Pics worth a thousand words

Since I'm short on time I thought I'd see if Pics really are worth a thousand words........Enjoy!

Birthday on the Owyhee

What happens at a river b-day party

Chill'en

Yeah Us and Uncle Ralph

After the Owyhee we ran down to do some real miles on the San Juan River.....(yeah right)

How you really raft the San Juan

River House

Nature!

Now we are off to Estes Park to do some biking and Climbing! Sorry such a short update but you try doing it on the road:)

Just like ADD travel agents off their meds....

We just got done having a wonderful couple of days with Paul and Becky in Durango. We were highly efficient on our trip and hit up SKA brewery,  planned the wedding, and rafted the Animas river at high water followed by brews on the deck of Steamworks brewery. 

Now, almost 1000 miles since leaving Denver Tuesday we are officially headed out to our first river trip. Sunday we put on the Owyhee River for a 7 day trip.  

Right now we are eating dinner, out of the cooler in the truck, in Provo Utah and making our way to Rome Oregon. We will camp somewhere on the way tonight and meet up with more of the group tomorrow.  

This trip is going to be amazing. We are so excited and we just got asked to join another river trip after we finish the Owyhee!!!!! Wow! 

After a scramble to figure out logistics of travel, change plans that were already scheduled, and dog care the second trip is a go. The catch is, we won't know which river till we take off the Owyhee on the 18th! We will have a day or so to refuel, clean up and meet the others.  Sometimes I feel like we are ADD travel agents off our medication. 

Keep an eye out for our next travel update. Please know this trip is being made possible by many a friend. I'd like to thank Tiffany and Fam for taking care of our dogs, Laurie for summer long kitty lovin, the Lanci's for their river generosity and many others!!! Thank you - thank you! 

P.S.  Lydia is starting to relax and settle in to not working! Getting her out of the city and a day away at the ranch was key. 

P.P.S It is official, we are river sluts. We had a trip planned to get married in Iowa but as soon as the chance of an extended river trip came along we dropped Iowa like a hot potato and ran for the water! Don't worry we are still getting married in July! 


"Madge"

The Scorching City

It's hard to believe two weeks ago it was raining with highs in the 50's...I highly prefer it over the scorch of city pavement.  I've been off work, officially, for 5 days now and I'm still struggling to get over the "jet lag" of night shift.  Madge has been wonderful working her tush off finalizing plans, tieing up loose ends, entertaining the dogs, getting a giant new tattoo...and catering to my every whim!

We are leaving tomorrow for the first leg of our journey and I am so happy, so excited, so thankful!! Without the help of my wonderful friends and community, this whole summer wouldn't be possible.  We get to live out a dream by taking 12 weeks to travel and explore together. I am very aware how rare this opportunity is.

Although Madge and I have both worked hard to make this possible, you, our dears friends whom we love, have helped make it a reality.

We love you!!
Lydia

Middle Fork of the Salmon - river trip

Well, father winter just would not let up this year which means good water for us boaters but it also means we can’t do the Middle Fork of the Salmon. My posture slumps and my brow furrows like an upset 8 year old! As of yesterday we canceled the MFS trip. This is the second June river trip we have had to cancel due to conditions in the past 5 years. The last one was the Selway River in central Idaho.

To be safe we didn’t want to attempt the MFS with water levels over 6 feet and rising. We needed the water level to be between 6 - 7 and falling.  Which is currently not the case with the water levels and this is only one of the issues. The road for us to shuttle in to the put in is still under 4 to 5 feet of snow. I guess we should have planned a ski trip in June instead of a river trip.  I heard Aspen reopened due to a plethora of snow! Who would have thought?

The good news is we are still hitting the water with a great group of people it just won’t be on the MFS and it is on a river we have never done before. This trip will be more like a camping and hiking trip than a whitewater trip. This means a float trip! Well almost a float trip and it might just be what the doctor ordered to start Lydia’s summer off on the right foot.

We will hit the Owyhee River and put in near Rome Oregon. The Owyhee River is a tributary of the Snake River. It will be a mixture of green and desert. The pictures I’ve seen are amazing. I believe the section we will do is called the Lower Owyhee and should be around a 5 – 7 day trip with lots of layovers, everyone loves layover days.

Well, I better get off the computer before Lydia gets home from shopping! We have lots to do this week to get ready to leave on the trip this Friday. We plan on packing up from the big city tonight and head down to Del Norte and then over to Durango. We have a couple of fun filled days planned in Durango to finalize our wedding ceremony!!! We have had so much fun planning over email and now it is time to get all parties involved together in one place and orchestrate this puppy! I mean who needs to plan I’d be fine with drinking a beer on the river and calling us married!

Ok, I’m off for now but we will do more posting updates this week with laughs and giggles as we plan the wedding ceremony and embark on our first major trip of the summer.

PS. I hope to get Lydia blogging soon these days so you guys don't get tired of hearing from me. It is time for the adventures of Lydia. 

“Madge”

Three new little turtles are born into this world...

Lydia is off work, Yeah! Now it is time to deal with our first point of business/pleasure before we leave Denver. A fortieth birthday present and much much more….

The Saunders ladies are strong but I’m not suggesting I put that to the test again any time soon. Needle, ink, pink skin and passion met yesterday followed by a G and T and later a handful of Advil. I might have said the Saunders ladies are strong but I didn’t say they were masochistic, a lady knows when to medicate.

For those of you who have ever spent time dreaming or designing a tattoo will understand this story and for those of you who have not, best get to working on yours! When I started looking at getting another tattoo, yes father (said in the best Star Wars voice I can muster) I’m getting another one. I thought I wanted color but every time I thought I had something these pesky little turtles started popping into my brain. So I thought, oh well turtles can be done in color; I mean tons of people have had them imprinted on their bodies. Ok to discuss that point, if you are looking into a tattoo maybe you shouldn’t Google it unless you want to change your mind. Colored turtles are gross!  Now that I may have turned you off of getting a tattoo or at least a colored turtle tattoo sit back and enjoy my tale of how I came up with my new tattoo.

In 2007, I took a trip with my Mother and Sister to Costa Rica. We have shuffled through these sands many times but this time it was different, It was just the three of us. On this trip we had a wonderful opportunity to protect and serve, baby turtles that is.

One morning, at o’my god early 30, we went down to the hatchery and met our new charges. Our job was to protect these little guys on land, from 4 foot’eds and my mothers feathered friends, until they met their new salty mother and were on their own.

This experience and the little guys won my heart. They are so darn cute as they make a mad dash for the ocean. You can’t just dump them in you have to let them struggle and march their little flippers down the beach so they know where they came from. They made tracks in the sand and in my heart.

My tattoo consists of three turtles, each one representing one of those tuff Saunders Ladies I mentioned earlier. Yep, Sorry Mom but you got to be the biggest one, followed by my older sister with me in the lead. These are in order from my shoulder down to my fingers. I placed these little guys on the underside of my arm, remember that pink skin I mentioned earlier, OUCH. This way they are always close to my body, with my mother and my sister surrounding my heart when I cross my arms or give myself a bear hug (now a turtle hug).

Thank you to all of you who contributed to my pain and suffering for my fortieth birthday present! I love them and wear them in honor. Who knows maybe someday they will have color!

"Madge"

The Tattoo and the Middle Fork of the Salmon

Tomorrow or later tonight I'll fill everyone in on the Tattoo and the 411 on the Middle Fork of the Salmon trip. I have bigger fish to fry right now!

Lydia is done! Done, Done, Done! I'm going to sit and watch a movie with her as we celebrate NO WORK THIS WEEKEND! That is right tomorrow is a Saturday and she doesn't have to work! Summer vacation and the beginnings of pre-honeymoon, honeymoon and post honeymoon have begone!

Ok before I use any more exclamation points I'm going to quit for now. Time to find a flick, pull up the couch and poor a vodka on the rocks (ok there were no rocks where I'm staying so I had to settle for frozen fruit!).

Enjoy your evening and wonder about the title of this blog "The Tattoo and the Middle Fork of the Salmon".

"Madge"