# To The West!



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

My wife has noticed for a few years that our family trips tend to focus on either southern or eastern waters and expressed a curiosity for what lies out west.

Yesterday, I decided that she had waited long enough for an answer and we pointed our car toward Eureka!

This old town is rich with history and the family was fascinated as we made our way through. A stop to appreciate its charm was warranted.



















Porter Rockwell's cabin:




























It's actually looking a bit better, these days. The last time I'd gone through there, I recalled more boarded-up windows and a "ghost town" kind of feel to it. If I had to guess, I'd say it's being revitalized in a few ways.



















With that behind us, we watched the landscape around us transform as we zipped along the dirt road.










Soon enough, we arrived at the small and remote Cherry Creek Reservoir.










It had been several years since visiting this water. In fact, it was the first fishing trip I took my Sentra on.

As I had left them years ago, the wild rainbows still looked the same:





































Tiny and beautiful! Here's what could be considered a "big" fish for Cherry Creek Res:










It's hard to find prettier rainbows though.










Cool place, especially since it's out in the desert.










The wind was a real bother most of the time and my family didn't have any luck with the fish, other than a bite on my wife's spinner that shook off before it was landed. Everyone agreed; it was time to go.

There was one pretty nice pool-up area right below the dam, where I was able to get a really good underwater HD video of the little fish swimming about. For scale of their size, the jig you'll see hopping around halfway through is a 1/16oz and far too big to get any action with.

[youtube:2osdskty]http://www.youtube.com/v/1xLR_5knL_o?version=3&hl=en_US[/youtube:2osdskty]

Of course, I made a few other failed attempts at landing one of the incredibly skittish rainbows from the tiny creek, which is less than 2 feet across in most places.










Our next move was to cross another adventure off the list and visit a place that none of us had ever been to, the Little Sahara sand dunes. Off we went and left the dusty mountain trails behind us.










This decision was very popular with my daughter, who has always made it a point to request that we go somewhere with sand on our family trips. That particular little girl got her wish paid in full, as well as future installments, on that particular day.










Never before have I seen such a sight! I've always wanted to see a seemingly endless ocean of sand and now we were all free to enjoy it.



















Incredible.



















The kids were in Paradise and ran their little legs off.



















What a neat place! Even without ATV's, it was really cool to finally see something like that. Being only about 2hrs away, it's not too far to visit again sometime.

With historical stops, trout in the desert, and a mega-huge sandbox for the kids to play in, the day was a total success and we all went home, happy to have gone. What a day!










Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## deadicated1 (Mar 17, 2008)

Sweet report!! I love the loah in the sand!! Those first two have beautiful par marks! Almost like bonnies


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

They are the most pretty rainbows Ive seen :!: Ive never been there before, what a nice place.Nicely done 8)


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## Meesh (Jan 26, 2010)

I grew up in Eureka, lots of great memories there, but I don't remember it being so small and sad as it is now  I actually love the place, and I enjoy visiting my family there, but living there? ....not sure I could but as a kid it was AMAZING! 
Now I haven't thought about Cherry Crick in a very long time; it's never been a place for large fish, but it sure is nice for a quick fix. There is another reservoir down stream from there, just as the dunes start, called Porter Rockwells, a section of the old mountain man's ranch. The water is deeper so the fish get a bit larger. 
You've inspired me to visit some of those old desert haunts, so thank you for the post and the pics.


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## harlin (Mar 18, 2012)

That's so cool those rainbows living out in the desert. I wonder how they survive the summer. Nice video too!


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

The water stays pretty cold. The main spring is just upstream a short distance and I believe there are a few springs within the reservoir as well.

Meesh, I thought that other reservoir was private, so I've never messed with it. Good to know though.


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## dartangion (Jul 2, 2008)

Nothing better than wild bows, regardless of the size IMO. That cabin is about as tough looking as the guy that built it!


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It looks like you had a great time thanks for the report and Awesome photos. 8)


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## Rspeters (Apr 4, 2013)

Great looking rainbows. I'll have to head over there and try it out sometime. I've never even heard of the town, or the lake.


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## Meesh (Jan 26, 2010)

@Loah - you may be right about that pond being private - I haven't been out there since I was a kid and lot of things could have changed. I'd hate to send you into trouble


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