Full Day Fly Fishing Trip for 2 on the Yellowstone River with Richard Parks, Parks' Fly Shop in Gardiner ($450 Value)

- Float the Yellowstone River from Gardiner or walk n' wade in Yellowstone National Park with renowned fishing guide, Richard Parks.

Learn more about Richard here: http://www.parksflyshop.com/aboutus/staff.html

Richard was born in northern Minnesota, and his first exposure to fly fishing was on the streams that flow into the north shore of Lake Superior. Family vacations to Yellowstone in 1947 and 1950 were followed by the move to Gardiner when his father opened the Parks' Fly Shop in 1953. While his father had built him a fly rod when he was six, it took a few years for Richard to grow into the rod. By age twelve Richard was fishing dry flies as well as tying for the shop and working part-time as a clerk. During his teens this gradually shifted into a full-time summer job. During this time, Richard continued to develop his skills both by himself and with his father.

Richard began guiding in 1961 and continued to guide and work in the shop through his college years. After graduating with a History degree, Richard served a three year hitch in the US Army, including a tour in Vietnam. He was planning on graduate school when his father died in the spring of 1970, at which point he took over active management of the shop with the help of his mother.

Following the lead of his father (who had been a founding member of Trout Unlimited in Montana), Richard expanded his involvement as a conservation activist throughout the 1970s and 80s. During the early 1990s he served as Chairman of theNorthern Plains Resource Council, one of Montana's leading conservation organizations, and served twice as Chairman of the Western Organization of Resource Councils. He was also a founding member of the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana and has served several terms as President of that organization.

In 2003 Richard met Nancy Rourke. In 2004 he bought a house in Gardiner which he and Nancy, soon to be his wife, converted to a bed & breakfast, theGardiner Guesthouse, which opened in 2005.