Hopefully by the time you all are reading this in the newspaper, Ol’ Dutch will have found his way to Colorful Colorado once again for my yearly sojourn. I have been delayed due to construction issues with our new house and hopefully that will be taken care of on Tuesday at the latest. This also means that once again Miss Trixie and I will be cohabitating under the same roof and having fun, fun, fun. It will put an end to the ugly rumor that she finally wised up and left Ol’ Dutch for good, too. 

I hear that she has been super busy shuttling fishermen up and down the river and also working for Mountain Man Rafting/Narrow Ridge Outdoors in South Fork. We have been doing this for several years now and it's a lot of fun.  Meeting new people each year adds a little cash to the pocket and gets me on the river every day during the summer. Many days we drive up and down the canyon ten times and I have to say I never get tired of the drive. I always see something new each and every time so it's perfect for me. 

As most of you know, Miss Trixie over promises everyone around her and already this past week she was complaining about being tired. I tried to explain to her that she is causing her own tiredness but just like most women, she didn't want a solution just comfort and a willing ear to bend. 

So, imagine my surprise – well not really – when I got a text from her detailing all the work and activities for the week ahead and noticed that there was not much time in there for sleeping. What with driving all day for work and bingo at Creede, concerts, open houses, trivia nights, meetings, dinners, sing-a-longs, tie dye classes, yoga, line dancing, plant swap, farmer’s market and the Westward Bound Festival, it's no wonder she is exhausted. 

And what is worse is I am sure I forgot a few things like the Amish dinners and auctions, Creede huge garage sale, fishing, Silver Threaders Moonlight Hike and cookouts on the full moon, playing cards with Gidget and Moon Doggy and the list goes on and on and on. And just like the Energizer Bunny, Miss Trixie not only expects me to go along but to enjoy it and interact with people like I mean it. And that is asking a lot of Ol’ Dutch. 

Why just this past week I was informed that once again I am going to have to “sing the song” on the raft trips which requires me to “be nice” too. You will have to come along if you want to hear what that's all about. 

Way back in the day when cars and trucks first came out, they had what was called a governor on them that restricted their speed to a certain top limit. We still see that on some U-Haul trucks to this day and makes for a long trip if you rent one for a long-haul move. But Miss Trixie has no governor on her throttle. It appears that Ol’ Dutch is going to be wrestled down and taken along on the “adventure” come hell or high water as soon as I arrive. 

It's been the same every year and we start out in the early Spring with discussions of “not getting so busy this summer so we can enjoy the mountains.” Which soon turns into “well we can do some things I guess,” and that all disappears like a turnip in a hog pen as soon as Miss Trixie gets to South Fork, Colorado. 

So, if you have time, please say a prayer for Ol’ Dutch that he once again survives the fun. Because we sure are not going to take a chance on missing out on any of it.

Kevin Kirkpatrick spends his days fishing, hunting, ATVing, hiking, or making people laugh. His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic.com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.