Or titled "How I ended up on the couch with frozen peas strapped to my knee."
Starting out Sadie thinks that she wants to stowaway in mom's day back.
This was just to be a quick trip up to the river. Julie lays out on the "beach" and reads her book while I look for rocks and snorkel. The water is pristine... About as clear as snorkeling in Hawaii but with big smart trout that let you get within a foot or two and with one twitch of that tail, they are gone. I think they laugh at the worm on the hook. "Hey buddy, we get lots of food here and I'm not going to fall for the fat worm on a hook. How do you think I got so big?"
Julie does not have the best balance and does not have my natural talent to hoping on rocks/climbing/etc... Which she freely admits. When we first dating and we went to the coast I was poking around on the rocks and tide pools and she asked me what are you a freaking gazelle?
I make it easier for her to cross the river by going first and sling a rope between two trees. I help her across and she likes the sunny spot fine. I then go back across for the rest of the gear. Folding Lounge chairs, her camera, radio, lunch, etc... about 4 trips total. No big deal, river is pretty small here and I have crossed the river/swam in it/snorkeled/chiseled rocks underwater/panned in it/sluiced it/etc for years...
I should note here that I have a knack for finding what other folks lost. Julie laughs when I get out to adjust the tarp in the truck bed and find a rock chisel laying nearby. Score! I have found all kind of things.
On my last trip across the river this time with my stuff. Two masks and snorkels and my water shoes in a mesh bag. I was just wearing cheap sandals and had been slipping on the rocks in the river a fair amount. I was in a hurry to build Julie's "nest" so that I could relax with doing my thing. Not that she asked me to do it. A bit more than halfway across I slip big... whoa...ahhh..whoa... AH-DAMMIT! My knee hits rocks in two spots as I drop the mesh bag in my hand into the river. Julie rushes over and asks "do I go get the bag or help you up?" My brain is thinking OUCH... My knee is thinking we are not doing anything for about a minute. I tell her just help me up my camera is in my pack (which is half wet) and that the bag will get hung up on the rocks. I did not want her to break an ankle running after my snorkel bag. This is real time folks, no fiction. That's when you know you really like a girl.
So I recover somewhat.... and start to poke around. I slip around some more. Looking for my stuff. It did not get hung up on the rocks nearby like I thought. I head further down stream, by this time I have picked up a beaver walking stick. It makes the river travel a bit better. I search the river looking for my bag with my snorkel gear. Also I look for special rocks/sticks/treasures. Nothing... Damn it! Then I come to a nice spot with a deep pool about 300 yards down stream. Whoa we are talking calendar picture time. In the pool I see a strange dark spot... I use my beaver made stick to snag it. It is the mesh bag that my snorkel stuff was in, minus everything that was in the bag. Damn those trout!
Pool start
One end of the pool
other end of the pool
So it's kind of funny. If I would of put ON my river shoes maybe I would not have hurt my knew and not dropped the snorkel bag. If I had my mask and snorkel I could have snorkeled the pool.
If I would have not been in such a rush things could have gone better
I made some new friends.
Look close.
More friends
They were huge fans flying all around us, kind of like a welcoming committee. I wish I could have taken more pics of them, but my camera battery died. There were lots of different colors of butterflies.
So I ended up on the couch with a bag of frozen peas taped to my knee. I guess sometimes you have to give something back. I am always finding stuff up there that people have lost. Maybe someone will find my masks and snorkels and put them to good use.
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