Overnight the rain stopped and was followed by a steady
wind. The wind dried everything out and even after that huge deluge, we were
ready to go without a bunch of wet gear. We packed up camp, put our ski hats
and splash tops on, and hopped on the river about 10:30 in glorious sunshine.
However, we had a headwind most of the day and we had to earn each river mile
with hard work. We had quite a few rapids and big, bouncy wave trains. Eben
rowed most of the time, but the kids took turns and I started working on my rowing
skills, too.
This section of the river was beautiful – it switched from a
river going through farm and rangeland and into a series of geologically
diverse canyons. Our plan for the day was to camp at Chalk Basin, which was our
original “night two” target camp at mile 25.5. We would have to skip a hike,
but would be back on track for the trip itinerary.
Our first stop was at mile 14, a camp called “Hike Out” which featured a great
hike to the top of the canyon rim. We talked to a few friendly guides who’d
stopped there for lunch with their customers. Then we hiked about halfway up
the canyon to a little cave, a big bowl area, and a spectacular view of the
river down below.
We ate lunch a few miles downstream and then stopped at the
Rustler’s Cabin a bit further down. The remains of his set up of rock-walled
cattle pens were impressive. We looked for a bit, but never found remains of
his cabin.
A bit further down, we stopped again at Ryegrass Hot Springs. We
were delighted to find the hot springs in better condition than the description
we’d read and to have the place to ourselves. Sitting in that hot water (about
103F) after a long day battling a headwind on the river was absolutely the best
and a highlight of the trip for me.
After spending a couple hours at the hot spring, we
were so happy to find our target camp available in the stunning Chalk Basin
(especially because the two camps upriver of that were full and we were losing
hope that we’d have a spot). The camp was at the mouth of a creek and the boat fit perfectly
into the creek mouth. The sun was dropping behind the canyon wall as we set up
the kitchen area and tent. We were able to relax and take in the amazing
scenery of Pruitt’s Castle and Lambert Dome. There is a cool hike up the
backside of the Dome to the top, but we didn’t have time for it due to our rain
delay the day before. Eben and Edison built a nice campfire and it was the end
to a rewarding day.
We have been running over different spring break scenarios
for months. Due to high water volumes in the Klamath River (CA), we ended up
swapping plans last weekend to do the Owyhee River instead. The Owyhee is known
as Oregon’s Grand Canyon. After the four-day river float, we planned to drive
south to ski for a few days at Heavenly Ski Area (south end of Lake Tahoe)
before heading home.
We drove from Seattle to Nampa, ID on Friday (about 8 hours). We stopped in the
middle of Oregon for a short detour to see wagon ruts on the original Oregon
Trail. This was particularly cool because Edison just finished a unit learning
about the Oregon Trail. We stayed overnight in Nampa, eating take out Thai food
in our hotel room, to lay up for an early start Saturday morning.
We drove the remaining two hours to the Owyhee River put in
at Rome, Oregon on Saturday morning, passing through some spectacular scenery on the way and some really interesting clouds and colors.
The ramp already had a lot of rafters
rigging up. Eben had done such a thorough job designing and creating the oar
frame system that loading up went really smoothly. We filled out a little
boater registration card, set up the Tahoe for the shuttle pick up, and shoved
off at about 10:00 in the morning.
The Owyhee flows north. We did a 51-mile section from Rome
to Birch Creek which is called the “Lower Owyhee.” Rafts are advised to not go
on it under 1000 cfs. It was running about 4500 cfs on this trip.
The weather forecast called for thunderstorms and rain starting about
3:00 that afternoon with the weather improving each day after that. We were
hoping to set up a camp and beat the rain after making 15 miles or so on the
river. The bad news is that the storm came much earlier than we planned. The
good news is that we were able to score a camp at river mile 8 (First Camp)
fifteen minutes before it started raining. We had the tent set up and full of
gear and also the sunshade set up as a canopy just as the first drops began to
fall. We ate our sandwiches huddled under the awning as the front passed over
bringing hail, heavy rain, wind, lightening, and thunder. Eben had
double-staked it, but we still had to pull it down so that it wouldn’t rip out
of the ground and blow away. We were very thankful to have shelter and all of our
gear out of the rain.
A clear patch of weather followed an hour later that
provided a small window to play bocce on the beach and warm up with hot drinks.
But then a steady rain came for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.
It stopped raining sometime after we went to bed. We ended up spending most of
the afternoon alternating between hanging out under the canopy with a drizzle
around us and stuck in the tent. It was raining so hard by the evening that
dinner was peanut butter sandwiches grabbed quickly out of the food box and
eaten in the tent. We played many hands of Crazy Eights and read our books
until it was time for bed.
I turned 40 on a Monday. Eben and I celebrated with a nice
dinner in Edmonds the evening before. One of my work committees that meets on
Mondays after school had an “off-site” meeting at Elliot Bay Brewery that
afternoon and then we had a nice family dinner (take out Thai food!) with my
dad to celebrate that night. I don’t feel any different, but it is nice to
reflect back on one’s life and be really satisfied with how it is going and the
direction it is taking.
It was a busy week with final preparations for the
Ridgecrest Auction that weekend happening several nights, so we didn’t have
much other time to celebrate at the moment, however we have a big rafting
weekend with friends planned for my birthday party. With a few parent friends
of mine, we decided to start up an auction at the kids’ elementary school. The
PTA needed a new, bigger, fundraiser and we felt like we could pull this off.
We had some visioning meetings before winter break and have been steadily
working at the details the past few months. Everything came together for the
big event in a big way the final few weeks. I worked on managing the
facilities, set up, clean up, and tech during the event as we were using the
Commons at Shorecrest. I also designed and ordered ball caps and glassware and
helped in all the planning. Our unique take on the auction was to try to make
it a fun, low-key event that would have a many opportunities for social
interaction and community building. We did not want a stuffy, formal auction.
We brought in a few food trucks and your auction ticket included a taste at
each truck and an entrée of your choosing at your favorite one. We had lots of
live music, a few crowd participation games (including a “name that tune” that
I put together and hosted and a teacher trivia Kahoot that Katie made), lots of
auction items (including an art project done by each classroom), and a minimal
live auction finale. Our cabin was one of the two live auction items and it was
won by a group of teachers who will use it this summer, which is fun. We had a
giant set up Saturday morning with finishing touches Saturday afternoon. The
event kicked off at 5:00 and we had a bunch of people show up as doors opened.
We sold a lot of tickets at the door and everyone there seemed to be enjoying
themselves. It was an overwhelming success and I am looking forward to finding
out how much money we raised for the kids as we close out the books. Clean up
went pretty smoothly, except for the final truck exiting the courtyard got
stuck in the muddy grass. Luckily Eben was there and successfully used the
Durango to tow it out of the mud. Phew! Eben and I had to go back early Sunday
morning to tamp down the dirt and fix the mess.
The next day we did a family “pre-Easter” event at Karen and Franks’s
house. They had just finished their new back deck and covered patio and hosted
a very nice family celebration. The kids enjoyed the Easter egg hunt (indoors,
due to heavy rain), and we had yummy dessert in honor of the early spring
birthdays that had passed since our last gathering at Christmas. The cousins
got along well, too, and I had a chance to catch up with a lot of family I hadn’t
talked to in a long time. The rest of that week was a blur with two evenings
devoted to a school event (The Unity Festival) and every spare moment being
consumed by trip preparations.
Edison made a model of a wagon for his Oregon Trail project:
The kids had a big swim meet down at King County Aquatic Center - the premier pool in the PNW. They swam really well - lots of best times - and I think it was inspiring for them to be in such a top class facility.
I didn't get pictures of Charlotte because I was serving as a timer. But look at this breaststroke!!!
I played (mostly cheered) on the Shorecrest staff volleyball team as we defeated the Shorewood staff team in the annual Shoreline Serves tournament. Woot woot!
Reed got a fun facepaint design and got to decorate a cookie at Astronomy Night. There were lots of cool booths, projects, and activities for kids in this fun event hosted by Shorecrest students for the community each yaer.
The big "to do" this week was Eben finishing up the design and welding of the new oar frame. And the best part was wrapping it up and testing it on the Wenatchee with Edison. Spring rafting is chilly and we didn't have the right gear for Charlotte and Reed to stay warm, so it was just a daddy and son float.
Charlotte, Reed, and I drove down to Rodeo Hole to meet them and snap pictures.
Edison got on the oars and was steering the boat down the river.
Heading out from the put in.
Edison guiding!
Edison falls out of the raft and goes for a swim in Rodeo Hole.
Edison and a bunch of other Ridgecrest fourth graders traveled down to Des Moines for a regional "Math is Cool" competition. They had a lot of fun competing and eating pizza.
Eli, Zack, Alex, Edison and Tristan.
The "College Bowl" portion. They compete in a team of four against a team from another school. Edison was in his element as speed and accuracy was rewarded. The Ridgecrest team won the room.
Anxiously awaiting the awards ceremony. Edison ended up winning "highest individual score" for Ridgecrest students.
With coach, Annie, wrapping up the system.
Johanna competed in Shoreline Serves volleyball against the Shorewood High School Staff. We dominated! It helped that I was cheering from the sidelines and was just there to be a body in case someone had to exit the game.
Edison and Charlotte had a big swim meet this weekend at the fastest pool in this region of the U.S., King County Aquatic Center. I used to come down to this pool for big meets, like the high school state meet. It was fun to be back! They both got several best times at the meet. Unfortunately, I was a timer during Charlotte's races so I was unable to take pictures or video. But here are some shots from Edison's meet.
50 Back:
50 Breast Stroke
50 Freestyle
100 IM
Charlotte dropped time in her 50 Backstroke, 50 Breaststroke & 50 Freestyle. She placed 1st in 8U for 50 Breaststroke and 5th in the 50 Free!!!
