Sternwheeler Races in the Gorge!!

This past weekend was "Sternwheeler Days" at Cascade Locks where they were scheduled to race two of the old steam sternwheelers up the gorge. The race did not happen though because one of them lost its steering and ended up destroying it's paddle wheel on some rocks. This was the same one that was used in the movie "Maverick" with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.

We managed to take a ride on one of them for a 2 hour tour of part of the Gorge. We all had a great time. These pics are from my phone - I wish we had remembered the camera because there were some guys playing on kite boards in the wake and were pretty amazing to watch.

Both Sternwheelers side by side - notice the damaged wheel on the one to the right.

This is the one from the movie "Maverick"

A couple shots from on the water of the gorge.

Bye again - for now!!

Hiking in the Gorge

The other day we hiked up to Rowena Crest. This is about 10-12 miles from our house and is a great road ride destination. We hiked out to the cliffs with Camden to take in the views. For those of you that don't know - Hood River sits in the Columbia River Gorge on the Eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains. If you go 5 miles west into the Cascades more, the terrain turns very green from all the rain. 5 miles east takes you into more of a desert climate. That is why it looks so brown in some of these pics as we are just East of Hood River in the Gorge.


This is a very scenic overlook for the gorge. Camden walked the entire 1 1/2 miles out to the cliffs - throwing rocks along the way:

He was sooo much fun. Just amazed at all the big birds (we tried to tell him one was a hawk so after that he called every bird a hawk - except it came out "cock". "Where's my cock" and "That's a big cock" kept us in stitches through the whole hike!!!)I don't think there could be anything better in life than days like these with my family. We have so much fun and there is always another adventure waiting around the next corner for us!!
Goodbye for now!!

Exploring Hood River

The biking in Hood River is absolutely amazing - Road and Mountain.
Here are a couple shots from the bike while mountain biking in Post Canyon. (I can ride my bike here from the house)
The mtn biking has alot more shade from huge trees that I am not used to from UT. Even when it's really hot the shade keeps it cool and GREEN!

These next pics are of some of the crazy ramps they build here for mtn biking. So far these are the most technical ones I've ridden. Some are barely wider than my tires and have huge drops - I'm not ready for those yet!


Yesterday, Amy, Cam and I rode 20 miles on a loop from Hood River, up East Side Rd. and through the town of Odell. I think we saw more bikes than cars. The ride was mostly gently sloping hills (except one short steep that really taxed me with the trailer) We had great views of Mt. Hood and Adams through the whole ride that went through orchard after orchard on glass, smooth roads without a car in sight. It was one of the best family rides we've ever done!!

We Made The Move!!!

Well, we finally made the move. My brother, Keith, came up Friday and helped us pack the truck. Actually - when he took me to the rental place we discovered that my license had expired and I had to go renew it to get the truck. things were getting off to a slow start!! When we finally got to the house around 1 o'clock we found Amy at home with Camden who had a 104 degree temperature. Now things were starting to look gloomy.
Keith helped us load all the big stuff we could on the truck that afternoon. Camden tried to help the best he could but from the picture below, you can see how tiring moving is when you're sick.
We got all the big stuff loaded that afternoon with Keith and then Amy, Cam and I camped out on the last mattress in our house that night for our official last night in Utah together!!!

It took Amy and I the entire next day to get all the rest of the little stuff packed and loaded while Camden slept off his fever most of the day - poor guy slept almost all day!

We finally had everything we could fit (literally squeezed in every nook and cranny of truck and both cars) loaded by around 6 in the evening Saturday and were on the road after saying goodbyes by around 7. Check out Cam crammed into the back of Amy's car with his "Reading Bear" (where we read books every night)
By Saturday night Camden was doing much better and his fever was gone. We maid it to Twin Falls, ID that night. The next morning we fueled up and hit the road early to make it to Hood river that night.

We got to Hood River about 5 pm on Sunday. Amy's parents came down to help us unload. Her dad was a real workhorse and flexed the biceps a few time to get the truck unloaded. We probably got about 2/3 of it unloaded into the house that night. As it was getting late, I convinced Amy to take Cam to her parents and let me stay to set up our bedrooms and put some things together. That night I was able to get ours and Cam's bedrooms put together and at least make the place somewhat livable.

We are renting a small cottage that is right downtown - walk to shops/bars - for 6 months while we wait on our home in UT to sell. It is much smaller than our other house, so we still have at least another truckload in UT that we will need to move when it sells.

Here are a couple shots of our temporary home and of the great views it has:



Camden has been quick to make it feel like home. There is a children's park at the end of our street that we take his bike to almost every day:

Camden at School!

Our little man is all grown up!!! No more baby!! He started school at the Winner School last week. (He only gets to go twice and then we move - sad!) He was so proud of his little school bag they gave him and that he get's to ride a BUS!!! - even if it is just around their parking lot so the kids get the idea.

HE HAS GOT TO BE THE CUTEST KID IN THE WORLD!!!!!!

Our trip to Hood River

We have been very busy the past month and I apologize for not posting in a while. We went to Hood River twice this month. Once for the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and Amy's job interview with Summit Projects (she starts with them on the 23rd of this month) and then again to find a place to rent while we wait for our house to sell. We also went to St. George for a weekend and had Keith, Stacey and the boys up for a day with Thomas the Train. Seems like we have something going on every weekend while we're still trying to secure a home in HR and start packing. I've been making trips to Green Bay for my new job in the middle of all of this as well!!

It's been Crazy!

Below are some family pictures from the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Weekend:

Camden cheered every cyclist at the finish line of the time trial!!

At the park with Grandma & Grandpa

At the water front watching the kite boarders and throwing rocks!!

Watching the downtown crit - Camden cheered every lap!

Here's Cam telling the Rock Racing team that he doesn't need performance enhancing drugs to kick their butts!!

Moving to Hood River!!

We are moving to Hood River this weeekend! Everyone has asked me to send them pictures of the area so here are some pics we took just driving around when we were up there for the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

Mt. Adams (WA) from a cycling route I do:

Orchards above Hood River roll on forever!

This is from above town looking at the Hood River running toward the Gorge:
Mt. Hood

Scenic biking route:

Mt. Hood again:

The Hood River:

The Gorge from town:

Wind surfing!!!

Kite Boarding!!!

The bridge to White Salmon, WA

Town shots:

The Gorge:

Mt Adams, WA from town

Jackson Park in town:

More Town Shots: