When I was growing up in suburban New Jersey, I used to dream of trout fishing in Colorado.  Over the years my youngest brother listened to my fantasies, and 40 years ago he decided to try it out.  He loved it, stayed there, and made his home and career as a pioneer in solar energy on the Western slopes of Colorado ever since.

I’m very glad he did, for my sake as well as his.  I’ve gone out to visit and fish with him many times, but this summer was the first occasion in 7 years that I made the trip.  We had a great time together, exploring the non-profit solar education organization he founded 20 years ago, enjoying time with his family, visiting towns I hadn’t seen before, sampling my first Colorado wines, and…trout fishing.  Here’s the family:

Fire-Roasted Chiles in a market in Paonia, CO:

On the same shelf, same store, 2,001 road miles and 5,600 vertical feet from NYC:

And, to complete my food blog, the flyer for the Fifth Annual Eagle Mushroom Festival:

Oh, yes…and we caught trout float fishing on the Colorado River, near Glenwood Springs, and of course, these were released safely immediately after landing them: