Addition to post on Monday 1-23-12

  This an addition to Marks post earlier....
                                                             Mark made mention of the pallets that Jay brought down this week... well we believe we have an entry in the Guinness Book of world records! We think that we have (had) the world’s longest pallet! As you can see in the photo, this pallet measured in at a whopping 97 1/2 “!!

So we proudly measured it, took pictures of it, stood beside it, and then did the honorable thing.... WE BURNED IT!! We tend to do that to a lot of things. So with the weather and the companionship, it was another great Monday Night! Everyone should start the week off  like we do.... 

River Day 01/23/2012

This was the 2nd week in a row that we all made it down to the river for the Monday evening celebration of National River Day! Hope this is the norm for 2012.

We had great, if unseasonal, weather this week. Clear skies and temps in the low 60's. Kind of scarey for January, but we'll take it. I don't think anyone ever had to even put a jacket on. That hasn't happened for a couple of months. With the steady rain we've had over the past few days, the river was rising for a while, then leveled out, and even dropped a couple of inches. A couple of sticks were stuck in the ground at river level a few times to keep track of the changes.

This week it was Tim's turn to get his fishing license, and of course he had to give it a shot for a while. No bites yet, but at least he was fishing. Seems everyone is getting the "fever" for the season to get started, but we've probably got a couple of months to go.

We were able to drag Ron's washer-toss game out this week for a couple of rounds. Once again the Harper boys took the series, but at least Ted and I "showed up" this time. Good to have a little competition going.

Jay brought down a few pallets and some other pieces of wood, and of course some of them helped contribute to the best fire on the river.

Another great night.

River Day 01/16/2012

Every one was able to make it down this week for our Monday night gathering; Ted, Jay, Tim and I. Temps were much milder this week (low 40's) and we had little to no wind. We were expecting the light rain that fell later in the evening, but the sporadic freezing rain/sleet we had early on was a little surprising. Nothing the best fire on the river couldn't keep at bay though!

A couple of us have already bought our 2012 fishing licenses in preparation for the up-coming season. Tim helped me take care of the annual (mostly) changing of the fishing line on my reel. Of course I had to try a few casts after that (since I'm legal and all), with no expectations of catching anything...and I wasn't disappointed.

We also made a wood gathering run with the wheel barrow; much easier than carrying and/or dragging wood. We made one run to haul a few rocks to cover, or protect the exposed tree roots next to the fire area at the camp. Flood season could be right around the corner and it looks like more and more soil gets washed out from under the roots every time the water comes up.

We've started a new "kitty", or rainy day fund this year. Everyone pitches in $1.00 a week, whether you make it down or not. We've decided that visitors are not exempt! Funds might be used for road trips, or even tools/supplies we might want to have around. Who knows.

Once again, it was a great evening to be at the river with fellow Rivertarians.

River Day 01/09/2012

Jay, Tim and I made it down to the river for this week's celebration. We had a big change in the weather from last week; temp's in the upper 30's, and the rains from earlier in the day had mostly changed over to a fine mist. There were patches of mist, or fog, hanging above the trees all up and down the river.

I had gotten a late start this week, so by the time I got there, Jay and Tim had a nice fire going already (with the help of a few pallets). Even though it was warmer this week, the fire felt good against the damp air.

Not too much going on this week, and we only saw one of the locals. Even though we're still in the early part of the winter, much of the talk was about fishing, with some biking thrown in.

River Day is such a great way to start each week, can't imagine why everyone doesn't have one.

River Day 01/02/2012

The first River Day celebration of the new year brought in cold weather and snow. The temps stayed in the mid to upper 20's (depending which thermometer you looked at), and we had the first Monday snowfall for the 2011-2012 winter. Jay, Ted and I made it down this week for what I think was a perfect River Day.

We all got down to the river earlier than usual since we all had the day off. We started out with overcast skies and cold. The first wave of snow came in shortly thereafter. It's always neat watching the snow moving toward you from across the mountain, and river. After the first "squall", the skies cleared up, the sun came out, and the snow that had just fallen melted away. Then we had a repeat of the first wave, a little clearing again, the the snow settled in for the rest of the evening.

Obviously to ward off the weather, we built a slightly larger-than-usual fire (or maybe not). With the wind blowing the way it was, we kept piling on the wood to make sure we had a good bed of coals. We had plenty of firewood for the task as we made a few runs along the river bank with the wheel barrow to stock up the woodpile a little.

Not much going on around the camp this week. The locals don't seem to get out as much during the winter months. Some people just don't appreciate a good River Day.

Sorry for the number of pictures this week, but a River Day like this one is worthy of recording, and sharing.