Two views of what is commonly referred to as "First Meadow". It's near the backcountry patrol cabin, and the main Slough Creek trail runs up the eastern (right) side of the valley. This is the section of Slough Creek that probably sees the most fishing pressure, but it still offers up an incomparable fishing experience. You may share the day with elk, bison, bears, wolves, sandhill cranes, eagles, hawks, hundreds of waterfowl, and a host of other critters, depending on the time of the season.

On this day, fast-moving rain squalls were sweeping across the valley from the high mountains of the Buffalo Plateau. At elevations only a few hundred feet higher than this, snow was blanketing the mountainsides.