We continued our push north toward Lewiston, Idaho, in the valley of the mighty Clearwater River.  At least that’s where the Clearwater meets the Snake River, and then drains to the Columbia and eventually out into the Pacific Ocean.  The Clearwater has a thriving population of steelhead that return to the river from the ocean, although we arrived a bit early at the start of the “B” run.  That is essentially shorthand for my not having caught any fish, with the exception of a smallmouth bass and some sort of weird cross between a trout and a bass.  Even though I was sporting a 13.5-foot spey rod and targeting steelhead, the tugs felt good nonetheless and it was good to “let out some line”.  Meanwhile, on the other coast, John (Mr. Steelhead) Halnon has been breaking off massive stripers in the Cape Caaaad Canal…life just doesn’t seem fair sometimes, but the fall with bring a different story to this cat, you’ll see.  Anyway, I digress…back to the story.  MJ insisted that we visit her namesake brewery in Lewiston, called “MJ Barleyhoppers”.  True story, check out the pic.  We spent 2 wonderful nights along the Clearwater at a BLM campground called “Pink House”.  It’s a pretty special place with great hosts and river access only 100 yards away.  We also made friends with two couples at the campground, Gisel and Mark in their Dodge Van, and Judy and Chuck in their Airstream.  Great people with very similar interests.  We enjoyed the tours of each setup, and enjoyed the conversations.  And it was in the Airstream that our lives were forever changed as Judy and Chuck introduced us to the “Christmas Tree”, a delicious blend of tequila and cranberry juice.  Yes, cranberry juice.  After a few “Trees”, Chuck promised that he’d make a movie star out of me someday, at least that’s what I heard.  Safe travels and good health to Gisel, Judy, Mark, and Chuck.  Cheers!