Night rafting

Last night my plan was to have a low-key night of playing games. But then Brent had the idea of floating down the Willamette river in his new raft. Kristen set to work convincing reluctant particpants (me) to go. I finally agreed to night rafting on the condition that I didn't have to carry the raft or do any rowing. With the promise of my terms being met, six of us headed to the Willamette river.

It's a good thing I didn't have to do any rowing because I did in fact have to pick up that raft...4 or 5 times. What I thought would be a leisurely float down the river turned into a mini-adventure that lasted 5 hours. We ended up putting the raft in the water at an "unofficial boat launch" which consisted of a steep narrow path in between blackberry bushes at a local park. By this time it was pitch black...I don't know where the moon was last night...and only Brent had the foresight to bring a headlamp. Stumbling over rocks and becoming tangled in blackberry branches, we carried the gear one more time and finally got on the river at about 9:30.

Brent rowed us down the river to a flat spot where we made a camp fire. The s'mores were great with the added flavor of smoke from a duraflame log. The stars were awesome and the company was fun and refreshing.

I must admit Kristen was right, I didn't want a low key night after all.

cm2007 conference

I was in Korea a couple of weeks ago for a conference with Crusade. My 8 days there provided me with countless things to blog about, and I will just write about one for today.

The Koreans were incredible hosts, looking out for all of our needs. In the conference handbook we were told what food we would be eating each day, and there was even a picture of what to expect at meal time. They also gave us a tip about the food. "If your food smells spoiled, don't eat it and let one of the conference workers know." I remember thinking, "All the food smells spoiled, how am I supposed to know if it really is?" So I ate my meals gratefully and in ignorance.

Until one day at the staff women's time. I was sitting in my chair, chatting with friends and enjoying my lunch consisting of unidentifiable dishes. One of the conference workers got on the microphone to inform us that one of the side dishes in the meal had "slightly spoiled" and she told us not to eat it. My stomach turned and I broke out into a sweat as I swallowed my last bite of the dish she just talked about. I now know what spoiled Korean food is like.

Cheyenne Frontier Days

Yesterday I participated in a cultural experience. It was the 111th celebration of frontier days, held in Cheyenne Wyoming. As I thought of what to wear for the day, my fake cowgirl hat was at the top of my list. Then I imagined myself being so clearly seen as a poser that I would get beat up by real cowgirls wearing wranglers, sparkly shirts, and real hats. Oh, and don't forget those boots. Cowgirls are nice, but don't get on their bad side. I know. I'm from Montana.

It's a good thing that anyone is accepted at frontier days cause I had such a blast. The Rodeo was fantastic. One of the bulls earned his living when he gave us a good show by digging his horns into the cowboy who dared to ride him. The guy walked away though, and I was amazed once again by how tough cowboys are.

One of my favorite moments was the Native American dance show. They even invited me to dance with them for the last song. I was proving my motto in life to be true once again, and I danced.

more crazy animals in Tahoe

Yesterday my friend Kelly and I were taking care of last minute details for summer project. In the Staples parking lot we pulled in next to an old convertible car with chipped paint. There was a dog in the passenger seat, which is not weird. But when the dog turned its head towards us, we saw that it was wearing sunglasses!

I tried taking a picture of it so you could enjoy the sight. But the dog started snarling and barking at me when I pulled out my camera and I got scared and ran away. I'm hoping to see it again and I will be brave and get a picture the next time.

Animal sightings in Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is full of incredible wildlife like....

The peach colored parrot that was sitting on the tailgate of a Dodge truck in a parking lot. I wouldn't have noticed this bird had it not started talking to two cute girls walking by. As I was trying to decipher what the bird was saying, the owner came out to feed the bird an apple. This guy was tough..a miner in fact. His truck had a logo that said a company name and then "exploration and mining inc." The owner was wearing carhartts, sporting a fumanchu mustache, and wearing a tight tank top. Just the type of guy I would imagine owning a peach parrot.

In other animal sightings....
I was walking down to Camp Richardson with some friends today. A guy on a bicycle passed us with a child carrier in the back, naturally we expected to see a child sitting there.
Instead we saw a cat.

Tahoe is a crazy place #2

I'm sitting in an amazing coffee shop in Tahoe. When I ordered my french press coffee I even got to choose from among 15 beans from different parts of the world. I chose an Italian roast, next time I'm going for a Costa Rica bean. Anyway, this isn't a post about my coffee obsession...what was I talking about?

Oh yeah. Another crazy Tahoe sighting.

These 3 biker guys just walked in all dressed in their black leather and chains. They said to the barista, "What's a mocha shake?" After the explanation, I heard, "I'll have one of them. Give me one with white chocolate."

Luckily the Bing Crosby music playing in the background was too loud for them to hear me chuckling at them. I bet they would have gently set down their white chocolate mocha shakes and beat me up.

Tahoe is a crazy place #1

I'm in Lake Tahoe, CA for summer project. This has been such a great opportunity for new observations. This place is crazy, let me tell you.

Today we had a staff meeting outside and I saw these two crazy events within a few minutes of each other:

A tow truck hauling another tow truck. I think there's a problem with this picture.

Off in the distance I heard a faint "tinkle", "tinkle" of a bike bell. That's a common sound since the project property is surrounded by bike paths. When I looked in the direction of the bike bell I saw a man in a billowy shirt, a wide brim purple hat with a 2 foot bright purple feather sticking out of it. He was followed by a woman on another bike in a red medieval shirt and jeans.

I apologize to my fellow summer project directors for laughing out loud during staff meeting. But the pirate made me do it!