Grumpy’s Gallery

 

 

Sonora Blues Festival – 2006

These shots were taken at the Sonora Blues Festival, presented by Fire on the Mountain, in 2006, Sonora Fairgrounds, Sonora, CA. Obviously, there were many acts featured, but one gentleman became one of the biggest Blues-Rock stars of the present era: Joe Bonamassa. I hadn’t heard a lot about him at the time and was there as much for a lot of the other acts as I was to see and hear him. And the beer. There were a lot of breweries sampling their wares just to add to the festivities, of course. There was an inside stage and and outside stage, and I wandered between the two catching acts like Walter Trout, John Nemeth, Ron Thompson, Mighty Mike Schermer, Angela Strehli, and RJ Misho. Bonamassa hadn’t acquired the slick-backed hair and suit persona that has become more or less his trademark look, but his guitar playing was every bit as intense as it is today.

 

Joe Bonamassa

 

 

 

  • Mighty Mike Schermer

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    Angela Strehli

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    Schermer & Strehli

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    Festival Crowd

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    Unknown

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    Ron Thompson

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    John Nemeth

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    TJ Misho

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    Walter Trout

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    Flea & R&B Cafe

Kenai, Alaska Fishing Trip – 2001

This was definitely a bucket list trip. Along with two old friends, Rick and Bill, I spent a week fishing Alaskan waters. After a fly in to Anchorage, we rented a car and drove down the Kenai peninsula to Soldotna where we stayed at guide’s place called Tom’s Cabins. Tom was our guide for the week as we fished the Kenai River for two days for King Salmon, plus flyouts across Cook Inlet to the Kustatan River on the West Forelands and the Chuitna River which is northeast of Soldotna across Cook Inlet. Both were teeming with silver salmon. The Chuitna was so active that we blew off a halibut trip on our final day and swapped in an extra day on it. All in all, it was a hell of a trip. Our host/guide and his wife were great people. The cabin was very comfortable, and of course, the scenery was fantastic.

 

 

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Nevada Trip 2015

These photos were taken on a traditional fishing trip to Nevada. Normally, we fish at Wildhorse Reservoir, which is about 60 miles north of Elko, NV. However, a drought year rendered Wildhorse practically unfishable so we detoured to South Fork Reservoir, which is south of Elko. Over the many years of this trip we had passed this roadside curiosity on I-80 near Imlay, NV., Thunder Mountain Historic Site. Details on Thunder Mountain can be found here: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7813 This particular year we finally decided to stop and check it out. These photos are just a sample of what lies there (plus a couple of shots from the reservoir itself).