A Boat Like Gideon Brown

I left my heart in San Francisco....Okay, okay, I didn't leave my heart anywhere, BUT I did leave my favorite sunglasses in Sacramento at the security checkpoint in the airport. This should not surprise me, as sunglasses and I have very volatile relationships. I routinely either lose them or break them. Seriously, this is the fourth pair that have met an untimely demise in a month...

Despite a plane with a funny sounding propeller and a very rough landing, I made it to my "final" destination, Bend, Oregon. The first thing that happened at the airport was that a crew of mechanics came out to the plane to check out the propeller...I told you it was making a funny noise, it wasn't all just in my head! I gathered my asininely heavy bags and headed into the airport to meet my Aunt and Uncle. I wore a big grin and giggled a little bit on my way over to them, because I knew I was going to be laughed at over the amount (and the weight) of my luggage, and I was right! It was great to see familiar faces and know that my plane ordeal was over...for now.

I am staying in Sunriver at my Aunt's house which is literally in the Deschutes National Forest. After waking up early, and grabbing a map, I embarked on a long walk. The air was cool, crisp, and fresh, as I plodded along a trail with my trusty camera. I had heard that there were many deer in the area, but I did not expect the up close encounters with NINE deer over the course of my walk!

 



Today was RAFTING day! We went rafting on the Deschutes River. It was an absolutely beautiful ride. There were 7,000 year old lava flows and Ponderosa Pines lining the river. Unfortunately, I had to buy a disposable, waterproof camera and will have to wait until my film develops to see if I got any good pictures! It was smooth sailing until we hit the first section of whitewater, called "Child Grinder"....some of the other whitewater sections were called Big Eddy, Kenmore (as in the washing machine brand) and fluffy bunny. Rafting the flat parts of the river was a relaxing and enjoyable experience. The whitewater was exhilarating! The man in front of me ended up in my lap several times when we went through some of the bigger rapids...awkward, as his wife was RIGHT there! Just kidding...though he did end up on my lap a couple of times! I even dared to go swimming during the flat parts of the river...boy was it COLD, but refreshing. We had a fantastic day on the River!

When we returned home, I was freezing, as we had driven home in our wet bathing suits/clothes. I decided to jump right into the hot tub in order to warm up and soothe my sore muscles (from carrying all my bags). Hot tub + book = ? You've got it! FROG! Yup....there was a froggy hanging out on the side of the hot tub....waiting to hop on in and join me...maybe I should have tried kissing it...ha, ha, ha! At first, I thought it was a little sea turtle....because that is definitely something that you'd find in the forest in Oregon!

See...I'm not going to get eaten by a bear on this trip! He's wearing my colors!

Crater Lake tomorrow! Stay Tuned!