Buoy 10 - Salmon Madness

Ever since the Lund showed up from Alaska (April?) Thor has been desperate to get out and do some fishing. Unfortunately the arrival of the boat coincided pretty neatly with his head injury - so a long day out in the sun was pretty much out of the question. 

With T's sleep and overall brain health rapidly improving however (yay yay - everyone keep sending positive thoughts) we decided to take a fishing trip before they closed down the fishery at Buoy 10 for the season. Buoy 10 is out near Astoria, and is legendary for great salmon fishing. 

We were almost skunked before even leaving when it looked like the quotas were going to be reached by the middle of last week, but they decided to leave it open for hatchery fish over the weekend so we lucked out. Our friends Brook and Corrina came out with us and we had a great time hanging out and catching up with them. At the end of the day we were 8 fish reeled in for 11 hooked - with three of them hatchery fish that we could keep. Not a bad day of salmon fishing!

We put a tow hitch on the sprinter - it pulls the boat like a dream! More than enough power. 

Thor setting up Saturday night to do a late-evening test run 

Beautiful evening skies 

And a gorgeous sunset to boot as we squeaked back into the harbor just before official sundown

Sunday's weather was great too. While Portland friends sat in the rain we were dry all day. 

Thor fights the first hatchery chinook of the day. we fished all day with one bite (that got off) until the afternoon high tide - then the fishing picked up and we had some hot action for about 3-hours

Fish in boat! Everyone's happy - and the fishing bug bit hard. 

Of course - a long day on the water in a simple aluminum skiff means no bathroom. Here I am learning to pee off the side - cant believe this is the first time I've ever had to do this!

Brook brought in the second hatchery chinook - and it was a beauty!

My hatchery coho. I was excited to land a fish! I forgot how much I LOVE to fish!!!!

Corrina landed a fish too - but it was wild so we had to send it back to it's ocean home. Overall we had an amazing day and can't wait to go back! 

Those Summer Nights

The summer nights are getting cool, but still warm - and Thor's head is starting to feel better so we took the Lund out on The Willamette in anticipation of going fishing at Buoy 10 next weekend. We needed to test the motor after having the carburetor fixed - success! The engine is screaming along like a champ now. We had a very nice short spin on the water and enjoyed our time immensely - there will definitely be more evenings on the water this fall - especially once we acquire some lights!

Who let this guy drive?

Tingey's gone wild!

I drove for a bit and Laea got some lap time. 

Crankworx Enduro - Finished!

I'm done! I'm pretty sure I finished 9th overall. Stages 1-4 went great and I was in 6th - then on Stage 5 I snapped my rear derailleur cable while in the hardest gear and had to ride the whole stage that way. Super bummer, but a great day overall! Such awesome trails - and an amazing opportunity to race on such technical terrain!

oh yeah - I'm in one piece too. no crashes!

Whistler Crankworx - pre-ride days

so far so good! it's beautiful here, but the riding is gnarlier than anything else I've ever done. tomorrow is going to be an ass-kicker. 

Whistler or Bust! Journeying North for Crankworx

the crankworx whistler enduro is this weekend!! were about 10 min away from canada birder right now. I'm nervous. the course looks very technically challenging + long. so I will be proud just to finish in one piece with minimal tears. :) I am determined to have fun though!!!

Also - this is our first long trip with the van! we tested its awesomeness last night by just pulling into a rest area along I-5 to sleep. so easy! 

Here are a few pics from our adventure so far. We're about to cross into Canada - but if I can find wifi up there I'll try to post a pic or two over the weekend while we're there. 

Thor picked me up from work downtown

But we forgot the bike lock keys so had to run home. mom had dropped off our supply of Costco almond butter which Thor was happy to snag a jar of (yes he's drinking it!)

the sunset on our drive north. gorgeous!

Home sweet home! The Smokey Point rest area north of Marysville

Piglet along for the ride - looking her usual excited self. 

These are chickens. :( a whole trailer of sad, harried looking chickens stacked together on their way to someone's table. They were only a couple semis away from us - luckily we couldn't hear them. The van is so quiet inside - it's great!

Thor whipping up some eggs

for a delicious breakfast on the road! figuring out how to eat well on the riad under the constraints of space and available refrigeration will be a challenge. neither of us want to revert to eating ramen and burritos any time we take a trip. 

brought the electric tea kettle with us - brilliant! hooray for inverters. 

Yosemite Summer Wedding - What a Blast!

Two weekends ago we traveled to Yosemite for John and Beth's wedding. I'm behind on posting - so I'll just drop in some highlights here: 

- so great to see Anna and all the rest if the family that traveled there

- the wedding/whole event was lovely - such an enjoyable celebration!

- karaoke was memorable - especially Peter winning the bar's competition with his rendition of 'Don't Speak'

- Yosemite is incredible. Amazing. Especially the high country. I highly recommend visiting if you have never been. 

and now onto some photos:

one of the best swimming pools ever. 

the happy hikers taking a dip

Thor, William and Adele plan their route up el Cap. next trip!

it's like they planned their outfits together

On top of Lembert Dome