Hold on to your hats . . .

First of all, what day is this and where are we? Okay, I was told this was Thursday already. Wow. How time is flying.

We left Salt Lake City (one day) and landed in La Grande, Oregon. It's in the north eastern part of the state and it's pretty desolate out there. But we were nestled in behind a nice little row of pine-covered bluffs and it was so quiet and peaceful, it was a wonderful change from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The RV pool was in the shape of a perfect circle surrounded by ponds that were filled with lilly pads. It was quite serene. After a few days of nothing but school and work, we set out again. This time to the Columbia Gorge. Amazing. You are driving through this sliced-out area of the Cascade Mountains next to the Columbia River that seperates Oregon and Washington. There are little towns on either side and orchards that dot the landscape. Spectacular.

Today, we headed out to the Mother's Market, the local health food store, which sits next to a trailer that sells homemade Thai food, and a surf board shop. (do they really surf on the river?) We then drive an hour 1/2 south to a teeny tiny town called Maupin. Population 300. We're greeted by an Hawaiian guy (in Maupin, Oregon?) and one of the locals - a high school graduate who drove us to the top of the Deschutes River. Well, not the exact TOP, but top enough for the flow of this story. We don our life jackets, to which Ching (is that really an Hawaiian name?) tightened up so tightly I swore Ezra almost started to turn blue. Then we hop in our raft with our guide, Casey, the local football star. Ching went with the other family we rafted with, which remarkably enough also had 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl (what are the odds). They were from Redmond, Oregon. The day was hot and fairly calm. And the water was COLD but refreshing! We grabbed our paddles and headed out. Three hours later, drenched and tired from rowing, (and man did we row) we 'put in', as they say in rafting lingo. Super fantastic it was.

Now, you would think that racing down the river dodging boulders the size of Hippos, and paddling for dear life into a wall of raging water coming directly at your face, and being tossed into the air at breakneck speeds was terrifying. Not compared to the ride in the bus back to town, anyway. The bus driver, and I will testify to this, did not watch the road the entire time. No he did not. I really think that the bus drove itself back to town, cause that old guy wasn't doing anything that remotely resembled anything in the way of steering. And if he had turned the wheel one hundredth of an inch to the right, we would have gone right over the edge, down the rocky cliff and into the river. No, there were no guard rails and no shoulder to speak of. Even the white line that would indicate the lane had been erased due to erosion. In other words - part of the road was GONE! Fallen into the river below! And did I mention he wasn't obeying any speed limit signs, not that there were any - and maybe that's why he felt he didn't need to obey them as THEY WEREN'T THERE. And so, he went his own speed, which was faster than any of the rapids on the river. No, the white water rafting was exhilerating, physically taxing, thrilling, and even relaxing at times (there were times we just floated, which was soooo nice and calming), I don't think anyone was scared (well, okay, maybe India was a teeny tiny bit nervous at the beginning), but it was just fun. Really, really fun. No, it's the drive back to your vehicle that you are signing a death waver for. Trust me. THAT was terrifying.

Well, I guess most of you all are back to school, as we are as well. Schooling with four children in a 240 square foot RV gets a little challenging, but we make it work. Sort of. Whether any of us have any sanity left by the end of this trip, remains to be seen. But as long as the boys rotate their spots - One on my bed, one at the table, one on Noah's bed - or maybe one outside on the picnic table, or sometimes, two at the table, but that's when they are kind of getting along with each other, so you can guess how often that happens - and then they switch around every day. That is sort of working. India has been going to the library with Gary when he goes, if the connection at the RV park gets too slow for him to work. Otherwise, she sits in her little cubicle (her bed) and studys there. (Gary is wise enough to retreat to the suburban or outside on a lawn chair) So the rest of us are all just cozy like little bugs in a rug or peas in a pod! Right? Um, not so much. Maybe more like - RATS IN A CAGE!! AAAHHH!!! :)


Anyway, better hit the hay. Take care, everyone.
Blessings,
jill and all