Rafting on the White Salmon

Rafting on the White Salmon was a fantastic experience particularly since we did it at peak flow of the river.

Just before we go over Husum Falls

We made it!

Ok, that's not really us because I took the pictures, but it gives a good idea of the size of the falls.

... which were actually this size.

Mike Bernard, an old college friend who is big into kayaking managed to get us on videotape, posting it on youtube. Thanks, Mike.

Here we are with Mike after a Fourth of July BBQ.

Heeere's Teddy!

Wow, it's almost Christmas and I haven't posted anything since August.

Lot of catching up to do.

Ted in front of the Timberland Resort on Mt Hood





The Timberland Resort was used for the exterior shots in "The Shining" as you can see here the end of the ominous opening credits

Meg, Joe & Ted in front of Mt Hood in happier times.

Oregon - The Coast - Lincoln City

Just South of Neskowin is the seaside resort town of Lincoln City where Joette, the kids and I spent the day before heading back to Portland

Lincoln City has wide expansive beaches with a couple of rivers meeting the Pacific.

The area is a hangout for seals.

We arrived at low tide and found a spot at the river where the water was shallow enough for the kids to skim board. Mo's Restuarant, a local landmark, was in the background with the pier showing how low the tide was.

Nice spot for a house.

There was a massive field of driftwood on the beach.

Some people had made nice little huts on the beach with the driftwood.

Oregon - The Coast - Neskowin

One of the great things about Portland, Oregon is that there are so many interesting and different things to do and places to go. Joe made reservations for a house on the beach in Neskowin, Oregon about an hour and a half Soutwest of Portland.

Megan and Ted try out a new look in Lincoln City.

The temperature on the coast was at least 20 degrees cooler than in Portland.

But if your a kid, it's never too cold to swim. Ted may look like he's doing a primitive dance or jumping to avoid a 15' man-eating shark, but he's actually learing to ride a skim board.

Ok, maybe it is a little too cold to swim.

Megan kept warning Ted she was going to knock his block off.

Rrraarrgghh!

Megan's turn.

Megan the Mermaid

After a bit of work, the kids got so good with the skim board that they graduated quickly to surfing.

Megan "Hangs Ten".

Oregon

Taking a quick break, blogwise from Peru to insert pictures from our summer trip to Portland Oregon to visit my brother Joe.

If you look closely, behind the fence and trees is Joe's house, an old farmhouse built in 1900 that Joe has spent loads of time renovating. He hosts a critically acclaimed blog detailing his work in words and pictures at http://www.1900farmhouse.blogspot.com/. The header of his blog shows a picture much less obscured by the trees which exhibits how rapidly things grow in the Pacific Northwest. He says they are Douglas Fur trees, but I didn't see any fur on them at all.

Joe gets schooled in a game of cards with Joette, Megan and Ted.

Now Scully has some Fur!

Joette, Megan and Ted in front of the lower half of Multnomah Falls, just East of Portland.

Nearly as high as the Arch in St. Louis, the falls drop 620 feet.

What you might see if you dove off the top of the falls for the pool below.

A view from the bridge with the Columbia River in the background.

Bonneville Lock & Dam, just East of Multnomah Falls

The Dam produces loads of electricity for the area along with helping to widen and control the Columbia River which attracts various watersports such as Windsurfing and Kiteboarding.

Another feature of the Bonneville Dam is the "Fish Ladder" to help salmon and other species of fish swim upstream to spawn. It's more of a "Fish Set of Steps" than a ladder but there are windows below the surface that allow you to view the fish as they make thier way.

Ted and Megan dutifully pose under a massive turbine from the Bonneville Dam to show how big it is.

Inca Trail-Day Two

Day two of the hike up the Inca Trail would be the most difficult because it's the longest hike at about 12 miles but also because most of it is uphill.

Manuel shows us the route we will cover today.

Here are a couple of kids we met on the way out of Huayabamba village.

Manuel shows Megan & Ted the proper way to prep coca leave to chew. The Andean peoples have been chewing coca leaves for years for a boost of energy. The taste takes some getting used to and the kids were less than interested.

As we worked our way up to the pass, we followed a fast flowing stream a good part of the way.

Occasionally we would have to cross the streams.

That little footbridge we just crossed may look a little rickety, but it was really pretty sturdy. The trail is closed for the month of February every year for maintenance and presumably replacing all the wooden bridges.

It's hard to get a good perspective of the trail's steepness at points but the rapidly flowing stream that was with us for a good portion of the day is a good indicator.

The Reidy Clan in the mountainous cloud forests of Peru.

The tree behind us is a Qhuena Tree

Another look up the steep stone path with the gushing stream beside.

Our guide, Manuel horses around with the porters who are colorfully protected from the rain.

After lunch, the porters pack up and race off to the next campsite.

If you look closely, you can see drainage ditches for farming cut into this valley.

The notch to the right of Manuel is our main goal for the day, "Dead Woman's Pass".

As we get closer, the clouds roll in.

At the top of Dead Woman's Pass at 4200 meters or approximately 13,700 feet.

Unfortunately we caught up to some rain when we made it to the pass.

Soggy view from the top of the pass.

Not long after we headed down the backside, the clouds broke and it cleared up.

A look back up at the pass in better light.

Down we go.

This river was heard more than seen because it's tucked in to the hill so well. It's known as the Hidden River.

Ted, Megan and Joette cross the Hidden River.

Joette never could really shake the cold even when sleeping in a down sleeping bag, all of her clothes and a wool cap.