The weather this weekend turned out great - time again to hit the river! They opened up Summer Salmon season for only 2 weeks, so we had to give it a shot. The new tow-bar also needed to be field tested, so the kids were more eager than usual to hit the water!Fishing was dead! Not even a bite. Friday afternoon was breezy and choppy on the water, but still it was nice to be out.
On Saturday we got all of the chores done, and dug 2 loads of manure for Mom's blueberries to be planted in. Not too many nightcrawlers for squaw-fishing, but some...
Here's the crew tending the boat while I park the truck. Good looking boat, and a great crew. We can launch and load the boat with very little effort or barking.
We took the boat out to Cottonwood Island at the mouth of the Cowlitz River. Great beach with lots to do. Swimming, splashing, fishing, and throwing rocks!
After a few hours of fishing with NO bites, we put the tow-bar to the test. We took it slow with only 1 test pilot on a tube for a while, and then put 350 lbs of kids on two tubes to really load it down!The bar worked FANTASTIC! It kept the ropes up and well out-of-the-way of the motor. No bending or evidence of stress on the bar or the floor mounts, either.
The kids couldn't get enough. After 15 minutes or so, we'd shift them out to give everyone a turn, and they'd be shivering and tired, but wanting more!
Another fun thing we've started doing with the kids... burying treasure! Everybody dreams about FINDING treasure, but how can you find it if noone is ever HIDING treasure?On this dig, I took the 2 oldest girls. We hiked a long time into the island to find a spot to bury our loot. I told them stories about pirates hiding loot, then only the captain returning to the ship. They quickly decided they could KEEP the loot and ditch the Captain, so I quit telling stories!
I took a string of pearls, a $2 bill, some money from Iraq, Afganistan, and Vietnam, and a silver dollar dated 1793 and vacuum sealed them. I also included 3 DVDs with pictures, video, etc from previous years of adventures. The DVDs also have clues on them for finding other treasure. The girls were dismayed that we were burying pearls...
I told them we'd go dig up the treasure in 25 years... about the time I let them start dating!
As we go out and camp or play on different islands of the NorthWest, we have started leaving clues and treasure behind. Something to look forward to finding with the grandkids.
Then it was back to the river. This time we showed them the proper ways to dismount a speeding tube...
It was a great day. Some of us got too much sun, but that will help us remember sunscreen the rest of the year.
When its nice in the NorthWest, you can't beat it. Anywhere!
