Ryan’s Travel Memories from the Road (Drift Fishing in Saratoga, WY)

I am not traveling right now and for the last of couple of weeks, I’ve written about my travel memories from the road. I’ve been the Mayor of HeidiTown for a long time, so I have more than a few. Saturday is Ryan’s birthday, and that made me think of his favorite HeidiTown trips. He has two, the other was playing cowboy at Latigo Ranch in Kremmling. 

For those of you who are new to HeidiTown, Ryan is my husband. Some like to say that he has the best job in the world. When I go on trips, I have meetings, I am doing social media as I go, and I am generally “on the job.” He, on the other hand, is quite literally, along for the ride (although he does 99% of the driving). 

I am thankful to have a partner on these trips because nothing is as fun when I have to do it alone. We make a good team too—he carries the unwieldy stuff like my camera bag and luggage, and I’m hands-free to tweet. 

I know one his favorite HeidiTown trips was to Saratoga, Wyoming. I know because he never stops talking about it. This was not our first trip to Saratoga. It’s a tiny town, on the other side of the Snowy Range from us, but during the winter that pass closes and we have to take I80 with all the semis.

It’s a cool little town that we love. It has a hot springs resort and no stoplights. It’s a bit of a throwback to when times were slower and hasn’t changed much since we first visited in the early 2000s.

We’ve only ever stayed at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort and this time was no exception. It was Ryan’s birthday weekend in November, and the weather was brisk, perfect for soaking in the resort’s hot springs pools. They have the main pool, uncovered hot springs and others covered in teepees.

On our first visit here, before HeidiTown focused on travel and festivals, I sat on the lodge’s patio, in front of an outside, roaring fireplace and read a book. It’s one of my best memories. We have lots of great memories here like meeting a cross country trucker couple in the hot springs. We also once got a couples’ massage at the resort’s spa.

 

However, the reason Ryan remembers this particular trip so fondly is that he caught fish. Not one or two fish, but 13 fish on our fishing outing with Drift, a fly-fishing outfitter in Saratoga. We were “drift” fishing the North Platte River with a guide. He knew right where to find the fish along the five miles of river that we floated down. Ryan just kept snagging them, posing and releasing them. 

For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t) drift fishing involves letting the current carry the boat and then casting and allowing the bait at the end of your line to pass through an area where there might be fish. In our case, there were fish, lots of them.

The other reason Ryan loved this trip is that we ate at Bella’s Bistro, an Italian joint in this tiny town that is well-known throughout Wyoming. People come from across the state to have a meal here. 

Ryan loves Italian food and I would venture to guess that it’s his favorite food style. I am a little harder to impress with Italian but Bella’s lived up to the hype. From the minute we sat down the dining experience and food was top-notch. By the way, their cheesecake is divine, and we’re not even a cheesecake connoisseurs.

This trip was memorable to me too because Ryan grinned for days afterward. Catching a lot of fish will do that to a person.

Do you have an outstanding travel memory? It doesn’t have to be as grand as catch 13 fish in one outing, but I am sure you have a cherished recollection from the road.