but I had to make sure everything was a good fit.



Indoor/outdoor carpet was used for the top and I forget how many trips to Home Depot, I made sure to buy more than I needed and that worked in my favor




Measure twice and cut once.....more like measure 10 times   I had to install the rails for the bed extension and it had to be exact



I trimmed it out with aluminum angle to keep the corners and edges from splintering even though I sanded, plywood always splinters
 


By now I have created quite the mess in the Shop and it was growing each day  


I worked on this every day and the weekends, I think I spent a total of about 14 days, but I had to give myself a few breaks in between as I got frustrated with limited vision and sore body parts from constantly climbing in and out. Today I wrapped things up and I am about 95% complete. Had to represent and add a few stickers to give it Character !







I managed to squeeze in a trip to Bass Pro on Friday, Janie had to start Christmas shopping   
Now it's time to get The Cyclops wet again

 Well, Bad Pig was recovering from Surgery and I needed a break so I loaded up the Hearse and headed to Bishop and Mammoth for 5 days. The traffic started backing up just North of Elsinore


A local Volcano is always cool to see, lots of Lava Rock all around and I'm sure Tom would be in heaven looking for Artifacts


Coming into The Owens Valley the smoke was pretty thick from a fire brewing on the other side


I hit a favorite spot before I got to Bishop and landed a Brown on a Hookup Bait



I goofed around here and there and didn't catch much so I hit the Grocery Store before heading up the hill to the house. Time to cook up the goods to make Breakfast Burritos for the next few days



Thursday I hit a cool spot I like to fish before my buddy showed up. This place has some cool scenery and I usually do pretty good here. The crowds were gone and apparently so were the fish   I landed one here and that was it.



I stumbled upon this bird, not sure what kind, Hawk or Eagle but he had his wings spread like he was drying them and they were an easy 8'   I whistled at him and he walked across the log. then I noticed his buddy on a stump, I assumed they were fishing or bathing but it was cool to see so close up, Mother Nature is very cool !   



My buddy showed up and we drove all over and threw some lures but the water levels were down and the Skunk was on



Friday was Pre-fishing for the Tournament so we took the Pontoon out on Lake Crowley The Lake is really low




Fun day on the lake and then a Storm rolled in and it rained for about 10 minutes.





This place is a Fly Fisherman's Paradise, so this is a normal sight everywhere up here.


We put the Pontoon in a slip for overnight and then signed up for the Tournament and got ready for Saturday, the big day




Saturday morning we are on the water before 7am and it was foggy



The sun came up and it was a beautiful day. My friends were hooked up pretty quick on the Fly Rods and the excitement set in




When someone hooks up, they raise a red flag and a Ref. comes over and measures the fish (points based on size) The fish must remain in the net and in the water.



I didn't pay the $125 entry fee cause I ain't no Fly Fisherman   I tossed around a Hookup Bait and caught a couple Rainbows and that was it. Still a fun day on the water the Tournament was over at 1pm so we headed back to the festivities Cool scenery back to the dock.




Food was served and the Raffle and Prizes were handed out, we stuck around to eat and chit chat for a bit but we didn't win anything. It was fun just to be a part of an Annual Tournament and seeing how different things are up here, it's all about Flies and they take it SERIOUS !






Between the Lake and Tim's house is a Bar at Tom's Place, Historical Landmark, Just just like JoJo the Bartender, she has been here for 45 years   Not much of a Dental Plan but she is a nice lady and takes care of the locals. I don't drink so she kept me hydrated with Club Soda




Sunday morning I headed back home, but I just had to make a Pit Stop along the way





Calamari and Fries to hold me over for the last leg of the journey home


Time to put miles on my truck so I can resume towing The Cyclops !

 Since I can't tow right now I hopped on Richard's Boat




Headed to LJ and looked around, took a while before I landed anything
 

Lots of Dinks and I lost a few nice ones too , oh well, I got some Taco Meat


Hope to get back out there soon

 Last trip to Turners, Squid was $10 a pound The other day I was coming home and saw an Asian Market so I popped in and found this for $5 a pound


No Thanks Turners

I really should start catching my own

 Time for a little Surgery for my truck, only 109k miles but the joints are worn and need replacing
Took it to a Front End Shop and got the estimate to bring it back up to snuff and being a 4wd just added to the chaos but it needs to be done in order to keep towing The Cyclops Complete front end rebuild happens this Friday, but first I need 6 new tires (Dually) so by Monday and 9 Thousand Bucks later, Bad Pig will be road worthy for many more years to come

 The Cyclops was due to get wet so I met my buddy at Dana Landing at 6am, we launched and away we went. Conditions were great and I think I only saw 1 or 2 other boats, Mondays are the best !



Nice Sunrise in Mission Bay



We hit a few spots and Richard found the Dinks 


Lots of variety but on the small side so we descended quite a few   I lost a monster too   Oh well, it's fishing




We managed to get some Taco Meat


Back to the dock at after 3pm, I knew traffic would suck


Traffic did suck and something flew up on the freeway and gave Cyclops a bruise



Hope to get back out soon

 Well, The Pig Party was a success as usual so it was time to take a break and head North for a getaway to relax. My Buddy let us have his Vacation Home for 5 days since he wasn't going to be there till next weekend(AWESOME) 1st stop was Owens River just below Bishop to see if there were any Biters
 



I could see them but they had Lock-Jaw 


No hookups so we hit the local Vons to stock up on food, a storm was brewing    Typical for this time of year, 95 degrees and rain


Getting late in the day so we stopped for Dinner once we made it up the hill from Bishop.




Made it to the house and Janie was ready to get settled in


The Hearse got wasted from the rain, she got all spotted up



Sunrise at this place is great


Janie wanted to Venture North since this was her Vacation and we were celebrating our 36th Anniversary, this was my 4th trip up here this year so she pulled rank on the first day



Walked around Bridgeport and did some shopping   Cool little town


Next stop was Bodie then Lee Vining





The next day we went back to Bishop to see our favorite spots, it never gets old being up in elevation and taking in the beauty of it all !







Lake Sabrina was a bit low, I thought it would be full but they always let water in and out for some reason.



Time to find some fish again, Janie relaxed and read a book while I scouted, remember, this is her getaway 

 
Had to water a tree along the way but we found fish......about 40 or so all on a Rooster Tail




The next day was rinse and repeat and I ended up with about 60, Hookup Baits worked even better  






Monday rolled around after landing about 100 Trout, we were going to stay till Tuesday but it's always nice to come home with a day left to chill and unwind. We left about 6:30am and stopped in Bishop one last time for some Treats




Since we were passing by on our way home



Great trip and nice to be home so Janie wanted to "Look" at at RV's to get ideas on a smaller rig, our 36' 5th Wheel is way too big to navigate most of the Campgrounds up there so a 2nd rig would be nice
Just Looking today !!!


Today we had a Lunch Date with a visit to Carlsbad for a bite to eat



Ok, time to chill on the Junk Food and get back to reality   Thanks for looking and be safe out there !

I have video of all the action, not sure how to post them here but I'll try this

https://imgur.com/a/czhMugk
https://imgur.com/a/wOihrWB
https://imgur.com/a/OTZccuy

 Well, time for The 28th Annual Pig Party and it ain't a party without Cheez
 

Then more Trailer Trash showed up


Decorations were in order too



Time to get busy and get the Pig and load it into Max's new truck



Pig Prepping is a snap after all these years





The pit was all ready to light and I needed to 86 a couple Bar Stools, Cheez lit the Flare and we had fire !




We threw wood from 5pm till about 11pm





The Rocket flew over the house too


Time to bury Mr. Pig






Saturday, time to PARTY ! My neighbor even had shirts made up  
 

People were showing up and things took off from there, even had a Little Italy sighting



Time do dig




Chow Time, the line was long








I believe Tom knows this Mechanic from The Wild Animal Park


Some great friends from Elementary and High School


Sunday rolled around, time to clean up and return some stuff back to SDG&E (Aaron works there)


The neighbor came and loaded their stuff and Cheez rolled out too 



As of today, The Pit is still hot and will be for a couple weeks


Great party as usual, hopefully some fishing buddies show up one of these years

 Haven't been to Bass Pro in over a week   Been too busy getting ready for the Annual Pig Roast, so that means work ! The big chore was trimming the Giant Bird of Paradise



Then a little weeding on the slope


Had to stock up on Supplies too


I had to move some dirt and do some grading with my Skiploader, then some Trailer Trash showed up 




The Twins helped get the Pit ready and stockpile some wood:)




This will get the fire started


This will get it close to cooking temperature, might need 1 more load


Well, the yard is looking pretty good so far, almost ready to Party


A few minor details and it's Go Time !

 My Brain Tumor ruptured back in 2014 and really Jacked me up for a long while and I really never got back to 100% as far as my balance was concerned   I adapted and got by after some Vestibular Therapy, then I lost my Left Eye and that was a challenge, but once again I adapted and got by. I get an MRI of the Brain once a year and so far the Tumor has remained stable but I have noticed my balance is off again like it was in the beginning I started Vestibular Therapy again and it has been brutal. They say I will probably never be 100% again but I have to at least try. The exercises at the facility are intense and when I leave it just puts me in a weird mood but at least I am alive and I can still drive I've seen a Neurosurgeon since 2014 and he finally referred me to a Neurologist for an evaluation and he referred me to the Top Specialist in Ca. so I am waiting to see him in August. In the meantime I am planning more time on The Cyclops and at least one more trip to Bishop/Mammoth as long as my kneed holds up (F*CK)

Rant over, hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July weekend !!! 

Well, I finally got The Cyclops wet again. Decided to head south for a change into new territory after a brief stop at The Whistler Buoy. Nothing but Dolphins there so we headed South to The I B Pipe, scratched a few there and that was it.



Ray got a short Halibut


The wind picked up and so we headed back to The Bay, not at 30MPH like the trip down, had to take it slower cause it got a bit bumpy and the wind was causing some spray on the windshield, oh well, Cyclops handled it just fine Got back to The Bay and used Spot Lock on a few areas and Richard (Ray's Twin Brother) got a Sand Bass



Made it back to The Launch Ramp, time to head home



Hit some Traffic  cause of this


A quick Fry for Dinner tonight


Hope to get back out soon !

 I usually go to Bishop in June for my Birthday but my 40 Year Class Reunion falls on that weekend so I decided to go the week before. Janie hung back this time to get some things taken care of After packing up Bad Pig, I hit the road at 6:30am on Wednesday morning


A few miles shy of Bishop there are some side roads with some canals that come off of The Owens River, I stopped to have a look. Water was stained a bit but worth a look cause the fish are in there too



I tried to fish Pleasant Valley Reservoir but.....  



I goofed around then headed up to about 8000 feet and started looking for fish, eventually I found a few




Haven't fished The Upper Owens for a while so why not give it a go, another scenic area Got checked by Fish and Game for License and also this area is Barbless and Artificial only. Luckily I had filed off the barbs on my hook, Mr. Warden looked very closely too   He was cool and gave me a few spots to try out 




Got to the house and settled in, Tim wasn't going to be there till Thursday night so I had the place to myself 


Did some scouting around and fished a bunch of creeks but the water was pretty rough in some spots due to all the snow melt. Worked my way over to Convict Lake, such a beautiful place !



Friday we all took a drive up above Mammoth to the June Lake Loop, we fished Rush Creek but the damn Mosquitoes were terrible !!! Not much fishing going on   We did find a few pools and scratched a few here and there





Lots of Hiking in between fishing and letting Tim's dog play in the water




Saturday was Lake Crowley Day, June is hit and miss on the lake cause of the Algae Bloom and it's still early in the season, didn't matter cause we were on the water and having a great time ! I had made some Breakfast Burritos beforehand 








Time to BBQ and chill by the stream in the front yard !




Up and on the road Sunday morning, back to reality




Got out cheap, had Lunch and bought a Yeti Cool Cup



Will be back in August or September, in the meantime the salt is calling

About 2 months ago I went "Looking" at Camper Shells and found the one I wanted, It had to be custom made for my truck since it's a 2003 Long Bed. Well it came in on Friday so I had it put on today


Everything was going well till the owner walked over to me and said there was a problem I'm leaving in 2 days, I don't need a problem !!!  Apparently the guy on the forklift somehow F*cked up the back window frame of my $5000 purchase  



It bent the window frame and racked it out of alignment so it doesn't close all the way and only one side latches   A little black Duct Tape to spruce it up a bit


He felt really bad and ordered a new window frame and window, 2-3 weeks out So I now roll into Bishop with this one. At least it still locks on one side for now

I think I like it for the occasional short trip, then take it off and hook up the 36' Toy Hauler for longer trips



Typical Monday !

 Every Sunday morning for the past 6 or 7 years we meet a group of friends at 8:30am at Lake Wohlford Cafe or a few other choice places for Breakfast. This past Sunday most of the Clan was going to be out of town and one just had his Knee replaced so Janie and I decided to head North to the Toy Store   It didn't take her long to set the tone for the day


Lunch was sounding good so we chilled for an hour and had a nice meal. The usual

 
First things first.....grab a cart and get busy





Even the Yotes were glad to see her back at it 


Checkout was quick this trip, thank God ! 1 bag and a few Gift Cards, time to hit the road


I grabbed a few Trout goodies and a Bass Jig, along with some wood chunks a Cargo Divider and a Rod Sock. I'm good till next Sunday when I return to replace what I donate to the Owens River


Bad Pig will explain in another post about another topic

 I had a Date with a chainsaw today for 3 hours, now I feel old as hell because I completed my chore, took a shower and called it a day. Took a seat in my Recliner for a bit and when I tried to get up my back, hands and knees were sore as Hell !       I hobbled to get some muscle relaxers and I am DONE !
 


 
58 and feeling like it too, fishing is much easier 

I have been working on this pile of wood for 4 or 5 years at least, it is down to the last few pieces and my Cousin needs it gone so he can widen the access for the 10 Wheelers
 


The little tractor made quick work of it and the trailer was loaded in no time !





The last piece is too heavy for the little tractor, might need to get The Cat Loader or cut it into smaller pieces. Anyway, there is another pile down the road that I can have as well but I can only get to it during the week cause all the 10 Wheelers are parked in the way.


More to come and the Log Splitter will be in action soon, hopefully between fishing adventures on The Cyclops

 I had the privilege of fishing with some cool people in honor of Don Hansen up in Dana Point on Thursday.



 
Director of Product Development for Okuma, nice guy


I'm sure you all know these guys too



I hung out with Chad and Wayne quite a bit and had some good laughs   The Sun finally came out and it was beautiful out there


I got a few Rockfish right away, everyone got limits of Reds pretty quick since you can only have 2 I threw a few back cause they were pretty small


We moved around and it was a wide open Calico Bite for a long time, lots of Barracuda too and Lisa got a White Sea Bass   (SHORT)
 

Great fun and conversation with these guys all day is hard to beat !



I was a contender for The Jackpot with a nice Sheephead but Matt got me with his Bocaccio


Dave cleaned my fish



Back to The Harbor to celebrate and have Dinner at Jon's Fish Market
 



Now just waiting for nice conditions to get The Cyclops wet !

I got a call from my cousin, he has a source for a lot of Oak. I met him at the spot and he was already loaded up.


My turn to load up, luckily there was a helper there that did all the lifting


As I was about to head out, I jokingly told my cousin that his trailer load would look good at my house 
he said "that's where it's going"    He has so much wood already so he wanted me to have this load. Such a deal !!!


He followed me home and we unloaded

 


I have some work to do now, this needs to be split cause we are getting more in a couple weeks

 After Bad Pig got a bath,I made the Trek up North for "Fishmas" and was greeted with overcast skies and traffic on The Cajon Pass




As usual it cleared up at the top


The Sierras still had snow and it's always a great sight to see after going thru the Desert full of Lava Rocks and Cactus


Opening Day wasn't till Saturday so I was limited to where I could fish. The Lower Owens was open and I made a few stops and found a few players. The water was a bit stained but I had time to kill
 



I had my eye on another Hoof for Tom      Them pesky Cows are everywhere in the Valley



Mid week I had the water to myself at the Power Plant and hooked a nice one   I took a video of the catch but holding the phone and reeling a fighting fish against the current of the river was a CLUSTER 
 

Got to the house and had the place to myself till The Crew showed up



There was 8 of us so we were busy and we also ate like Kings as usual






One of the days my buddy and I walked across the street to the park to let his dog run around, Lake Crowley was calling us



Saturday arrived and we headed to the Lake, the weather had other plans, it was only 30 degrees and it started to snow as they were Float Tubing



After an hour we had enough and went back to the house to unload the Tubes and headed back down the hill to warmer territory. Found Bad Pig getting covered in snow, first time since I owned the truck
 


We never bothered to scout around up in the higher elevations cause it would have been a Zoo to say the least, sun or snow, Opening Day is a Sh*T Show

Some of the guys hit the Jacuzzi, I was taking pics of the property from inside as the snow turned the trees all white.....such a cool setting 



Sunday, the day to come home so I hit the road early and made the Trek back to reality with snow on my hood till I got past Bishop.



Made a Pit Stop at the Toy Store and had my usual....Calamari and Fries 



Too bad Janie wasn't with me, Pontoons were everywhere     



Hope we get a break in the weather, The Cyclops is due to get wet !

Oh yeah, I made it out of Bass Pro under 70 bucks     Funny how that works when you fly Solo