As I am wont to do each post-Extravaganza, it is special for me to reach out and thank each of you who graced us with your presence here in Montana this year and who made E-10 the truly explosive event that it was. It is early here this Saturday morning with a sweet morning breeze wafting through my office windows; John Denver's soft and melodious words emanate from the speakers overhead; and my now trusty pal Ma'am lies at my feet, yet resting from our now-annual trek yesterday up Rock Creek...a right of passage yearly sojourn for me where, in the silence of nature, I travel as far up Rock Creek Road as good sense at the time dictates and then spend the rest of the day "fishing down the Creek" back to Extravaganza Headquarters, (re)soaking up the sights, smells and experiences that this special place in God's own backyard has to offer.
Tomorrow, as each of you have now done, I head to the airport to return to "the reality of it all"--to that other life if mine where practicing law is the order of the day, doing deals is the passion of the time and where I have the privilege to interact with most of you in an advisory capacity. In many ways, my Extravaganza role is little different from that in my "other life"--it is a role of providing opportunity as a trusted advisor to chosen friends and special people (often friends of friends), a role of opening eyes to different ways of doing easily available things that others oft ignore or think of as rote or mundane; and a role of introducing wonderful people to other wonderful people who share the common goal of yearning to derive from this life all that nature wonderfully has to offer--special role(s), indeed.
As I look back on the gloriousness that constituted E-10, think back a moment with me on the Blog-captured special moments E-10, if you would. Who can forget the wonderful antics of the Ignoble Ones who lead the charge this year with waters that, contrary to all earlier predictions, proved to be higher than normal, and whose wine consumption (proudly) matched that higher water mark? Who among the Tattoos is yet unsmiling over the dictionary of new terms that evolved from this year's second foray, to wit: "swimmy things", "brown-fish", "the Blackbitterfork River"....?? And, as to Them Threes, which among you can easily forget the antics of your new-found co-friendships complete with Hooters Hilarity and a third day's spanking of the Twenty Inch Club board with three [count 'em!] new entrants???
As in prior years, the trees here in Extravaganzaland yet peal with your laughter; the aromas from the wonderful repasts your Hostess With The Mostess, Kocktail Kathy, yet fill the inside corners of (y)our Montana home; the fish yet speak of your prowess in their lofty pursuit; and the guides...well, the guides once again are yet spinning from the special contact that they had with each of you, complete with new gag gifts and wonderful stories of your (ad)ventures on the primo rivers of Western Montana with them. Our Double Up Outfitter once again safely delivered to us his menu of 110 boats; our land-based operator the Rock Creek Mercantile again pulled through with licenses and wonderful product; and our daily departure host Kesel's Fly Shop filled in the (very few) blanks that were there to be attended to. And this year, for the first time ever, we were rewarded by our Extravaganza Speakers Program with naturalist Trapper Badovinac, wildlife artist Cynthie Fisher, Five Valleys Land Trust Executive Director Scott Kier and American Prairie Foundation's Jeff Hagener variously headlining for each of our three groups supplemented, of course, the one and only Bob Wire making his special Group Two entrance and by Montana Matters' Troubadour serenading Group Three from the loft with the glorious worlds of his own "Montana Matters" song. The now-legendary Extravaganza cooking of Cowboy Jeff greeted us all, as did the traditional, wonderful Florida-rooted assistance of Hostess relations "Sister Julie" and "Queen Barbie" for our second and third groups.
All in all, looking back on E-10 is simply, but, at the same time, complexly, enough to once again exhaust one!! What fun it all was--what a(nother) special opportunity it was to meet and greet new and old friends alike, to intake the blessed many of you who came to Extravaganzaland as rookies only to leave as now-seasoned veterans, and to unveil to each of you all the wonders that this special place on earth has to offer. As we discussed, because of the hard work and dedication of those that came before us, two hundred [count 'em!] years later, each of you had the opportunity to see the very sights that unfolded to Lewis & Clark when they first traversed Hellgate Canyon only to make their second Traveler's Rest winter's camp in today's Lolo (appropriately, the point of departure for most of our E-10 boats)...what you saw and witnessed happened only because those that came before us had the foresight and wisdom to fight to preserve what is here so that generations thereafter could experience just what we did.
And, as we so experienced, the mantel, the privilege and the responsibility of stewardship so passes on. Appropriately, the words of John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" just appeared...who among us Extravaganzers failed to get that extravagant high...who among us would deny those that follow us that same privilege?? To that end, indeed, Montana Matters and I thank you in advance for your support of that wonderful campaign--a campaign designed to raise sufficient funds to fight, as we must, to preserve what is here in this wonderful state: www.montanamatters.com should be among your extravagant electronic "favorites" and is a wonderful source to sate whatever retail therapy needs you might have to fulfill. For those of you in the Bay Area, mark the evening of Saturday, November 6th as our (second!) annual Extravaganza reunion where, as last year, we will fly in Bob Wire and Shane Clouse to entertain you along with the melodious sounds of The Salty Dawgs and, as we officially put a bow on E-10, both Kathy and I would like to extend a most cordial invitation to each of you (and yours) to return to the scene of it all for Extravaganza 2011--our ninth [count 'em] annual foray into the wonders of Western Montana.
Bless each of you; thank you each for being with us this year and for making E-10 just what it was and, in each of our hard drive memory banks, continues to be. Your Hostess With The Mostess, Kathy Kathy, waives a final E-10 adieu to each of you from her kitchen window and, as to ol' Rock Creek Ron, well, he is tying another fly to adorn his spiffy new bamboo rod and is presently headed down to the Creek to cast one final salute of thanks to each of you that blessed us with the present of your presence this wonderful year.
Best from the now-concluding scene of it all, where Montana Matters!!
Rock Creek Ron
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