Babies, Birthdays & Bovines
Huntington, Oregon: Hello from Oregon... via Nevada and
Idaho. My morning started at 2 o'clock. I was up - off and on - all night,
checking the interweb for updates on our friends in Portland who were in labor
with their first baby. We had no cell service in the middle of nowhere, so
relied on our rooftop internet dish to keep us connected to The Real World.
Tony was on the team producing the
Olympic
Track & Field Trials in Eugene in 2008.
Just a few weeks after the trials were over, Tony married Jessica and we
were honored to be invited to the ceremony. Two years later, Baby Caleb
was born this morning in Portland. Eight pounds, one ounce. He is perfect
and is blessed to come into an extended family of grandparents, uncles,
aunts and cousins who will love him to
bits.
Congratulations, Jessica & Tony!
Lisa, age 3
Hmmm... kinda reminds me of what I was doing 29 years ago this weekend,
in The Philippines... I think I was about 12 years old at the time...
giving birth to The Lovely Lisa. What was I thinking, giving birth in a
Third World country? Who knows? Anyway, it all worked out. I was in
labor just a few hours and our little 6.6 pound baby
was born. This weekend, our little girl is in Las Vegas with eight of
her friends celebrating all my hard work. Have fun kiddos, and don't
forget your Momma at the craps tables!
The Magna Peregrinus in the morning light on Wild Horse
Crossing Lake
With all my late-night interneting, we were a bit delayed leaving Wild
Horse Crossing Lake this morning. After Little Cabeb was born, I kept
checking for updated photos. Okay, possibly constantly. Then we went for
runs along the great paths around the lake. But I asked My Driver to "get me outta here".
After two weeks over 6000 feet, I needed to get to a lower elevation.
Why I needed to get to a lower elevation:
1. I can't run at 6000 ft.
2. My skin is dry.
3. My lips are chapped.
4. My shampoo bottle keeps exploding.
And so we headed north, towards Idaho through the
Duck Valley Indian
Reservation, the nearly 300,000 acre home of the Shoshone Paiute
Tribes. As I wrote last night, Wild Horse Crossing Reservoir was created
to conserve snow melt for the tribe to use for irrigation. The Owyhee River
leaves the lake and the road immediately plunges down along the river past the
dam, through steep cliffs and sage-covered hillsides. Spectacular, and
one of the most beautiful canyons in the west.
The speed limit through the canyon is very slow. There
are no turn-outs and no passing lanes. No worries - there is no traffic
out in the middle of nowhere. Just beauty.
And cows.
Lots of cows.
There is no fencing on the reservation. Cows go where
they choose. Road signs remind you to be on the lookout for "stock".
Momma's and their babies are a theme in my column
tonight.
And we can't forget to give props to the Poppa's...
bringing up the rear, making sure his ladies and babies are safely
across the road.
DT wants you all to know the Duck Bus turned over
20,000 miles on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation! (Other readings are
transmission temperature 174 degrees and the MP was in 5th
gear.)
Our route today took us through the reservation and
north to Bruneau, Idaho on Highway 51. We then headed up to Marsing on
Highway 78 and then into Oregon and continued to Huntington, Oregon on
Highway 201. (You will need a good map and a magnifying glass to follow
this obscure route.) Nearly every crop we saw cultivated today was for
animal feed. Hay, Alfalfa and corn. Mile after mile after mile of baled
hay. We did see (very little) potatoes growing and as we came close to
the Snake River, we started seeing a few fruit orchards. Mostly, we saw
sagebrush desert. It was a beautiful drive!
Which finds us - at a more tolerable
2000 feet elevation - in the Oasis
RV Park on the shores of the Snake River. Just a
basic campground - though with full 50-amp
big-rig-friendly campsites and no cell service - but we
feel we are in Paradise. Look at the view across the
river to Idaho! So
peaceful. So relaxing.
We only finished one lamb shank last night, so I
removed the meat from the left-over shank, thickened
the gravy and served it all over chunky Yukon Gold
garlicky mashed potatoes.
A lovely Shabbat celebrated in the glorious beauty of
Oregon. We dined outdoors and watched a family of beavers (of the
critter variety, not the Oregon State University variety) on the shore of an island in the river across from the
campground. Not our usual dinner view. Lovely!
Until my next update, I remain, your
motherly correspondent.
PS: The Mariners beat the Yankees 6-0 in New York
tonight.
RV Park: Oasis
RV Park. Apparently there is some fabulous
cat-fishing right here on the river. Full-service 30
& 50 amp pull-through and back-in sites. Laundry and
bathhouse. Boat ramp. No cable TV, but limited
antenna, propane, bait, tackle, ice, fish cleaning
station. Very quiet, right on the river. No cell
service. Sites 1-4 are long pull-throughs with views
directly over the Snake River. We paid $18 with Good Sam discount. Owner,
Allen, is very nice and friendly (even though he is
a Oregon State Beaver fan.)