HIAWATHA BIKE TRAIL/IDAHO MONTANA BORDER

This is the rail to trails that was developed on the Id and Mt border. You can either bring your own bikes or rent them from the ski and bike shop off the hwy. We did both on this trip. There was our daughter Karen, husband, Dave, son, Ryan, friend, Orin and Jim and I. Wow, what a trip.

This is the first of 5 tunnels you rode thru. There were lights on the bikes so you could see where the heck you were riding. It is blacker than black thru this tunnel especially, it's the longest also, about a mile and a half to get thru it. Very wet, water dripping from the ceiling and the sides, Orin fell as did another lady going thru, very slippery and gravely with pot holes, oh yeah. Some of the scenery, oh how we love the mountains, this trip is over 15 miles long, you can stop anywhere along the trail, take photos or have a snack or just a good rest. It is mostly downhill, thank goodness, otherwise they would have had to call and fly us out of there.

Now this shot got tricky, I was actually riding the bike and taking this pic as we went, that's Dave, by the way. Such a cool son-in-law, we are very blessed.
Karen pausing on one of the several trellis' that we rode over. Doing a look down, my stomach did flips, when you looked at the trellis' from above we were convinced that we could not go over them, but once there, it was not too bad.



Orin on the left and grandson, Ryan on the right. Right from the get-go, Orin crashed and burned while riding thru the first tunnel. Thank goodness, no broken bones.
Waterfall in the background, while Jim and I posed for a quick pic. It was a great day and very happy to say that, "WE DID IT"!!!!!!!!
The shuttle bus comes about every 1/2 hour to load bikes and riders for, now get this, yet, another wild ride back up the mountain, this road leaves alot to be desired, very narrow and winding, we were hoping to see a moose or two but no luck coming out. We did see one though, far off in the distance on our ride to Hiawatha in the car, a mom and her baby. So that was cool.

A DAY ON THE SNAKE RIVER

Ryan, Dave and Jim getting ready to board the Snake Dancer.

We started off on this trip from Clarkston, WA. The Snake Dancer Jet boat tour was worth every minute we spent on the water. The Snake River is truly beautiful, we saw deer and big horn sheep and several hawks along the way.
Some of the rapids we went through. The trip took us up the river into the canyon and over many rapids as shown above. Now it's getting very hot, the Captain stopped the boat several times and anyone who wanted to could go swimming. Some even jumped off the cliffs.
Here Ryan is trying out the waterfall called Cherry Creek, many of the rafters that use the river also use this spot to do their bathing. It's a perfect bowl that you sit in and just let the falls come down over you.
Ryan taking a dip at one of the stop overs.

A good shot of the jet boat we took.
Ryan and Grandma under an apple orchard on one of the stops. It was a visitors center which educated one on the area, the volunteers there stay a month at a time, it was awsome. There are no roads after a certain point, the mail boat goes up on Wednesdays and returns on Thursday. It is very remote, however, since the river is so busy they get lots of company.
Karen inside the visitor's center

RENDEZVOUS IN THE PARK

Karen and Shawna are setting up for the morning, they will have kids come thru and make bookmarks, using stamps and inking and chalking their creations. This takes place every year at the park, Saturday morning is for the kids they go from booth to booth and make all sorts of fun things that are all set up for them, they had a great showing of kids. The evening brings on lots of bands and all sorts of music. Cool town.

A DAY AT PAPER PALS SCRAPBOOK AND STAMP STORE

This was a really fun project that Karen and I did at her Moscow store, it's a shadow box that we painted and then took some great pictures of Karen's family, (the one of Jared in the corner got a little bright, but you can see him sorta) and some of her great paper that she sells for card making and scrap booking. We cut it up to fit the slots and then embellished the boxes with some really cool stuff. Butterflies, small eggs, buttons and the sorts. Then we took a clock kit and did the same thing. We used matching papers and rub on numbers, I just need to add a battery and it's set to go. I really enjoyed the day with her, she does an awsome job, her creativity is just over the top. So very proud of her.

A VERY SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP

This is our friend, Kathy, we go back many, many years. Her husband John and my Jim worked together with PPL as linemen. We had so much fun when our kids were growing up, we camped and fished together and lived in Grants Pass, OR at the time. Kathy is now in Hermiston, OR and John very sadly passed away a little time back. He is missed. We keep up to date with our children and grandchildren via the internet. Thank goodness there is this easy way to communicate on a daily basis if we need to, but you know when you have friends that are so special, you just take up where you left off, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, to me that is "True Friendship".

MULTNOMAH FALLS, OREGON

This is one of our favorite places in Oregon. It is located along the Columbia River Gorge, there is a path one can hike that goes from the base of the falls all the way up to the top, if one chose to do such a thing. Obviously, Jim and I chose not to go to the top.
Jim is at the base of the falls where the path starts up the hill to Lower Falls.I am standing on the bridge at Lower Falls, when you look over the rail there were red roses that were thrown into the water from a wedding the day before.

OUR NIECE, JULIE AND HER BEST FRIEND, ANNIE

After we left Klamath Falls, OR we headed north on I5 to see our niece, Julie. She is doing so good, has a great job at the hospital in Salem, OR and works as an Echocardiographist. She graduated from OIT in Klamath Falls, OR and lived with us on and off during her time at OIT. We are all very proud of her.

TESSA AND AARON'S WEDDING, MERRILL, OR

The Rodger's family, Tessa, Todd, Brad and Barb. Tessa's wedding took place at her family home in Merrill, OR. What a beautiful day and family. It was so good to see them all and be a part of Tessa's special day. Brad walking Tess down the aisle. Brad looks so good, he had a liver transplant not that very long ago and we are so happy to see him healthy again and able to walk his gorgeous daughter down the aisle.Tess and Aaron have said their vows and are now pronounced "Man and Wife". He is so darn handsome, they make a beautiful couple. Couldn't have a day like this without Dad's motorcycle as part of the photo op.

TRUE SADNESS

The saying goes that "God gives you only as much as you can handle", well, I am thinking God is getting a little confused on how much one family can handle. On Wednesday my sister, Maureen and her husband Tom, lost yet another child. Our niece, Trisha, had a heart attack and with all the efforts of the EMT's they could not bring her back. The true sadness that surrounds this horrific lose is that they lost their son Tomas just this last April and their son-in-law, Trisha's husband, Philip in April 2007. What I am askng now, is that if you would, please keep this family in your prayers. God bless you all, surround your families with all your love, tell them that you love them everyday and that that love is unconditional.

THE OLD CREAMERY/DOWNTOWN KLAMATH FALLS, OR

The Creamery is now call the Klamath Basin Brewery. A couple of guys from PPL, Del and Lonnie, were always into making beer in their garage. Well they decided to go public with it and put the brewery at the old Creamery downtown. There is a restuarant there and outside eating, they have music and the food was great. What a nice change for the downtown area.

RUNNING Y RANCH/HARBOR LINKS GOLF COURSE

Brenda was able to invite me to a lesson at the Running Y Resort. This place is so unbelievably beautiful, you just have to experience it. A group of ladies get together every Monday for 6 weeks and have a lesson, then the 7th week they all get to golf 9 holes with one of the pros and then have dinner afterwards. What a great idea.

We are having such a good time with Pat and Brenda, they are such great hosts, they have us parked on the back of their acre lot, it's just great, their yard is so gorgeous, and their garden is huge. We were all able to golf 18 holes at Harbor Links, we used to belong to it many years ago and the course is just great. I have to do a little bragging, I will only brag on the front nine though. I shot a 44, I couldn't believe it, we had lunch there and it was a great day all 'n all.