What a wonderful trip we had to Oregon! We met Sam, Shannon, Porter, Wyatt, and Bill along the Deschutes River in Oregon for a 6 day camping/fishing trip. Sheri joined us for a day but was helping with family and couldn't stay the whole time.
The fishing and catching was fantastic... as you will see from the pictures we caught a lot of fish. They were all too small to keep though, so we weren't able to bring home any delicious sturgeon meat... kind of a bummer, but we still had an amazing time.
There were a few hiccups along the way. We encountered our first challenge when we arrived after driving all night in the rain. (We left Great Falls at about 10:30 pm Wednesday night) When we opened up the pop up tent trailer, there was a LOT of water inside... apparently the seal is no good! After trying to dry out the front mattress I finally gave up and we changed around our sleeping arrangements so we didn't have to use that bed. It worked out okay, however Clint got the brunt of Kimber's tossing and turning. I woke up once and found her feet literally on his head. The next night she gave him a fat lip in the middle of the night. I just slept perched on the edge, as far away from the two of them as possible! (okay in a double bed, it's hard to get much distance)
The day we got there ended up being a decent day and the boys headed out fishing while Kimber and I attempted to get the trailer straightened out and cleaned up.
Then the fun began! There were geese all over and some even had chicks already. These chicks were actually pretty big!
My first sturgeon of the trip... Slippery sucker didn't want to hold still for a photo op!
Clint caught one that was a little bigger, but still not a keeper... They had to be 43 inches long.
Sam holding up one of Shannon's nice fish.
Sometimes we would catch a squaw fish (aka pike minnow) Dane had a great time playing with them.
One day we lucked out and caught several doubles!
Most of the sturgeon were too big for Dane to handle, but this little guy was just perfect! Look at him hanging on to that fish like a pro!
There was a great road up above the campground that went for miles along the River and was closed down to motor vehicle traffic. We enjoyed taking walks along it. One day, about halfway through our trip I got a wild hair and went for a nice long run. I started out along the road and then dropped down to run along a trail that was right alongside the River. Bones and I had a great time on that run and enjoyed the scenic views and cool breeze coming off the water.
That is, until we got back and realized that there were ticks... lots of them. Bones and I had carried them right back to the family. I'm sure there were some around camp, but after we came back we found them everywhere. Poor Bones got a frontline treatment so they weren't biting him, but they still seemed to be holding on in his fur. So he had to sleep in the crate in the garage once we got home until I could get some tick bath and give him a good scrub! Fortunetly I think I finally got them all taken care of. (I'm knocking on wood right now!)
Dane borrowing uncle Sam's binoculars to take a look at something!
Kimber enjoying some Nana time.
Bill, Sheri, Kimber and a nice sturgeon
I think that this would have been a double, but Bill handed me the rod while he helped Sheri get this one on the boat... I guess it was the one that got away. Whoops! :)
Dane kissed each sturgeon before we but it back. Here was Kimber lining up for a kiss...
But instead, she bit its nose!
Kimber enjoying uncle Sam
On Monday we were fortunate enough to travel into Gresham (outside of Portland) to visit Clint's Grandma Betty and his Aunt Jeannette. We had a nice lunch and it was great opportunity to catch up.
Kimber sitting with Aunt Jeannette
Sheri, Grandma Betty, and Kimber. (I had to crop Dane out of the picture. He is off to the right being a total monkey.
As you can see it was a wonderful trip with lots of fun. We fished every day and caught a ton of fish. We had a wonderful time catching up with family and just enjoyed the heck out of every one!
