Box R or Bust

The 4th graders had a blast.

Mick and Dane's friend Memmo's dad, Dave.

They balanced and jumped and hung and fell their way through the obstacle course. They rode the hanging oil drum "bucking bronco," they shot arrows at the archery range. They also ziplined, rowed, and swam at a lake while the temperature outside was 50 degrees. They gathered sticks and made dream catchers, hiked in rain and hail, slept in tipis, took turns at KP, howled like wolves, and roasted marshmallows round the fire.

And if they were Dane, they also roasted wet socks. And "accidently" burned them.

Those 27 fourth-graders came back today grimy, dragging, and happy. They were a little queasy from the bus ride home, but you could tell it didn't matter. Their teacher set them up with an awesome adventure.

When I asked Dane at dinner what the highlight of his trip was, he said, "Being with Dad."

Dane and Dad.

Mick said he loved being there for Dane, too, even though it was cold and a lot of work. He also said one of his highlights was that our niece, Indi, came and sat on his lap the first night at campfire.

Indi.

Such a great time.

Dane and Nic.

Dane and Aubs when Aubs and I dropped in for a couple hours.

Our friend Linda and her daughter Alex.

Linda and Alex.

Dane and me. Dane says, "Creepy smile Dane."

Mick, Aubs, and Indi.

KP duty.

Baby Wood Ducks Fell From The Sky - and other campfire tales

Little baby ducks fell from the sky!

Or so it seemed...

Our second day of camping at Lake of the Woods, these little fuzzy brown ducks dropped to the ground from way up high in a pine tree at our site. One of them even fell on my shoulder. Which, I'm sorry to say, was gross. Especially if, like me, your first thought would be that the fuzzy creature was a rat.

So, seven little wood ducks, stunned from their fifty-foot drops, flopped around at the base of a giant pine tree as four kids and a mom (not me) doted over them. (I was still thinking it could've been a rat.) My friend Kerry and the kids then gently picked up the baby ducks and ran the fifty yards down to the lake to put them with a duck they believed was their mother. (I think she was.)

After they left, a final duck fell from the tree. Not on me. In a scientific experiment, I watched it.

And I'm happy to report, that little fuzzball made it's way in a diagonal beeline - confidently skirting tied-up dogs, fallen logs, and picnic bench legs - to reunite with its mama and siblings!

We had no idea these were wood ducks at the time, but had to do some research after we got home. Dane's buddy Logan made my day when he said with a huge smile, "Now I know what I'm writing about my summer on the first day back to school!"

And here's the other stuff he might also want to add...

Logan and Dane with their moss-staches.

In Kerry's big ole tent.

Fending off mosquitoes in a most fashionable way.

My dandy boy. ("Mom, can I go to water's edge?")

S'mores, of c'ores.

Cork guns and a song: sha-pa-pa-pa pa-pa! Pop!

Sharly and Cherry Pie: the baby ducks were cute,
but these are the BEST fuzzy camping pals.

MT. BIKE OREGON
AND SOME
HOWARD PRAIRIE CAMPING

While Mick spent a three-day weekend with his brother at Mt. Bike Oregon, which they planned five months ago, the kids and I spent a three-day weekend at Howard Prairie, which we planned five days ago.

I can vaguely report that Mick came home exhausted and happy (maybe he'll post his own blog?), and I can specifically report that the kids and I came home exhausted and happy as well.

Howard Prairie on Lake Hyatt is just a half hour out of Ashland - 17 miles out Dead Indian Memorial Road. (The kids and I think this is a sad and lonely name - and when we learn why it's called that, we'll report back.)

We arrived at noon on Friday and scoped out a coveted LAKESIDE spot and spent the afternoon kayaking and swimming on the lake and doing a little bike riding through the campground. The kids also got to do a little jet skiing.

Dane admired the jetskis of the family on the beach next to us and the dad came over and whispered to me later that if my boy wanted a ride on the jet ski, he'd be happy to take him. He wanted to see if I was comfortable with that. He and his wife and baby and in-laws were totally wholesome and warm and I told him my kid would think it was awesome.

So, both Dane and Aubrey took rides with Chad on his sit-down jet ski and squealed and steered and smiled the whole 10 minutes of each of their rides. I just stood on the beach smiling and thrilled for them.

Other than the jet skiing highlight, we woke up around 8 on Friday and took a ride in the kayak together on a calm morning lake. I paddled the sit-on-top and the kids each sat on an end, dragging their feet through the water.

Later that morning, we took a six mile bike ride on a trail part-way round the lake and had a blast. Dane just zipped ahead - but always made sure to stop at decent intervals so we didn't get separated for long - and Aubrey used those little knobby tires like a pro, saying things like, "I think we should go the whole way round the lake!" (it's 15 miles) and "Mom, I'm mountain bike riding!"

We stopped at one point at a place like this:


I didn't have a camera with me and I didn't have a piece of paper or pencil, but I memorized the moment -- the scene, the scent, and especially what my boy said -- because it about melted me into the ground.

He stood there really still, squinting at the landscape, and said - speaking with this sort of cadence where he lingers on his key words (I'll emphasize them for you):

This place is a beauty.
You've got your tall trees growin' over there...
You've got this great big lake here...
You've got all this green grass growin'...

Then a slow, audible sigh.

Yeah, that about sums it up, I think.

Later, after a return ride, where Aubrey handled herself like a champ (her chain came off at least 8 times, and she only broke down to cry on about the eighth time), some friends joined us.

Here's some Chix in the Stix with our Pips:

Girl pips.

Grubby Mom feet.

Chix on the beach.

Boyz In the Hatch.

Box R Ranch Trip as told by Dane

So, on the first day, I was at the YMCA for the beginning. We packed up all our stuff and we took a long time for us to go there, and then we were driving there. And in the middle of the drive the girls bus stalled - it's true - and they had to wait there for an hour.

So, we took all our stuff into the tipi and we set up everything. Everybody had their own spot for their clothes and sleeping bag. I was with Keller, William, Ben, Isaiah, Jorge, Carson, and Mason. My camp counselor was named Tucker. I didn't know any of them - except I met Keller at a birthday party once - before I went to camp.

We went to sleep in our tipis and then we woke up for Polar Bear Swim. It was warm, but the water slide was cold and we weren't allowed to do the zip line. This was at 6:30 in the morning. And then we started rotations.

One of the rotations was going swimming again; another was art; and the last was sports. The next day we did archery. And I was not that good. So, there was hay and a target. And in the target there was a yellow, black, green, and a red and yellow. Yellow was the bullseye. I got the worst ever. Wanna know why? I got two in the hay and one in the white. But it's still my favorite thing.

On Wednesday we did a campfire. We roasted s'mores and they were yummy. It was a very cold night so it was nice doing that. That night, it was actually kind of raining.

Every night there was skits. There was a really good skit. This wasn't my group - and it was cows with guns. And my group did the midget exercise once -- we were midgets and we did exercises and stuff. We weren't in midget mode but we put shoes on our knees. It was a funny play. One of the counselors said, "So far, that's the best play."

Then there was the broncin' barrell. It's an awesome barrell ride of sorts. You'll have to see when we go. It's freaky -- I know how to work it, though.

When I was going there, I thought it would be a giant box with an R on it and it would have a bunch of ranch dressing in it. It's true. But it was really a giant ranch.

Every morning, I just put on clothes. I didn't care if they were clean or dirty. *

I want to go back next year!

By Dane Reynolds



*Note: Mom here. This is true. His duffle bag had many clean clothes in it when he returned. I think Dane wore the same clothes 3 days in a row -- underwear included.

BOX R RANCH

Guess who's heading out on his first week of overnight camp? And guess who gets to sleep in a tipi, hop out of the sack early for Polar Bear Swims, shoot arrows from a bow, and stay up late round a campfire?

That's right. Little Roscoe's headed off to YMCA camp. Aubrey's been telling him every ten minutes for the last two days that she misses him already. He's been packed and ready to go since Friday.

The rest of us will stay home and wish him well -- we'll also surprise him with some gooshy lipsticky HoneyBoy Reynolds mail so he can have the full camp experience. Of course.

Click here to get the lay of the land.

.

YOSEMITE - 9.22.07 & 9.23.07

Left Sausalito on Saturday morning around 9. Realized that with the forecast of rain and thundershowers in Yosemite, we might not need to high-tail it there with an early start. It took us about 5 hours and plenty of Pirate's Booty, carrot sticks, H2O and Jelly Bellies.

We had no idea what we were going to see. Didn't really know much about El Capitan and Half Dome. After looking up from the valley to these miles of sheer cliffs -- carved out millions of years ago by glaciers -- we figured out how Yosemite got its reputation. (Our friend Erik Otterholt climbed El Capitan one summer, sleeping overnite hanging from hooks in something like a hammock. Now that we've seen it, our admiration for his climbing has grown from big to HUGE.)

Once we got in the park, we went straight to Bridal Veil Falls, where Aubrey described the water coming over the edge as "dusty" -- water's low, of course, at end of summer. Apparently, I didn't even take a picture of it.

Dane keeps warm in the cold.

Dane took this one. (above)

Rock star in the tent at Curry Village while the rain came down. It was dreamy to have the heater that night. Sure, we were supposed to be roughing it, but sleeping in a wet 40 degrees doesn't top my list.

We brought our bikes and rode through the valley the next morning. Major puddle cruising first, and then we hit the trails.Mick and Dane ahead of Aubs and me.

Mick over my shoulder.

Aubs over my shoulder.
She intentionally styled her helmet hair for the "unicorn" look.

Dane rides alongside.

At the sandy beds of what was Mirror Lake this summer.

Can't wait to return.

Click on this: Curry Village Yosemite and you'll see where we're camping tomorrow night. We're staying in a "tent." Weather there is supposed to be stormy tonight, rainy Saturday, and sunny on Sunday.

Tonight Dane's going to a Giant's game with his buddy Josh, and Josh's sister Abby is spending the evening with Aubrey at our house.

Mick and I will be packing/planning for Yosemite. We've never been! We're bringing bikes! We leave in the morning at 7!

Writing, School, Camping

Dawn Yun, the leader of my Writing Mamas writer's group at Book Passage, has just launched a website: www.writingmamas.com. Check it out if you're curious to see what I/we've been up to. I've submitted one piece; I hope to submit more soon. (Yours truly is also in a photo.)

In other news, Dane's still enjoying kindergarten (will post pix as soon as I can download them) and Mick took his last final at 2pm today. Done with quarter #5. This one just sort of snuck up on us!

We're going camping this weekend at Mackerricher State Park, about three hours north of here; will pull Dane out at lunchtime tomorrow and start driving. Bringing bikes, kite, s'more fixins.