Many of the guests had been coming for years thought the fishing was declining, they remembered back when you could catch fish very easy. Many theories came forth, some said that the river had been fished out, many said that the big fish are eating the smaller fish and some said that there was too much feed in the river. We did some research and lowered the fishing limit to five (5) fish per day per person. After a few years of this the fishing seemed to improve. The size of the fish increased.

Fishermen are so dedicated that nothing disturbs them. On one occasion we had a forest fire that was moving toward the ranch. Mike and our handy man went to help fight the fire. While they were gone county officials told me to evacuate the ranch. I went from cabin to cabin and told all the guests and then headed down the river to tell the fishermen. No one wanted to quit fishing or evacuate. The fire was contained so there was no problem. On another occasion we had a large earthquake which closed all the irrigation ditches and moved fences by several feet. The fishermen kept on fishing.

Hunting season was another highlight of the year. We had avid deer hunters and fishermen. They would hunt at dawn and then fish until early evening and then go hunting again. Mike would spend the months prior to deer season scouting and tracking the patterns of the deer. By the time the season opened he knew where they were and at what time. He would take a lot of the guests hunting and most often everyone bagged their deer.

The last day of fishing was a special time. It usually fell on Halloween so we would dress up. It was the day we handed out the trophies for the largest fish in the various categories. It was also a day of good byes for the year.

During the winter months Mike would prepare all the reservations for the next year and I would make new curtains and wash the old ones. We made our own curtains and hot pads. We thought it would be fun to snowshoe into the ranch to see if we had any snow damage. It took us about four hours to go five miles. The snow was so deep and powdery that we kept Sinking. Once we arrived we rested and checked for any damage and decided we had better head back as it would be up hill. We made it about one mile when our neighbor, Mr. Alpers came by on a snow mobile and offered us a ride. It was a well welcomed offer. From then on we would rent snow mobiles when we made these trips.

The following April we had to travel into the ranch on top of three feet of snow. Mike lead in the truck and I followed with the cleaning crew. It was very slow going. We had to shovel snow to each cabin so we could start the spring clean up. Each day we watched as the snow melted and we could become more mobilized. Then one morning we woke to another foot of snow. We were getting close to running out of propane which was our source of heat and cooking. Just as our hopes were getting low, the following day the Mono County Road Department opened the road and the propane delivery truck followed.

Mike and I had plans to build a few new cabins and eventually build a small RV park. But as with any change the building and safety codes became so stringent that it became next to impossible plus it would have been cost prohibitive. We eventually had to close the two river cabins that remained as the State Health Department said they were built too close to the river. Once a month we would have to test the ground and well water for contamination. Due to the kitchen being attached to our living quarters we could no longer make the chili beans, enchiladas and pies for sale. For awhile we would make them in Bishop and then bring them back.

Many of the clientele from the ranch were guests when the ranch first began and now their children and grandchildren were coming. A lot of the kids I played with were now bringing their children. We met some of the most interesting people. They came from all walks of life but had one thing in common, the love of the ranch and the fishing.

Mike and I spent seven wonderful years operating the ranch and were blessed with two beautiful sons, Corey Cullen and Newell Robert Cullen. They were very fortunate to have spent their very young years growing up at the ranch. The ranch was sold to my Uncle Frank and Uncle Howard. It was an end of an era.

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