Kayaking Deer Creek

On our way up to Lassen on Saturday we noticed that Deer Creek was looking good, so we made tentative plans to kayak Deer Creek on Monday. The most popular Deer Creek run is a 30 mile overnight class IV-V adventure. We just ran two small sections (Elam to Slate Creek-1 mile and Potato Patch to Deer Creek trail head-1.7 mile stretch). The creek has a wilderness feel-small, lush vegetation, forested. We had to get out of boats several times on the Potato Patch section to scout downed logs and horizon lines. It was a big adventure for us since neither of us had boated Deer Creek prior to our excursion today. Both stretches we boated were class 3+/-.

Getting ready to put on the water.

A shot of the highly elusive Rosser.


Action shot of Ross running a rapid.

Enjoying the scenery.

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Lassen Ski day 6-25

Ross took me skiing at Lassen yesterday. It was a beautiful day and the snow was good. We drove up to the Bumpass Hell parking lot and then skied towards the peak. Behind us in the picture below is Helen Lake.

Babysitting in Fortuna 6-18

Scott and Jamie went backpacking at Coffee Creek, so I got to stay with Mickey and Izze. The girls were great, no problems at all. We spent the weekend playing, lots of playing: Eureka zoo, Sequoia Park, playgrounds, walks in the neighborhood, crafts, farmer's market/oysterfest, etc.... At the zoo, one of the monkeys was singing and the girls wanted me to take a picture of him. I hope to visit again soon! I am always available to babysit these girls!!

Threshing Bee at Patrick Ranch 6-11

In early June, Patrick Ranch hosts a threshing bee and county fair to showcase agriculture. There were many cool demonstrations: sheep dog training (below), wheat harvesting-grinding-baking, old tractors and horse driven threshers, etc.

Mumphie and I watched the ag. exchange student from N.Dakota demonstrate a bee beard. Pretty crazy! She said that she was not stung at all. She held a queen bee in a small box between her lips to draw the other bees up from her lap and chest.

Mumphie in front of the historic Patrick Ranch house, 1800's era home.

Turtle Bay (last weekend)

The last weekend of May was cool and rainy in the north state. We decided to visit Turtle Bay, in Redding, as a cool day in the arboretum is much preferable to a scorching summer day. We had the arboretum to ourselves for the most part, and enjoyed a peaceful stroll amongst the greenery.

The current featured exhibit is "Grossology: the impolite science of the human body," which included: colons, snot, burp machines, and explanations of sounds/smells. Ross and Katya had a grand time. After exploring inside, we headed outside to visit the animals (porcupine, fox, barn owl, golden eagle, and a few others). Ross and Katya then entered a large bird cage full of colorful lorakeets; both charmed the birds and fed them nectar.