Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas!

 &

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all the happiest of Holiday Seasons! Take time to enjoy the blessings of Family and good Friends and don't forget to take time to simply enjoy the lights, sights and sounds of Christmas. May the grace of our heavenly father be upon you all the days of your life!

Santa Fe at Christmas time is absolutely Beautiful, wouldn't you agree? This year has been especially awesome thanks to plenty of snow that has really helped to get us all into the Holiday mood.

My Secret Place - El Vado Ranch New Mexico

The video above was taken at El Vado Ranch about 11 miles from Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico. The stretch of river you are watching is part of the Chama River, approximately 3 miles below the El Vado Lake Dam. The ranch offers wonderful accomodations and is pretty much accessible year round. The owner is a dear friend named David Cooper. Hope you make time at some point soon to visit Coopers El Vado Ranch. When you do please give my friend and brother David a big hug from me and Jannie please.

Fishing The Chama River at El Vado Ranch

El Vado Ranch

One of Northern New Mexico's Premier Trout Fishing Spots

Spent some quality time at David Coopers ranch in September. We were only there for a few days, but, found plenty of time to get in some trout fishing. Check out the fish below. I caught this beautiful brown about downstream from the ranch. The fish is approximately 22 inches in length and was pretty big and fat! The Chama river trout fight as hard as any fish I've caught anywhere. This particular fish fought for well over 10 minutes before I was able to finally land it. In fact, I never got a look at the fish, other that a couple magestic arial leaps in the middle of the river, until just before I netted it.

I have been fishing at Coopers El Vado Ranch (http://www.elvado.com/) since I was a little child. In fact, I grew up with current ranch owner, David Cooper. David took over the ranch from his parents some years ago. The ranch is located near the El Vado Dam and is approximately a 2 hour drive north from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The ranch has some of the best fishing around. The cabins at the ranch are well maintained and equipped for full kitchens. I suggest that you make a grocery stop at the Walmart in Espanola before coming up as the nearest restaurant is High Country in Chama.

While you are up in Northern New Mexico, you also should take a day and drive 2 hours over to Navajo Dam. Just below the dam is the San Juan River. This river is world famous and contains some incredible fish. I took my father, Roy Lein, over for a day of fishing and he and I had an incredible time. We caught plenty of fish and really enjoyed our day together. The river is catch and release and no live bait can be utilized. We grabbed a guide and used a float boat which I highly recommend. This river is truly too deep to effectively wade much. There are some nice spots for wading, however, those spots would be pretty hard to hike into.

You can see a complete photo gallery of the float trip by clicking the following link: (http://flylineusa.com/san-juan-river-float-trip.html). I promise you that a day at the San Juan will be well worth the trip.

Recent Photos From New Mexico

San Juan River - 2 Miles Below Navajo Lake Dam

Chama River - 2 Miles Below El Vado Lake Dam

San Juan River - Ducks Enjoying The River And Some Wonderful New Mexico Sunshine

Check Out Helton Creek Falls - North Georgia Mountains

 

Helton Creek Falls

North Georgia Mountains

Hiked into Helton Creek Falls the other day. It was well worth the effort. How beautiful is this place! The temperatures here in Georgia have already reached into the high 90's. That sights and sounds of the Falls just makes you want to climb into that stream and cool off doesn't it!

                

Crossing The Swinging Bridge - El Vado Ranch New Mexico

Chama River - New Mexico

Coopers El Vado Ranch

Thought you would enjoy seeing the beautiful Chama River in northern New Mexico. Watch the video and between 3 to 4 minutes in, you can experience what it is actually like to cross the old swinging suspension bridge. The bridge is attached to a tree on one side of the river and bored into the mountain on the other. I highly recommend this activity! I have been crossing this bridge since the age of 6 and can't think of anything or any place I enjoy more. By the way, my good friend David Cooper, has some awesome cabins that he rents that are located right along the river. Great for fishing, hunting or just getting away from the big city for a week or so.

                 

Gunnison Colorado Is Gorgeous

Flyline Search Marketing Leadership Team

Black Canyon - Gunnison, Colorado

The Lein's enjoyed a quite moment in Gunnison, Colorado while taking in the Black Canyon National Park. The walls of the canyon are incredibly steep and well suited for extreme rock climbing. Mark & Jan had been in Leadville, Colorado while crewing and pacing for David Hersey who had been participating in the Leadville Trail 100 "Race Across The Sky." The drive from Leadville to Black Canyon took approximately 7 hours, but, as you can see from the incredible photos, was well worth the effort.   

Black Canyon Gorge - Stretches 53 Total Miles
Black Canyon was carved out by the Gunnison River, which flows through the heart of the canyon. As you can see, the walls of the canyon are really steep and very sharp. The river at the bottom of the canyon is hundreds of feet below the top of the gorge. From the top of the canyon, the river is an absolutely beautiful shade of turqoise. The river is full of huge trout, but, fishing in the gorge is virtually impossible. The park does offer access to the bottom of the gorge, but, I suggest you take a camera versus a fishing pole. There is a total of 14 miles of canyon that falls within the boundaries of the Black Canyon National Park. The canyon itself actually stretches for more than 53 miles total. To give you an idea of how steep the river fall is in the park, the Gunnison falls an average of 95 feet per mile. That is staggering when you compare it to the Colorado River which falls only an average of 7.5 feet per mile.

The cabin you see above is acutally the ranger station and main visitor center for the park. These park rangers really know how to live don't they! How would you like to work in a place with this kind of view everyday?  

                                

It's Still Winter In Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Hot Spring Near The Paint Pot Area

Winter still has a very strong grip on Yellowstone National Park. In fact, it's still freezing cold in the park at this point in February. The first glimmers of Spring are still more than a month away. I really enjoy the special beauty of this place. There aren't many places in the World where you can see images like the one above. The geo-thermal features of Yellowstone are absolutely phenominal.

The photo above was taken at the West Thumb of the Geyser Basin area. Winter time in Yellowstone provides an incredible opportunity to see things you would never see any other place in the World.