Steph & Heidi's Updates from the Inn
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Questions? Email us or call Heidi and Steph at 530.778.3444

11/2/2009: Going to the Dogs~Trailer Trash: It's not just for humans anymore

Well, this is my first and possibly last newsletter. I'm doing this to try to save Heidi some time so she can work on her book. However, all the handholding and tutoring she has had to do may well have cost her more time than just doing it herself. But what the heck, I've got the pulpit and won't get off until the rocks and tomatoes start flying.

Traveling with dogs requires some advance planning to make sure your trip is a success.. One very important item is to know the whereabouts of a veterinarian. Even more important is to be able to trust that vet. We're going to introduce you to ours, Neal Weiner. You'll love this guy! After that, we'll invite you on a wild ride.

Steph (the maintenance guy)

Meet Our Vet (pictured here with Gracie)
We first met Neal Weiner five years ago when we still lived full time in Monterey. Vets often have to treat two entities, the patient and the patient's worried parents. So it was with me. He's patient with humans, kind to animals and quite possibly the most popular guy in town. We took to him right away.

He's been practicing in Lewiston for 22 years and is an integral part of the community. He donates, as do we, to our favorite winter event, the Christmas Bridge Lighting in Old Lewiston. He serves on the Peddler's Fair committee, which is the second most important event in town.

Most importantly, he provides free vet services to the local wildlife center and to the Animal Control Shelter in Weaverville. His office is an unofficial adoption center. Once when I was teaching a kayak lesson at Lewiston Lake, a woman in the parking lot asked me to help her with two kittens. She opened the hood of her pickup truck and showed me two little fuzz balls who had hitchhiked a perilous ride with here for about two miles. I took them home, called Neal's office and just a day later, they had a nice, cozy home. And get this: every Wednesday morning from 8 to noon, he makes house calls, at no extra charge. Talk about your small town, All Things Bright and Beautiful kind of guy!

One problem with being on the river is the possibility of dogs contracting salmon poisoning. Salmon along the Pacific coast (but not in Alaska) eat snails that carry a bacteria. It's then passed on to the fish. Even the briefest oral contact with a dead salmon or steelhead on a riverbank can infect the dog.

It takes several days for symptoms such as lethargy and vomiting to become noticeable and by that time, visitors to the area have gone home. Their vets are often puzzled and don't know how to treat the sick dog. If left untreated, the disease can be fatal.

One day I noticed that Scupper, who lives life to the fullest and is happier than any dog I've ever seen, was listless. This was such a change in his character I took him right in to Neal, who promptly diagnosed him with salmon poisoning.. He started him on a course of antibiotics and Scupper improved rapidly. Better yet, Neal says, is that Scupper now is immune to the disease.

So, if dogs had a rating system, Neal would get a solid "Four Paws" up. But wait! They do have a rating system and by reading the next part of this newsletter about Bisco and Scupper's latest big adventure, you'll learn all about it. Be forewarned: it involves Harleys and trailer trash. If your dogs are prone to jealousy, don't let them read what follows.

Talk About Attitude!

Our dogs Bisco and Scupper will soon have their own review page of events, lodging and restaurants here in the north state and perhaps beyond. They're doing this for your dogs so they can have some input into family travel plans. This idea came to them, channeled through Heidi, as we got off our bikes and stretched at a vista point on a pass on eastbound Highway 299 headed for home after a camping trip. According to Heidi, they were disgruntled at being left in their motorcycle trailer while we stopped at the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka for a quick beer. They were mollified, though, by oyster crackers Heidi brought them as we left. I'm not sure the rating system has been firmly established yet, but it seems the visit scored only "one paw" out of a total of four possible. Here's the rest of the story:

As innkeepers and owners of a whale watch company, we don't get away much. When we do, it's almost always on our bikes. When I had the sidecar, Bisco could go along. Scupper, however, didn't like the rig and opted to stay at home. Those two are such good friends and have such a grand time together that we looked for another option. Enter Mark Grayson of Redding. One day on our bikes there, we saw Mark's "trailerdogs.com" rig in tow behind his Harley. Such is the way many great ideas often come: they're stolen. I got in touch with Mark and he guided me in my quest. A few months later, we pack up and head to the coast for a three night getaway.

Fall is certainly one of our favorite times of the year, especially around here. The heat of summer is gone, the leaves have exploded into their brilliant colors and rains haven't started in earnest. It's a wonderful time to fire up the bikes and head out. Heidi practically grew up in the redwoods and had been yearning for them.

Our camping gear is spread out between some of our cabins, the garage at our house in Monterey and our own nightmare of a garage here. Our friend Ginny came to the rescue and supplied a tent and cookstove.

The trip down was the real maiden voyage for the dogs in the trailer. We had taken a few trial runs here, but for no more than a few miles at a time. Probably the smarter first trip would have been a long, straight desert type of run to give both me and the dogs an easier break-in. But we love the winding roads in these mountains and knew we were headed for the same in the redwoods and on the coast.
Towing a trailer behind a motorcycle is an odd feeling. I installed a swivel hitch on the trailer tongue, which allows free side to side movement. In other words, the bike can lean unimpeded. If by chance the bike were to go down, the trailer would stay upright. Turns are interesting. There seems to be a bit of hesitation, thus the bike wants enter the turn later than it should and exit slowly. This can have the unnerving effect of crossing the center line in the middle of a tight turn on a blind corner. No paws up for Dad's riding skills for the first couple of hours. After a while, though, I began to trust the unit, relax and enjoy the ride.

The dogs enjoyed it from the first. Secure in their harnesses, they still had enough room to stand, turn and lie down, although they did very little of that. We knew from Bisco's sidecar days that she would take to it easily, but Scupper was the real surprise. He loved it! In fact, we had to tighten his harness to prevent him from putting both front paws on the top rail of the trailer and standing up to get a better look around. (Look at Scupper talking up a storm in the picture.)

We spent the first night in the redwoods at Humboldt State Park. The tent our friend Ginny loaned us, a 3 person, was surprisingly small when the dogs rushed in to settle on the sleeping bags as soon as we set it up.

The next day we headed to Gualala, via highway 20 to Highway 1, two of the slowest, twistiest roads I've ever ridden on. By the time we got there, I told Heidi, "You know, to get to Gualala, you really have to want to get there."

The dogs thought that the Surf Motel was just fine, except they weren't allowed on the fluffy comforter or the feather bed. They're used to similar comforts at home and Bisco especially gave us many dirty looks during our one night stay as she was confined to the floor.

Heidi has an eye for all things artistic and it only took a minute for that eye to find a lovely sea life mural bordering a sidewalk in front of, all things, a gas station. It showed not only the great talent of the artist but her accomplished sense of whimsy. Perhaps even more remarkable and heartening,

the mural as been there for several years and we found no evidence of vandalism. I think that says a lot for the people of Gualala and of the karma that settles over the visitors to the town.

Heading north out of town the next morning, Heidi pulled into the Anchor Bay Campground. I had told her that I landed there on my BC to BC '93 kayak expedition (I paddled from Victoria to Ensenada in the Summer of 1993) and she wanted us to visit it. What had been a pleasant private campground back in '93 is now a wall to wall permanent RV parking lot that gave me the creeps. We left without visiting the beach. I was disheartened and buoyed at the same time. I keep my good memories and allow time to pass and things to change naturally as they should.

We camped again that night in a grove of lovely oaks and slept in the open. Northern California in general has its own brand of funkiness and much of it must emanate from Humboldt County. We crossed 101 in the morning to the Peg House to fuel and get ready for the trip home. It's quite a place, a rambling collection of buildings that house a gas station, grill, general store, band stand and restaurant. And, of course, the South Park monster bus.

Heidi has already put in her application to drive that school bus. Our decision where to have breakfast was made when the owner handed me strips of jerky for the dogs. The Peg House gets an unqualified Four Paws Up.

Whenever Heidi and I travel, we evaluate were we stay and how we're treated in the light of our own inn. We can't begin to match the well-seasoned elegance of the Benbow Inn that we stopped in to visit after leaving the Peg House. It was build in the mid 1920's and my mother, when she danced with the San Francisco Ballet Company, used to overnight there with her troupe on the Ballet's road trips to Portland and Seattle.

What we can promise you are very cool cabins, great meals and fun adventures in this beautiful mountain valley. We'll share some of our mostly true sea tales with you and send you home happy and refreshed. And, if you think your dogs have the right spirit, Bisco and Scupper will take them for a ride to indoctrinate them into the life of Harley trailer trash.

Why bother going to the east coast to see the fall colors when they're so abundant here, and so close? The weather looks great the rest of the week. Pack up your gear and get on up here!

9/10/2009: Slowing Down
Things have slowed down at the inn and we have a little more time to enjoy the changing of the seasons. We watched the space station fly overhead the other night and the full moon paddle was a delight.

If sleeping late, wandering through the shops in Weaverville, wine tasting at the wineries and kayaking at the lake or down the lazy river appeals to you, come on up. That's what long-time Sanctuary Cruises passenger Alison Gude did and she is having a great time. She's made just about everyone in Weaverville happy, hitting many of the businesses for gifts, massages, wine, homemade tamales, dining and local gossip. She loves the Miner's Cabin and after settling in, asked us, "So, when do I get to move in?"

My sister Jan and her husband Joe recently stayed there and they felt the same way about the Miner's. Jan said, "I don't usually use this term, but the Miner's is adorable." This is the riverfront porch at the Miner's Cabin. Couldn't you sit there and stare out at the water all day? Alison did. She brought books she never opened because it was too relaxing.

Alison and Steph are just pulling in from their river run and me? Why, I sat inside typing this newsletter! Time for frozen a banana mocha beside the river.

8/26/2009: An Almost Full Moon Paddle

There is a full moon September 4th/Friday. We're planning a moonlight paddle on Lewiston Lake Tuesday the 2nd. Days have been warm but not hot, nights have been cool and everyone who has stayed with us recently has commented on the comfort of their cabins and the fun they had fishing, kayaking, swimming at the nearby swimming hole and shopping in Weaverville. I'm serious! Those are the comments from their feedback cards.

Kids staying at Sow's Ear by us have really enjoyed the hot tub by the river. Tiny frogs often take refuge under the lid, so the kids have anxiously stood by as we've removed it, hoping to find some of these little guys. As with the lizards, TRAI is strictly catch and release for frogs.

8/20/2009: A Big Fire Close to Home Just Before We Run Our First Whale Cruises in Two Years!

This was the view from our home the day before we were supposed to head south to run our first whale watching cruise aboard Sanctuary in two years.

After a week filled with demands, we reserved our last day home for leisurely packing and a relaxing dinner by the river. Instead, we spent the afternoon calling part-time neighbors to see if there was anything they wanted to save in case the wind changed direction. The mountain in the picture above burst into flames shortly after noon. We had strong upriver winds that were troubling in their own right, but then the fire started. It began at the bottom of the mountain and within an hour had spread laterally along the highway and then up each of the ridges and canyons. While from this view, you see the old burn area from several years ago, the area beyond the ridge was densely wooded with a thick understory.

In minutes, helos with water buckets and tankers filled with fire retardant filled the sky. It seemed surreal; because of the helos, I kept thinking it sounded like a MASH unit with incoming traffic. As Steph set up the fire pump and rolled hose, I made calls to the part-time neighbors and established what to take in case of an evacuation (our animals, their food, water, computers, wallets, Coast Guard licenses, Rolodex) and what to leave (everything else).

Fire goes up, so despite the raging winds along the river, it thundered up the mountain across the water. Guests in Sow's Ear joined us on the shoreline and watched as the incredible air support worked to save the houses in the fire's path. These places had forest all around them and it seemed impossible they'd survive. We were less than a mile from 100 foot+ flames, but think of the deer, bears, coyotes, mountain lions, lizards, foxes and other animals running for their lives in this nightmarish scene.

That morning, I'd called friends who live in the old burn area across the river and arranged for guests at Alpen Glow to bring their daughter over to ride one of their horses. Now I was calling to offer to help evacuate the horses.

By early evening, with the fire still raging but the wind dropping, a guest and I were back out by the river when a brilliant blue streak shot past us. It sizzled as it went. It was over the river, heading down river, less than 100 feet in the air. It appeared to have been a flare, fired from the river access area across from us. An arsonist?

I called the police and Steph and I debated what to do before hopping in the truck with a few guns and driving over to the access parking lot. Let's take stock: We were looking forward to a badly needed break our last day home. Now we're packing guns into a lonely area and trying to figure out if we have an arsonist out there who is about to torch whatever isn't already burning.

We saw no one over there, but a cop drove by as we were heading back to our place, so we flagged him down. I told him I was the one who called in the blue flare. I expected him to doubt the sighting. Then a guy on a motorcycle drove up and asked if we'd seen the blue light. The cop said they'd reported the same thing down by the Trinity Fly Shop, a mile and a half from us. There was no way the light we saw went that far. The cop said others reported seeing it pointed at a helo. He came back with us and talked to our guest for her take on the blue light, adding it to a long list of reports.

All night long, the mountain burned. I got up every few hours and went outside. It was eerie seeing what is usually a dark area ablaze, the fire's reflection illuminated in the river.
It turned out the fire wasn't started by mysterious blue flares; in fact, they remain a mystery. The fire was started by a drunk woman who threw or dropped a cigarette into the tinder dry grass. According to the paper, she had recently bombed out of her sister's as well as a rehab facility up here that has little to do with rehab. She was looking for her next disaster and she found it. Or made it. I am not without empathy for her, but what about the wildlife killed? The firefighters in harm's way? The people whose homes, while saved, are now surrounded by a burned moonscape? How many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars did it cost to fight this mindlessly set fire?

One of the best things about a community such as ours is that people jump in and help each other. We fielded calls from friends who asked what we needed. Some offered to help us evacuate after they learned our area was under a mandatory evacuation (no one told us, but we'd only have left if we felt we couldn't fight the fire; no matter what, we'd be safe in the river). My plan was to farm the animals and computers out with a friend a safe distance away. Even our guest at Alpen Glow offered assistance and stayed in touch through the evening for updates.

By the next morning, we had a long like of fire engines staged near us, waiting to tackle the fire on the ground, rather than by air. The fire had moved east and we felt okay, if not great, about leaving once we'd set up evacuation plans with friends for the cats in our absence.

It was time to shift gears and get ready to run our whale watching cruises, but we would not escape the smoke.

After a 7 hour drive from dense smoke, we got to the central coast and...dense smoke.

There was a major fire burning north of Santa Cruz, including Bonnie Doon, where we have some cool friends (you may remember seeing their huge golden retriever Finnegan in earlier TRAI newsletters). They called us to make sure we were okay after going online to CalFire to see the status of their fire and finding ours in Lewiston. Can you believe it? What thoughtful people.

After a whirlwind of activity to get ready for the next day's cruise, Steph, the dogs and I dropped. We needed a good night's sleep, so we turned the cell phone off.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, the cell phone turned itself back on. Did you know that could happen? I heard the little "BLEEBUDULEEP!" and thought, "What in the world?" A little after that, there was the beep signifying a message had been left. Concerned the fire had changed course, we checked the message. Actually, there were several, all from the same passenger on the morning's cruise. Where, she asked frantically, are we located? Of course, when we tried to call her, there was no answer.

Next morning, we were at the boat early. Picking up after a 2 year hiatus is easier than starting over by far, but still, there were a lot of things that needed attention. At 9:45, we went up to the head of the dock to greet some great old friends and make some new ones. There was Carroll Briggs, who has been on so many cruises. A talented man, he paints and writes poetry about the ocean and boats. He's an actor and involved in local theatre. Beer-brewing buddies Rick Garcia and Steve Maeller were there, along with Steve's wife Marie, who loves sitting on the bow. We had Mary Brooks, who is such a kind spirit, and I was finally able to meet Laura Almada, whose love for Sanctuary Cruises alone could have brought the company back.

And we had the Van Horns from Chicago. Christopher would buy the company and move to California in a heartbeat, but his wife can't leave. Katie Huff recently moved out from Missouri and she brought her mom on their first whale watching cruise. We had two Dutch families who made me marvel at their ability to find and choose us; they so enjoyed the experience. One of them stayed at the RV park next to the harbor. Now a KOA, this lovely little park is thriving and a great place to stay when you go out with us. Imagine walking a few hundred feet to your boat!

The weather that day was okay, but not great. Boats farther out reported building winds and rough seas, so we were thrilled when I spotted orcas a few miles from the harbor. They would be the first of four different sightings of different individuals over the weekend.

We also saw some of the most cooperative humpbacks ever, as evidenced by this shot taken on Saturday; it's one of many beauties we all got. And we saw dolphins! Risso's northern right whale dolphins, and most unusually, common dolphins. Those are our winter dolphins, but we saw a large nursery pod of mothers and babies on two different days.

Some things never change. I brought our little camcorder that I use for videos of our cabins and river trips; I got some stunning footage especially of the orcas on our third trip. Then somewhere between saving them to the laptop and transferring them to the desktop, they flew the coop. We need a better camcorder for the ocean, so that's on our list of purchases. And I have resolved never to download video until I am sitting at the desk and can confirm each step.

That being said, I did catch snippets of the orcas from a farther distance and got some neat shots of the dolphins. Here is a 2 minute hint at the wonders you will see with us. Please take a moment to review the video on YouTube. It helps with placement, which helps others find it.

There is a reason they call cruises after work has been done on a vessel shakedown cruises. You find out what needs attention and it gets it. I'd like to think after we paid the diesel mechanic $2K to rebuild the starboard gearbox, it would have worked flawlessly, but oh no. We had a couple of glitches to work through with the cables and are happy to say they not only have been addressed, but Steph designed a far better access to the cables.

So there you have it. We're rocking again, people feel as though they've gotten a great friend back from the ozone, and we have whales and dolphins all around us when we aren't on the Trinity (up here, it's river otters, bald eagles, osprey and the magnificent pond turtles found along the way on our river runs; I guess the turtles missed the memo on their name). See you out there & up here, Heidi

Trinity River Adventure Inn Newsletter
Hi Y'all,

The reason I'm writing to both the last Sanctuary Cruises email newsletter list and the Trinity River Adventure Inn list is to save that commodity I fall so short on (time), plus there is news for all of you. Take a deep breath and read on!

For some of you, this is a voice out of the past. Whale tails, salt water and things such as luminous jellies and sea otters are the glues that bind us. For others, many of you have either already stayed with us at the Trinity River Adventure Inn, or have reservations for this summer. Those of you who want to do this should consider making reservations soon.

We added four riverfront cabins to the inn last year. They range between an incredible restored miner's cabin just above the water, with peeled logs and mortise and tenon joinery, to a huge and grand A frame with a great big kitchen, dining area, deck and a Jacuzzi tub right in the middle of the master loft that looks out on the river and mountains. They're located around 5 miles downstream of us and our first vacation cabin, so we kayak and raft between them. Check out the inn link above on the left to see them all; guests' comments; great pictures of winter steelhead fishers, summer salmon fishers, kids on the rope swin, Steph blasting people with our fire pump as they kayak by; plus YouTube videos of the cabins and a whole lot more.

Some of our cabins are almost completely booked the rest of the summer, but we do have at least 1 or 2 available on many dates, so if you're comin,' get crackin' on those reservations. You're going to love it.

Okay, ready for the other big news? May 31st, we got our beloved whale watching company and vessel Sanctuary back from the abyss the guy we sold the company to placed them in. That sad tale is told here, with more details below from what I posted on the SC web site as soon as I got control of it again. What Steph and I just can't come to terms with is how a guy took a thriving company and trashed it, and why.

He gave us a substantial down payment, so he had something to lose. Well, his mother did; she mortgaged the house for it. But he completely dropped the ball with you, our customers. He didn't communicate with you through email, the phone, newsletters or the web site. He didn't answer emails a lot of the time, nor phones. He held a license, yet he didn't run 10 times in a year and a half!

He blamed the economy, which is an easy out. But why are we thriving? Why are the businesses of people we know thriving? You work hard and smart and you survive. Steph and I believe the recession is over and that people are wiser and stronger and will get back to normal pretty soon, if they aren't already.

A really good approach if asked about the recession is to ask back, "What recession?" It's all about attitude and I guess that is where we blew it. We sold Sanctuary Cruises to a guy who, according to all evidence we've seen and comments from folks around Moss Landing, is the human equivalent to a spider. As one dock mate said, "He wanted to sit at home and do nothing." So why buy any business, especially one built on the relationships that grew out of our cruises? As I finally got control of the Sanctuary email list today, it was like going to a huge reunion scrolling through the names. A lot of you have stood in awe watching incredible scenes on the ocean with us. We have laughed ourselves silly over antics on our boats and in the water. We have buried several of your relatives and friends at sea.

What would possess a captain to buy a business, not run the boat, cut off communication with customers (many of you took the time to email us and point this out, as recently as last week!) and let such a solid company go down the drain?

When we got Sanctuary back, the first order of business was a haul-out and Coast Guard inspections. Her Certificate of Inspection (C.O.I) lapsed last November, which coincidentally is when the new "owner" quit running trips, even though he quit making payments a few months before that. The Coast Guard called us to ask what was going on.

What do you say? It's as though our kid was stolen and even though we knew where it was, the law said we had to go through channels to get it back and those channels cost a fortune and took time. Even after the guy was allowed to declare bankruptcy and walk away from his debts, he refused to sign over our assets without us having to file a lawsuit demanding it.

We have puzzled over this. Wouldn't you want to move on? Wouldn't you want to save your daughter and mother the embarrassment of us at their door wanting to know where you were so we could get legal papers signed? The answer in this case is no. He made his mom and daughter lie and say he wasn't there, then he finally came out with a smirk on his face. I have shaken my head as I typed this, because it reminds me of how badly we mis-read this guy.

So here is the good news: Once we got Sanctuary back, she went straight to Gravelle's Boat Yard in Moss Landing. They are wonderful and the time we spent there was as replenishing for us as the boat. I can't tell you how many hugs we got and gave, but there were a lot, which felt great. We're hands-on people and as we chipped and cleaned and painted and sweated (and swore more than a few times), we got back our kid and made her right again.

Steph immediately took on several major engine room jobs that were supposed to have been done over a year ago. I taped the edges of all of the boat names and the big dolphins on her bows so Jim Crane, a professional painter, could give her a smashing new paint job.

We dashed back to Trinity for a few days, then went back and this time I painted her bottom twice and had another opportunity to see just how shoddy the little work done on her since we sold her had been. As Steph said when he prepped the hull for me, "Here is bottom paint OVER a barnacle. That's got to tell you something." (The idea is to scrape off all of the growth on the hull and coat it with anti-fouling paint to prevent barnacles.)

Our friend Ardie Kelly came over from Salinas with a great idea for the flooring around the hatch inside the cabin. It had been scuffed and shredded. Although our welder buddy suggested a $200 fix to trim the edges, Ardie got some perfect metal edging and cut beautiful mitered joints for it, then installed it.

She claimed she would charge $199.99, thus beating the welder's estimate, but in the end she charged materials and that was under $20. I'm pretty sure that was the one bargain we got in a very expensive two week span, but some of the other whale watching boats were in the yard at the same time. We spent a good deal of time catching up on the news with them. After checking out the new paint job and mechanical work, one said, "It's more about your pride of ownership; you couldn't leave her the way you found her." Right on.

Here is most of the Yard Crew: Ardie, Heidi, Jim, Steph. I'd be knocking your socks off with a YouTube of the whole yard experience, but Steph is still down there and he kept the videocam, so that will have to wait.
By the way, Ardie stepped up to the Hero plate again just a few days ago, when she agreed to drive me north to take care of our guests at the inn, then again yesterday.

We are in our second week of unusual thunderstorms and occasional rain (thank goodness for it, because it keeps the fires from lightning strikes down).

I took the guests down the river on kayaks and soon after we left, the sparse sun disappeared. It was still in the 70s and very pleasant, but halfway down between our 2 locations, black clouds rolled in, thunder pounded the skies one ridge over from us and then the rains came. They fell like Dr. Seuss' oobleck in big, fat plops. Soon we were soaked and chilled, so I suggested we paddle faster to stay warm. After a mile of this rain that we never get and would usually love, I said, "Wouldn't some brandy be nice?"

"Brandy and hot chocolate!" I raved. "Would that be great or what?" Then I paddled harder still. We made a very hasty retreat at the take-out, loading the boats and zipping back up to our cabin after dropping 2 of the 3 guests at their cabin.

Ardie pulled in behind us and as our guest and I unloaded boats, she opened the back of her Subaru wagon and set up an impromptu tail gate party. Mind you, Ardie had stayed behind at our cabin to read while I led the trip. But as the rain grew in intensity and duration, she got this cosmic flash: HOT CHOCOLATE & BRANDY.

She whipped up a pot of cocoa and grabbed the bottle of brandy. She headed for the take-out, but whipped around when we passed her on the highway.

As we emptied the truck, she filled cups and we happily grabbed and drained them in record time. She also passed out warm jackets she'd grabbed from the garage. No wonder we call her Saint Ardith. Can you imagine our guest telling this story at work next week?

When the Coast Guard came to inspect Sanctuary last Monday, they told us that they'd talked about her and the lapsed C.O.I. last fall. Several inspectors asked how that could happen, remarking we've always been such a class act. Even they seemed to take pleasure in seeing the improvements as they climbed around on her.

So what's next? Sanctuary Cruises and Sanctuary are for sale again. The information below describes what we have to offer the right buyer(s). We will be more selective this time in choosing a buyer. A lot of people talk about owning a business, but that doesn't mean they're cut out for it. They may have the skills needed, but that doesn't mean they'll make the leap. One of the many odd things about the guy we sold to is that he got so far as to make the leap, but then dropped the ball.

I'm thinking the best buyer for Sanctuary Cruises would be someone who is already in the business and who operates similarly to the way we do. We have an attractive prospect in the wings and will see how it pans out. He is in the business and his ethics and allegiances are a match. If you have an idea, give us a call. Our number is 530.778.3444. Email us at: heidi@sanctuarycruises.com or mail@trinityriveradventureinn.com

Either will find its way to us.

So that's our big news. Hope you're all doing well and that we cross paths again, either up here or on the bay. I still want to do some boat driving and I miss the whales, dolphins, jellies, Mola molas, otters, seals, sea lions and all the birds, so part of our discussions with prospective buyers includes me in the deal every month or two. I think a couple of reunion cruises would be a real hoot.

Take care and see you somewhere along the way, Heidi

From www.sanctuarycruises.com:

Sanctuary Cruises is for sale

This is a great opportunity for the right people: If you're nature-oriented, spirited, hard-working, want to make a difference and earn a good living, read on. Steph Dutton & Heidi Tiura began Sanctuary Cruises in 1999 with the purchase of a coveted Delta charter boat. In the fall of 1999, they hauled the boat and went through all of her systems, gave her a fresh new paint job and a brand new name: Sanctuary.

Both Steph and Heidi are Coast Guard licensed masters and they ran the boats and business. In 2007, they started the Trinity River Adventure Inn in Northern California. They sold Sanctuary Cruises to a buyer who also was a licensed master. He said he appreciated how the business had been operated and promised to maintain the high standards that had made this company such a success. The buyer was told 5 things to do to continue to thrive:

1.) Keep providing high quality cruises and helping people learn about the sea and its creatures.

2.) Get to know the customers and let them know him. Our customers are used to being part of the adventure and many have been out with us every couple of months since we started.

3.) Run the cruises half of the time, and have the captain we were mentors for as he worked toward his license run the other half of the trips. All crew members had to be engaging naturalists.

4.) Continue to post updates frequently on the web site, because so many people had it bookmarked and often checked it.

5.) Keep putting out email newsletters to the 1,000 or so folks who had signed up for them. It's easy using companies such as Constant Contact.

This was a recipe for success, but in a year and a half:

1.) The buyer ran the boat under 10 times.

2.) He didn't go to the harbor to meet his customers. Many complained to us that they had no idea who he was; they

never saw him.

3.) He automated ticket sales, which isn't bad on its own (some people prefer to order online), but on top of this, he rarely answered the phone or returned emails. We answered emails within a few minutes most of the time. No one ever waited more than 6 hours for an email response from us, and that was on days we were running trips. As soon as we walked in the door at home, Heidi checked email and Steph checked messages, as he did all day long on the boats.

4.) The buyer gutted a very popular web site, refused to post updates on the web site, and he never posted passengers' photos taken on the trips. Much of the fun for our customers was sending us great shots, which we used on the site. Heidi wrote a weekly column for the Salinas Californian and some of those shots were used for her column. Last summer was fantastic for humpbacks, but the web site showed no evidence of this.

5.) The buyer put out a few newsletters, then quit. All of those readers who had enjoyed keeping up with the bay were cut off from it and Sanctuary Cruises.

He blamed the economy for his failure.

Here is what a buyer needs to succeed:

1.) The will to succeed. This includes working smart and following sound advise.

2.) It would be great if a buyer had a captain's license and could run the trips, but we know of several captains who would love to work for Sanctuary Cruises. A buyer could work onboard as the naturalist and deckhand, getting to know the customers, who are the reason Sanctuary Cruises has such a loyal following.

3.) Bookkeeping and web site maintenance: If a buyer lacks these skills, they can be learned. The more one does, the less one pays someone else to do it.

4.) Knowledge of Diesel Engine and General Boat Maintenance. As with #4, these can be learned.

This is a turn key operation

It includes:

1.) Our well-deserved reputation. Check out this San Francisco Chronicle article to get an idea of it:

2.) Our vessel Sanctuary, a 42' Coast Guard certified 39 passenger vessel. She has just gotten the same thorough haul-out she always got with Steph and Heidi (that's Heidi on the right, taping off the graphics before Sanctuary was painted). She has a brand new, top-of-the-line paint job and has received substantial upgrades. Sanctuary may be leased for the first year while the buyer gets the feel of the operation, saving the additional costs of buying the boat.

3.) An excellent web site with great placement. This is our primary means of advertising and it has proven to be inexpensive and worth a fortune. While it may have a few quirks right now as Heidi restores it, it will be perfect for the new owner(s).

4.) FULL TRAINING IN EVERY ASPECT: We will train the right candidate(s) on everything we have learned in working with whales and other marine life for over 10 years. This includes on-the-water training for owner(s), captains and crew to make sure everyone understands how important it is to respect the animals found out there and operate safely around them. It also includes ongoing customer relations support, help bringing back our regulars while attracting new ones, hotel and motel contacts who have sold Sanctuary Cruises whale watching packages to their guests and everything else needed to do great.

5.) Full coaching on accounting, web work, diesel maintenance and all of the other items needed to successfully operate Sanctuary Cruises. We will provide all systems and forms developed over the years so you can spend time out there with your customers.

6.) Beautiful line of custom-designed embroidered hats, jackets, sweatshirts and T-shirts. Just creating a logo and digitizing the design can cost hundreds of dollars. Heidi created our logos and they have all been digitized. Our supplier is the best. It offers a wide range of products and has a low minimum order. Best of all, prices are true wholesale.

6.) Financing is available. We will consider long-term with the right candidates. This is an excellent company for a couple; it sure was for us.

Our sale price is $325,000.00, including the boat. It drops considerably with a substantial down payment, depending on the buyer's/buyers' experience and how closely buyer(s) fit our idea of what it takes to run this company well.

If you're nature-oriented, willing to work hard and enjoy introducing people to the wonders of the ocean, call us. We can be reached at 530.778.3444. Or email us at mail@trinityriveradventureinn.com.

See you out there, Steph & Heidi

4/24/09: New Video of the Steel Bridge cabins and Maybe We Do Ride Motorcyles All the Time

Well, as the title in the subject line suggests, I did indeed whip up a new video of the Steel Bridge cabins. This time, I made it all-inclusive, you know, like a cruise. Instead of one cabin per video, I blew through all of them. It came in a little over 15 minutes long, which I figured was okay, but You Tube did not. I realized after spending 6 hours straight editing this that there is a 10 minute maximum.

Back to the editing program I went, slashing some of the best of the lines. It's an interesting job taking video while narrating. You never really know what will come out. Those of you who have been on our whale watching cruises know this isn't foreign territory for me. But it turned out well enough for now and I probably will hit it again soon, since by the time I'd finished hacking and slashing, it was at 8 minutes with 2 to spare; I think of those as wasted minutes that must be used. I want to add some kayaking and rafting shots.

The birds in the background of the video are remarkable. They are singing and squawking and burbling throughout. It ends with a shot of our riverfront at Laughing Salmon and you may see a few young steelhead plip-plopping out there. Spring has been world-class great this year, with a lot of bird and fish activity.

This morning began with an email from L.L. Bean's field testing department. They have a manufacturer of transdermal patches of B-1 that claims, "This patch is adhered to the skin and disseminates B-1 preventing mosquitoes from tracking you down by camouflaging the trace amounts of carbon dioxide from your skin that insects use as locaters." He wanted to know if I'd be interested in testing it. I was on him so fast, it must have made his head spin. We do have mosquitoes up here and they can range from bad (our first year) to not too bad (last year), but I always have to use bug spray and I'd rather not. I offered to pass the patches out to guests and get their feedback as well, and he was thrilled. So if you're coming up, we may have a nice, natural solution to mosquitoes for you, plus, you'll be part of the Bean test pool. Cool, huh?

We took a long motorcycle ride last Saturday and wound into territory we've never seen before, passing the Pacific Crest Trail twice. The second location was just above where we took these pictures and still deeply covered in snow off the road. Canyons were incredibly narrow and the roads had no shoulders. It was just cliff>small road>cliff, all the way down to the distant, bright jade Salmon River. This is such great country for motorcycles!
If you have bikes, you really need to bring them up. If you ride up, we'll provide all of the toiletries to help you keep your load down; just bring a toothbrush, bathing suit, shorts, T-shirts. I imagine you'll be wearing jeans, boots and a jacket to ride, which will serve for cool evenings. See you up here! Heidi

3/31/2009: We Don't Really Ride Motorcyles All of the Time

Things bog me down. I don’t want extra stuff, but parting with one of my motorcycles proved difficult. It was a cool, older BMW 100GS Paris/Dakar that was sold to me by a guy who has become a great friend of ours. I’ve written about him before; he’s an incredible mechanic and he maintains three private planes that belong to friends of his. This gives him use of the planes when he feels like flying. So when we’ve needed a brake job on Steph’s bike, or a bug tracked down on one of mine, Gary has flown or driven up, done some work, then hung around for few days for a kayak trip and long talks over dinners above the river. He brought his son Brian, who loves the area as much as his dad. When Gary asked Brian what he would do if he lost both of his parents, he didn’t hesitate, “I’d go live with Steph and Heidi!”

I’d put the GS on craigslist, but wouldn’t take anything less than my asking price. Over the past year, I built up a considerable list of email buddies who would drop in every few months, asking if I’d lower my price; I’d tell them no, they’d cheerily thank me and ask that I write if I changed my mind.

There were close calls when I thought the bike would go. One guy scheduled a trip up from the Bay Area on a certain weekend, then a major snowstorm was predicted. He held off, but after that, decided he better wait and see how stable his job was in the shifting economic sands. Most of the others kept fishing for a lower price.

Two weeks ago, a couple drove down from Portland to look at the bike. Someone who drives that far is probably going to buy the bike, I figured, which gave me mixed feelings not unlike our spring weather. The reason I put the GS up for sale was because I have a newer bike, a BMW 1150RT. It has an infinitely variable windshield that’s adjusted with the push of a button on the handlebar. It can be lowered so I get the wind on my head and torso (good for hot days) or raised so that I stay warm, avoid bugs, rain and snow. The GS has a tiny café racer-type windshield that protected me from pretty much nothing, and the bike was too tall for me, but I’d have kept it and sold the RT if it weren’t for that windshield.

When the couple planned their trip from Portland, we were in the middle of warm, sunny days and cool nights. Daffodils were blooming and Steph and I broke out our half helmets, tentatively putting the full face helmets away. But several days before the Oregonians were to head south, the forecast for their trip looked gloomy. Rain, maybe a little snow. Or a lot of snow. They came anyway.

The day they arrived, he looked the bike over thoroughly, then went for a test ride. When he came back, he checked the bike out a little more, then we agreed on the sale. (I held firm on my price, but he did manage to get a Trinity River Adventure Inn cap out of me.) As I filled out the paperwork, it started to rain. Rain is good. We need rain. But it came down in biblical proportions. We sat at the dining table, looking out on such pelting rain that the river looked as though it had a huge Mixmaster under the surface.

Part of the deal was the chance for the couple to stay overnight in one of our cabins, but they were going to stay at the Carriage House over at the Steel Bridge location. A person could drown in the time it took to drive those 6 miles. So we had coffee and waited. When there was a break in the weather, they headed over to their cabin.

Their plan, depending on the next morning’s weather, was to ride west, then north and inland to Grants Pass, thus avoiding snow at the higher elevations here and over the Siskyous. From there, they’d take I-5 home. They would trade off between riding the bike and driving their car. Each had brought their leathers for the trip, and they were impressive: Custom made, beautifully tailored, but considering the weather, I’d have been far happier in my synthetic gear with the snug Velcro closures.

In the morning, I checked the various road conditions for our guests. I’d have opted for Redding and north on 5, figuring I’d hit the pass below Ashland around midday, but they decided to go west, which is more scenic, plus they would avoid the snow. Steph and I had planned to escort them a hundred miles or so on our bikes, but the morning was cold, wet and gloomy. Plus, they planned to leave before 8. After calling in road conditions and wishing them well, I crawled back under the down comforter with Steph and we slept in.

The next day, we got a phone call. The new owners of the GS were safely home. They reported they hit every kind of weather one could imagine as they headed west on 299 which runs between Redding and Arcata. It was a perfect combination of everything we experience in the spring: Rain, sometimes heavy; snow that ranged from a few flakes to near whiteouts; scattered sun that seemed oddly out of place; raging winds; and even dense fog that necessitated slowing way down. I can’t think of any day that has held so many extremes, but those lucky people got them all. I didn’t feel at all guilty having cuddled up in bed and watched movies.

Since then, we’ve had a little rain, would love to get more, and have settled into the delightful pattern of sunny and warm days with cool to cold nights. It’s perfect motorcycle weather as long as we carry our heavier gear in case of a surprise.

Spring Birds

On our hike yesterday, we saw a large osprey that briefly landed in a tree over our heads, then two pheasants at the lake; we have never seen pheasants here. We’re also seeing Stellar jays, swallows, hummingbirds (some of them don’t migrate!), lots of mergansers, and the Canada geese are making their usual huge racket over whatever it is Canada geese make rackets over.

A woodpecker has taken to drilling into trees right outside our bedroom window at precisely 0600 each morning, leading me to suspect it belongs to some sort of union. Or cult. See you up here. Heidi

2/24/2009: The Fish Out Our Back Door & More

Boogers! I thought I’d create another video card “newsletter” today, but I forgot to take the little camcorder with us on a stunning hike along Lewiston Lake. The sun was shining, it was about 50 degrees out, and I could have captured 3 or 4 of the snow-capped vistas with the jade green lake below as we skirted its western edge. I might even have gotten footage of the golden eagle that took off from a tree just above us ("WHOOSH, WHOOSH"), then flew all the way across the lake. This would have happened if I was someone else holding the camera I didn't even have with me. Instead, I stood there in awe, finally asking Steph, "Golden?"

I had already missed a perfect video op when, this morning, a fisherman caught a steelhead across from our cabin. Can you imagine watching a fly fisher work a fierce steelhead while you eat your oatmeal? It would put a fisher over the edge, but we’ve resisted the sport up here because we just have such full plates. Fishing is, after all, one of life’s prime obsessions and one doesn’t just dabble in it, as any one of our winter guests especially will attest. Plus, there are motorcycles that frequently need our attention, especially exercise. (Jeez Louise, that reminds me! We rode to Redding last week just after a big snowfall and the snow was piled way up on the sides of 299. We couldn't get over how much snow was on the east side of Buckhorn Summit. It was as though we took a few wrong turns and were suddenly at Tahoe.)

So I was 0 for 2 on the video card when I got the idea of introducing the neighborhood where our cabin, Sow’s Ear and Trout are located. Then it clouded up and I think we’re heading into more rain, so make that 0 for 3 for me. I will send more of those video cards, though, because several of you wrote to say you enjoyed the first one. I was even encouraged to include the audio on purpose, as well as shots of us with the dogs, so we'll work on that.

I'm including a few pictures you might enjoy. The steelhead fishers are introduced farther down in this newsletter; can there be a cuter couple? Another is of Steph climbing past waterfalls on The Black Dog, the creek behind our cabin. Steph named the creek in honor of our dog Bisco; guess what color she is. Those two have a gold mining scheme for the Black Dog, the rewards of which are apparently directly tied to my videography skills. Lots of talk. The last picture is of Scupper, who does not have a creek named for him, because it takes too long to say The Black and Brown and Tan and White Dog; plus we only have one creek and the river and they'd already named the river before we got here. This explains why the mighty Trinity is not known as The Black Dog River. Scupper is shown doing what he does every year around this time: Looking for Spring.

A fellow emailed today, saying he fishes up here in December near our Steel Bridge cabins. He wondered what time is good to come up for summer fishing and what his kids might do here. Fresh in from not having taken any of the 3 videos I might have, I jumped into a lengthy description of the things we’d have gone nuts over as kids. It was easy to come up with ideas, because they’re things we’re still doing: kayaking and rafting the river and lakes; going off the rope swing into the river in front of Alpen Glow (beer might be involved in our case); hiking and biking.

I must admit, we seem to have outgrown catching lizards to observe, but we still enjoy checking out the ones our young guests catch. We have a strict catch and release code here, which also applies to newly hatched dragonflies, butterflies and moths; everyone but our cat Alvin has signed onto the program. Alvin seems to be in perpetual detention for any number of transgressions, but I like to think the worst crime he has committed is just leaving a very freaked out lizard without a tail. They say the tail grows back, but I am in the midst of growing my hair long again and think I can speak for lizards everywhere when I say it doesn't grow back fast enough.

Possum the calico cat did catch a hummingbird last summer, but I got it away from her before she cooked her own goose. The bird rested up high in a hanging plant while I frantically conducted an internet search for hummingbird first aid. Then, as I attempted to pick it back up and take it inside, the tiny bird screeched, spun around and flew high into the silk tree, all the while spewing epithets. They are such tough little suckers and boy, did this one have a mouth on it. If I talk like a sailor, it talked like the Commander of the 7th Fleet.

A friend called one of the regulars at her bird feeder “Top Gun,” because it drove all the others away. His boorish behavior was rewarded by more feeders being placed, since he couldn’t possibly run all the birds off from all the feeders; but he sure did try.

I’m going to end this newsletter with some quotes from recent guests. We’re now officially in our off season, which means fishing is still good, there are far fewer boats on the river, and prices are lower. If, during what the big guns call "low season," you come up, stay at least a couple of nights, and beat me over the head to remember to take the camcorder on a lake hike, I will throw in a free dinner for your party. I will even make you the hot artichoke and crab dip that not one, but two, recent guests raved about below.

One of those guests is a sous chef at the very ritzy Calistoga Ranch (rooms range from $900-5,000.00 a night, which would make their lodging slightly higher than ours), so his compliment has a little extra ballast. Then again, another of our guests was Michael Caranci, of The Fly Shop in Redding. Wait until you read what he had to say about our cabins, their location, the fishing, and the dip!

2/16/2009: Our stay at the Miner's Cabin has been everything we hoped for and more. Your hospitality--including the amazing crab dip--has been wonderful from start to finish. We can't wait to come back! Thank you for making this trip so special for us. Erik Villar/sous chef Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga, CA

2/16/2009: [Loved] the beauty of the river and area, pampering and excellent meals and company. Hope to fish and hot tub next time! Janet & Mike Navara/Cloverdale, CA

1/25/2009: My wife Kerry and I, along with some friends, were fortunate enough to spend a couple of nights recently staying at the Trinity River Adventure Inn, specifically the Alpen Glow and Carriage House cabins. We enjoyed our stay immensely, spending much of our time simply relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery and tranquility of the Trinity River flowing just past the back deck. Of course, we made sure to wet a line, too, with some great success in the productive steelhead runs accessible only from the Trinity River Adventure Inn cabins.

As a long time Trinity River angler and guide, and the Director of Outfitters for The Fly Shop in Redding, I've had the opportunity over the years to visit many of the different motels, lodges, and cabins -- several of which have come and gone -- along the Trinity River.

For sheer seclusion, access, and cozy, comfortable accommodations, the cabins at the Trinity River Adventure Inn are certainly among the best. Steph's handiwork and painstaking care of the cabins is apparent, while I'm still savoring Heidi's crab dip on my taste buds weeks after the trip!

Michael Caranci/The Fly Shop Redding, CA
FFF Certified Master Instructor/www.theflyshopcom

I swear we didn’t give Michael a free stay or even a discount; they paid our regular rates. We did, however, give each couple a jar of our homemade lemon and lime curd, which tastes far better than it sounds. Well, that’s the news from our end. See you up here, Heidi

8/27/2008: The Honor Roll
PHOTO LOOKING WEST OF WEAVERVILLE TOWARD THE MOST TENACIOUS FIRES~TAKEN BY SANDY SCHUPE EARLY AUGUST 2008

The sky is clear, the river sparkles and the warm air is filled with dragonflies. I have all kinds of cool and happy stories to tell you. Next update, I will. But first, I have to finish what I started with the update I wrote a month ago [below this one].

When I posted and sent out the tribute to the two firefighters who died up here this summer while fighting fires in Trinity and Siskiyou counties, it seemed inconceivable more would be lost. But on August 5th, a Sikorski S-61N helicopter operated by Carson Helicopters crashed. It was near the Buckhorn Fire northwest of Junction City, and had just taken off with 13 people on board.

Three firefighters managed to escape the burning helo. Two were on fire. One of the three went back into the inferno to rescue a fourth survivor.
Nine men died, and I can't put this story to rest until I pay tribute to them. Then I'll move on.

We are still trying to sort out which of the three exhausted firefighters, fresh off the fire line and anything but fresh, returned for the fourth man. I have a hunch the fourth survivor was the helo's second pilot. He has had several skin grafts and remains in critical condition in the burn unit; doctors expect he'll be there at least another month.

Much of today's wildland firefighting is done by private contractors. The firefighters worked for Grayback Forestry, which is based in Oregon, as is Carson Helicopters. A stirring memorial was held for them near Medford August 15th. It was very well-attended and emotions ran deep as "Amazing Grace" was played on bagpipes and drums, and an air tanker and spotter plane thundered across the sky. A chrome fire bell tolled the 5-5-5 signal, which is used to announce one or more firefighters won't be coming back.

Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell said at the Oregon tribute, "No one knows better the dangers of wildland firefighting than the firefighters themselves. They chose it. One might say it chose them."

The mother of one of the victims, Caleb Renno, 22, said her son had already fought an earlier fire; he considered passing on the Trinity job in order to attend a family reunion. But he decided to go with his crew, possibly because firefighting is seasonal and there are only so many chances to get the work before fall's rains retire you.

"We don't want to remember our sons there," his mother said, referring to the burned wreckage, "but for the way they had lived. They were pretty jazzed and happy, because they held the lines. And they loved helicopter rides."

Fighting a fire in 100+ degree temperatures and remote locations is gut-wrenchingly hard work. For pilots, there are the tremendous changes as they fly through hot, smoky conditions. Updrafts, downdrafts, winds out of nowhere that can hit with the force of a hurricane; all conspire against them. For ground crews, little of the work has to do with holding a nozzle. Much of it consists of climbing up and down steep, wooded mountains; carrying the only water you'll have to drink, plus hand tools and a fire shelter. It's digging and cutting fire breaks; dodging rolling, burning debris as it snowballs down the mountain. It's hoping the wind doesn't change, hoping you can find a safe spot in the burn-called "the black"-to retreat to if it does.

Firefighting is all about sweat and hope.

The term "hero" is used often and sometimes, it doesn't fit. But in this instance, it truly does apply to all of the firefighters, pilots and support crews who have been in harm's way up here in these mountains.

Besides Renno, the dead are:

Roark Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine, a Carson Helicopters pilot who learned to fly in the Army.

Jim Ramage, 63, of Redding, Calif., a Forest Service inspector pilot who had formerly flown for Cal Fire, Air America and the U.S. Army in Vietnam. A celebration of Ramage's life was held in Redding and attended by friends, family, firefighters and grateful citizens who never knew him.

Edrik Gomez, 19, a Southern Oregon University student from Coquille.

David E. Steele, 19, a Central Oregon Community College student from Ashland who hoped to have a career in firefighting.

Bryan J. Rich, 29, of Medford, a carpenter who turned to firefighting when construction lagged.

Shawn P. Blazer, 30, of Medford, who had found his calling in firefighting.

Matthew Hammer, 23, of Grants Pass, working his last summer of firefighting after graduating from college with a degree in business and planning to get married.

Scott Charlson, 25, a student at Southern Oregon University working to pay for his last term in school who hoped to become a sportswriter.

I can't shake a song by Ruthie Foster; it's called "To the Fallen." It says what we're all thinking, but few have the talent to convey with such grace. You can hear the song by following this link:

http://bitmunk.com/media/101381

Buy it and listen to the whole thing; it's worth it:

Young promises, goals and dreams

Wondering if you're ever gonna fill that hole again

They took their chances, finding their own answers

They lost their lives, but they held onto their souls

They laid their hearts on the fire

Kept their eyes on the goal

So raise your glass to the fallen

And when they're gone, let 'em go

Oh, when they're gone, gotta let 'em go

Even if you think it's going to kill you. Even if you can't imagine tomorrow without them. Gotta let 'em go. Peace, Heidi

8/17/2008: A Message From Our Hearts

Fires that have plagued Northern California have largely been subdued. We're getting back to normal, but for some, that time will never come again. Thousands of firefighters from all over the country have battled these fires, which were started by a horrendous dry lightning storm June 21st. We were all so lucky not to have had any fatalities on the firelines, but that ended just as the fires seemed to be winding down. We have lost 11 pilots and firefighters and they were honored in Redding on Saturday.

Andy Palmer was a firefighter for Olympic National Park in Washington. Andy graduated from Port Townsend High School in June, and the school's athletic director called him a "bright and shining star." Andy was killed July 25th.

Dan Packer, also from Washington, was chief of East Pierce Fire & Rescue and past president of the Washington Fire Chiefs. He was killed July 26th while supervising firefighting efforts in Siskiyou County. This man left behind an entire community devastated by both his loss as a friend and as their protector.

"There are people alive in Sumner because of Dan Packer and his wonderful vision," Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow said in a news release. "Professionally, he knew how to bring people together to give them the best fire service possible. And personally, you can't find a better guy than Dan. He knew that firefighting was really about people, about being part of a community in good times and bad."

As just about everyone knows, there are some raging fires in California. The ones in Trinity County started after the loudest and longest thunderstorm we have ever experienced. Having lived in Utah for eight years, where summer thunderstorms were a glory to behold, that's saying something for me. We have been lucky and no fires have been close to us, but smoke has ranged from mild to heavy.

We gave guests the chance to postpone their reservations and one party did, while others didn't. Some of the ones who came anyway are return guests from last year. You may remember their gorgeous golden retriever Finnegan, whose nickname is Bubba. He brought his buddy Jake, a 13 year old labradoodle who is one of the originals, a result of a midnight tryst between a lab and a poodle. Jake's family (Liam and Robyn) fit right in, just as Bubba's family (Mary & Brandon) did, and we all went to the Weaverville 4th of July parade together.

Bisco rode in her side car and Scupper rode with the guests. They were as tickled as us by the charming parade, which featured our neighbor Shirley in her BMW convertible; Chinese dragon dancers (Finn did not like them at all); a family of cousins that rode their bicycles as they do every year; stunning backcountry mule teams; the few fire engines not on firelines somewhere; and even a real Huey, the helicopter that played such a big roll in the Vietnam war.

Bisco and Scuppie watched the parade from the side car, which gave Scup a chance to get used to it. Later that day, he took his first ride with Bisco and he liked it enough that we'll try more; however, he will never be the rider Bisco is. That girl has biker blood in her veins, for sure.

We planned to go to the ice cream social after the parade, but it was jammed. There is a mini mart and hot dog palace in Weaverville called Papa Dog that we have never frequented, so we decided to go there instead. The problem was, Papa Dog doesn't allow dogs in their outdoor area.

I gave the owner a big speech (another 4th of July tradition) on how being dog-friendly can help their business, adding we had 6 hungry people who were sure to buy a bunch of food and maybe a beer or two if the well-behaved dogs could come in. He relented, but looked worried when Bubba cruised in. He is 85 pounds and looks like a blonde sumo wrestler. But one look at that happy face convinced the guy it would all work out, and it did.

As we were eating, a woman came over to me and asked, "Heidi?" She works at our insurance agent's and she and her husband own Papa Dog. This might be a new tradition for us: What's more American than hot dogs at Papa Dog's on the 4th of July?!

The party due in a few days later decided to postpone their visit even though I kept emailing them saying the sky had appeared again and it was beautiful. Too bad. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything in the first place, but this was a big family reunion and we didn't want it spoiled.

As for Finn and company, everyone enjoyed the experience and Finn even got his water wings. Last year, he was only 6 months old and Mary and Brandon were afraid he'd get out in the river and wash downstream, so he never really swam. This year he not only swam, but he also rafted the river. The only dicey time was when Brandon, who was in a kayak, got a little too close to the raft. Finn tried his best to get loose from Mary and bound onto Brandon's boat, which would have had predictably bad results.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Our Steel Bridge cabins have proven to be far more popular than we could have hoped for. We're booked over half of the next few months! Little and bigger improvements continue: The Miner's Cabin just got a hand-stitched fish quilt and an entry mat that is perfect for it. We're putting the finishing touches on the Dragonfly cabin, which is only available with the Carriage House. It has watery aqua and royal blue tie-dyed curtains that our friend Debby Howe made for it.

She put a chabby-chic trim on the bottom that's got just the right amount of bling in it, then she glued tiny dragonflies on the antiqued curtain hooks. Steph put in brilliant grass-green carpeting and we installed a cozy double captain's bed with drawers underneath. There are three windows and they look out onto the river, a private dog yard for Carriage and Dragonfly guests' dogs and a shady, ivy-covered spot under a pear tree. Our friend Ardie was up for a few days and she and I completed the fencing between the Carriage and Dragonfly, using rustic old wood salvaged from another fence. Perfect.

In keeping with our whimsical theme for the Dragonfly, there is a string of solar-powered LED dragonfly lights across the ceiling (also thanks to Deb!) and a dragonfly mobile with a lead crystal to cast rainbows around the cabin. I'll get pictures for the next newsletter. Here is a new shot of the Carriage House living room with a peek into the bedroom. When I say it's got a cedar interior, I mean it. Steph also just installed a 20' mister on the covered patio which will cool it down for these hot summer days!

Steph also put in a new kitchen floor and boy, did it make a difference. We scored a wonderful piece of furniture at the Peddler's Faire and it found a home in the Carriage, too. In fact, we got two great pieces there (more details in the newsletter below this one). One is a grape hutch. We can't agree on whether we paid $40 or $50 for it, but it looks as though it was made for the Carriage. We also bought a horse collar mirror from a friend. Steph has been combing craigslist looking for old horse tack, but this is functional and stunning. Ideal for a carriage house, hmm?

Remember that hybrid Ford Escape I "bought"?

After Steph and I test drove the rig down at Red Bluff Ford, we filled out paperwork to buy it and told the salesman we'd let him know later that day. Of course, they'd want something signed that committed us, which was why I suggested we do the paperwork. So I emailed him that evening and said we'd take it and pick it up in a few days. He told me he could only hold it 5 days, which was fine; we'd be down in 2.

Then I realized we were free the next morning, so I went to the computer to email him to say we'd be heading down soon. There was an email waiting for me, written in his (and most of the people I dealt with at dealerships') illiterate manner: "heidi i am so sory they sold yor car it was yours an i told them they coudnt but they did."

What creeps! It got creepier. Another salesman called a day later to say the first salesman decided to move back to San Diego and was gone and that the entire management staff was fired over this and if I would just deal with him... NO WAY. Then he put a guy on the phone who said he was the owner's son and this clown said he owed me nothing; if I wanted another Escape, I could buy it, but no special deal for their having sold my Escape. Maybe you heard my scream?

It took a day to realize I really liked the looks of the 2007s more, so I hit craigslist (www.craigslist.org). Have you used it yet? It is wonderful and unlike ebay, it's free! I compiled a data base of Escapes for sale in the S.F. bay area and compared options and prices. Our friend Gary Vosters checked one out (he was service manager for Acura for 9 years and he knows cars), but it was older and didn't have the nav system, which also gives a more complete read-out on fuel use. So I found one in the east bay, talked the woman down from a ridiculously high price and agreed to buy it.

It would be a complicated deal, because we had to either drive down or have her come up. She's not an outdoorsy type, so the offer of a free night's lodging didn't appeal to her. We also had to figure out how to pay off her loan. She said she'd call the dealership about that and get right back to me. I went to craigslist to check the equipment listed for it one more time to make sure there were no surprises, and there was a brand new posting she had put up after hanging up the phone! This time, her asking price was only $700 over what I offered.

I emailed her and said pull the ad or I'm not putting more effort into making this deal happen. Her response was I wasn't trustworthy, because if I was, I would not have gone back to craigslist. Kiss another Escape good-bye.

There was a nice Escape listed in Oregon, so I contacted that guy. He agreed to drive it down, we did the deal and I am really pleased so far. The fuel screen shows real-time fuel use and there's a graph that shows the last 15 minutes' usage. The trip up the mountain from Redding is steep and windy, but even on my first run, the Escape got an average of 23.7 MPG. The last 15 minutes to our cabin included some of the steep climb, then the ups and downs of driving in the mountains. I got 34.1 MPG. By driving conservatively (no jack rabbit starts, moderate speeds), I get between 33 and 45 MPG. By buying a used Escape, I saved about $12K.

People have all kinds of excuses not to go greener. One is that hybrids cost more and the payback is slow, but often the estimated period to recoup the extra cost is figured on $3.50/gallon fuel. Fuel is higher here than most places in the country ($4.39 was the lowest in Redding yesterday and it's about 30 cents more per gallon up here). My pay back comes in many forms: I drive a rig that often runs on battery power at low speeds. It pollutes less than a comparable gas-only vehicle. I'm doing something about global warming.

There is something to be said for the first two purchases not working out; they weren't meant to be. I think this is going to work out fine. But who needs creepy people and the lousy feeling you get trying to deal with them? Oh, and Red Bluff Ford, you can kiss my...

We're just about to take a kayak and raft trip down the river and I haven't even washed my face yet, so I better go. Hold a good thought for the firefighters around the state (many of whom are from all parts ot he country). Hope we see you soon! Take care, Heidi

6/13/2008: Warm Breezes, Cool River Kayaking & You: We're only a tank of gas away from most of you; news on MPG you can use!

As I type this, I hear three things:

1.) Baby birds chirping in the birdhouse outside our door

2.) Steph giving a kayak lesson to a couple that just flew into Trinity County in a small airplane

3.) Laughter

Man, I love summer up here. Flowers in bloom, everything smells great.

The couple is Gary Vosters and his wife Debbie. Gary is our Magic Man who can fix anything, including our BMW motorcycles (he was a pro BMer mechanic), my Acura (he was a pro Acura mechanic then service manager) and airplanes. We don't have an airplane yet, but he has 3 friends who do and he works on the planes and has free use of them. That rocks.

Debbie is a swimmer supreme. She dove right into this very cold river and swam before her kayak lesson; not too many people do that. The Perkins family from Monterey did and a steelheader last winter dove into the river at night in freezing conditions, but a $500 bet and alcohol were involved, so that doesn't count.

We have been astounded by reservations for all of our cabins. Return guests have tried new places; some new guests are already scheduling return trips and plan to book either the same cabin again or try another one, but everyone has liked our inn and both locations are popular.

We did have one fellow complain upon leaving that his cabin didn't have the microwave mentioned on the web site for that location, which begs the question, "Why did he wait until leaving to let us know?!" We had moved stuff from one cabin to another and in doing so, forgot to put a microwave in that cabin. The first thing guests get upon arrival is a welcome note with our phone number on it that encourages them to call if they need anything. Whatcha gonna do?

Looking over the reservation calendar, I see we have decent availability for most cabins every week or so, even though all are booked part of the time. So if you have a date in mind, drop me an email and we'll see what we have.

The Peddler's Faire was fantastic. We found some perfect items for the cabins, including a horse collar mirror that is not only ideal for the Carriage House, but also came from a friend who has been very ill. She's on the rebound and we were so jazzed to buy this piece that she originally bought for her dad, who has since exited the freeway, that we didn't even haggle. She and he are now a part of the continuum with the Trinity River Adventure Inn.

It is very rewarding to have cool stuff from friends in our places and it's noticed. Recent guest Doris Burbank said in her feedback comments that she appreciated the "authentic cabin atmosphere." We also have an oak dresser and mirror that our first guests (who recently returned for their third visit) brought up and donated to the cause. That would be Andy and Allison, or King Henry and Princess Papuli. Andy has had the dresser and mirror for over 40 years; Steph refinished them and now they grace the Carriage's bedroom.

I finally took pictures of the beds at Alpen Glow and the Carriage; nice, huh?

GAS PRICES: WAAAAAA: Want to do something about crazy fuel prices? Did you know that by driving 55 MPH instead of 70, you can save 30.6% on fuel consumption? So slow down. Yesterday, I took the jump and bought a Ford Hybrid Escape. It got between 25 and 45 MPG during our test drive and that included 60 MPH going up a bit of a hill with AC on.

You can barely find information about hybrids and if you do, the vehicle is usually way more expensive than a regular gas engine version. This is especially true of Honda and Toyota. While I'd rather have bought either, we need an SUV for provision shopping down the mountain in Redding and I wasn't wild about the Highlander, which was more of a station wagon. The Escape has the best mileage of any vehicle for its payload and it handles pretty nicely. It won't ever match the Acura for cornering, but for $30 grand out the door with a 100K/6 year warranty, it's a winner.

If you haven't fallen asleep yet and want to learn about more ways to save energy and money, read on; it will make your toes curl. This is a big deal to us; you'll find we are trying to run a green, clean, lodging machine up here just as we did with our whale watching company.

Think you're up to speed on conservation? Answer these questions:

1. You spend $40 to replace 10 incandescent bulbs with CFLs. How much will you save in electricity in one year? In five years?

Answer: $92 savings in one year and $582 in five years. You'll also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,431 lbs. a year, and 7,155 lbs. in five years. [One-year savings assumes $0.11/kWh, the current average U.S. electricity price. Five-year savings assumes $0.14/kWh, the projected five-year average.]

2. If all U.S. households in the United States replaced 10 incandescents with CFLs, how much money and Co2 would we save in one year?

Answer: If all 113 million households in the United States screwed in 10 CFLs, we'd save $10.4 billion and 81 million tons of Co2. That's like taking 15 million cars off the road. [One-year savings assumes $0.11/kWh, the current average U.S. electricity price.].

The catch here is when you dispose of CFLs, they MUST be handled as hazardous waste because they have mercury in them, so wait until your local hazardous waste day to get them to the right organization.

3. How much will you save if you hang your clothes to dry in the sun?

Answer: A simple clothesline can save you $80 in one year and $508 in five years. You'll also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,247 lbs. a year, and 6,235 lbs. in five years. [Assumes the average use of clothes dryer to be four hours a week.]

4. How much does standby mode (for computers, microwaves, printers and so on) end up costing Americans each year?

Answer: $4,000,000,000. Standby mode accounts for 5 percent of all energy use in the United States. You can do your part to cut this waste by plugging your electronics into a power strip, and turning it off when you're not using your electronics.

5. How long before you recoup the additional costs of a hybrid?

Answer: 5.3 years. Of course, this doesn't count any possible tax credit (I'm getting $3K back, but this is so stupid: The more popular hybrids have already surpassed a government cap in sales so there is NO incentive to buy them, tax-wise!).

So you see, there are things you can do, both large and small, to save energy and money. It's good for all of us and the smell of line-dried laundry is one of the best smells in the world, just in case you can't recall it.

See you up here. Heidi

June 8, 2008: A Fast Run Down the River to Our Steel Bridge Cabins

The Trinity flow is slowly being decreased. We ran the river a few days ago and it was spectacular: warm, sunny and the river was still lively. We ran it two weeks ago with my brother and that was crazy fun, despite the cold and rain. There is a stretch at Poker Bar that is like a huge piece of bacon with wavy edges, which is why we call those stretches bacon runs. It is always exciting, but more so this time of year. My brother flipped his boat in the middle of the run and donated his Trinity River Adventure Inn cap to the river gods, but he agreed that the experience of kayaking such a beautiful river, surrounded by towering forest-covered mountains, on a day when we saw NO ONE but one drift boat fisher and his buddy, was worth it and then some.

From now through summer, the river calms and the air warms, so make a date with yourself to come experience this magnificent river at whatever level you're up for. Watch the osprey and bald eagles; sit by the river at either of our locations and you'll see otters splashing about; enjoy the solitude. This is what we live the rest of our lives to make room for.

May 18, 2008: High Flow Starting to Drop, But What a Change It's Been!

Each spring, the flow from the dam is increased to scour the river and improve fish habitat. Last year was a dry year, so the increased flow was short-lived. In an odd twist this year, we had big snow through much of the winter. This was officially deemed an average water year and a normal release was scheduled. But the last 2 months have been so dry, now the government has declared this to be a dry year. They tried to turn off the bigger release and found they don't have a way to do it. The fish need all the help they can get, so keeping the flow up isn't altogether bad. What it does mean is that Trinity Lake will be lower than normal next spring and if we have ANOTHER dry year, that could mean trouble.

Here is our shoreline at Laughing Salmon on an average summer. Note the expanse of bank below the steps to the water. Then look at the picture I took a few days ago. Next is the view downstream from Laughing Salmon. Note the river bends to the left of what is usually an island with a tiny brook arcing around the right side of it. In the last shot, which was taken slightly to the right of the 3rd shot, you'll see the river has spread out all the way on the right past the island to the raised bank. The whole right bank in the 3rd picture is covered with water in the 4th one. The Canada geese and mallards are loving their temporary lake and are using it as a nursery for their goslings and ducklings.

Some of our Bucktail neighbors came over to the Steel Bridge cabins today and their reactions were pretty funny. Linda couldn't figure out why we aren't moving into Alpen Glow, the grand A frame. Mike was curious about the salmon hole along our bank. It IS a really good one and produced several nice fish for the former owner last year. Their dogs, Thelma and Louise, wanted to know how our dogs Bisco and Scupper were lucky enough to score two riverfront properties and have all that grass to roll around on. The Steel Bridge cabins are the most unique and nicely-positioned cabins we know of on the river. We have booked all of them for several large parties of between 15 and 20 guests, with some of them camping or staying in their RV. Then again, Sow's Ear, in Bucktail next to us, not only has use of our spectacular riverfront, it holds the largest group of any one cabin and is easily the most economical.

Speaking of Mike & Linda, they brought an incredible dessert to a party at Carolyn & Ron's down the road last week. It is chocolatey and has a vanilla layer and the base is made with pecans and butter; it falls into the Chocolate Ooey Gooey category, meaning it is really good. We'll be adding a few special touches and making it for guests up here. A two or three hour mountain hike ought to burn off a modest serving of it, but on vacation, one should splurge, right?

Tomorrow is a well-deserved play day. Steph and I are going to run the river instead of what we have been doing, such as crashing about clearing blackberries. We have enough welts, bruises, scratches and sore muscles to warrant a river trip. Then it's back to business getting ready for a big party Memorial Day Weekend. Our very first, never knew us before in our last business, guests Andy and Allison are coming back. They were here Memorial Day (read Andy's comments at the bottom of Backtalk) and Labor Day last year. This time, they're bringing friends and we have surprise guests joining them. I'm thinking everyone is going to enjoy this weekend. See you up here, Heidi

April 28, 2008~The New Raft, New Kayaks, New Cabins and a Fish Update

As I considered what to write about, I thought no wonder we're pooped. We've been working hard, although everyone tells us, "You have it made. Your whole life is a vacation!" Right. Just like running Sanctuary Cruises, all we had to do each day was hang out with whales and dolphins.

Steph and I really have been busy gearing up for spring. Last week , I spent hours figuring out an order for bedding. Finally I had to make a spreadsheet to make sure I had all the beds covered, so to speak. I also completely overhauled our web site and am happy to say I only screwed up all of the links several times over a couple of days before getting it straight.

I added LOTS of pictures of the new cabins, full descriptions and all of the pricing and options. Directions now includes both our Bucktail and Steel Bridge locations. I even posted pictures of the road signs you'll see as you get close. As Steph said, if someone can't find us after all this, they're not meant to be here.

We also put phone service in at the Steel Bridge cabins. The number is 530.623.9444 in case you want to call us and we're not at the 530.778.3444 number. The Steel Bridge phone will work like an old-fashioned party line. Each cabin will get a handset and free, unlimited calling in the United States and Canada, not to mention the opportunity to eavesdrop on others, just like in the old days.

Yesterday was a hot, beautiful day. After working on the new cabins (new fan in the Carriage House, distributing the new bedding, replacing light bulbs with compact florescent lights and an aborted attempt to weed and feed the enormous lawn--the granules had gotten wet), we bugged out for the maiden voyage on our new 14' raft.

It has a rowing frame and two sets of upholstered seats (we removed one set for the picture below). The frame and seats can easily be removed and inflatable cylinders installed for paddlers to sit on instead of having one person row it. It holds the biggest cooler Costco sells. A neighbor looked it over and announced happily, "The party barge has arrived!"

Steph rowed 2/3 of the trip and I rode in front with the dogs in a scene reminiscent of "Driving Miss Daisy." We both found it took a little while to get comfortable rowing forward. The seats are very comfortable; you can stretch your legs out on the sides, and the dogs had a ball standing on the pontoons. I think people who aren't up for kayaking will love the raft. The seats shown will also be nice for birding up on the lake and we can rig the boat for fishers.

The flow is up right now and the little coho smolts are being flushed downstream. We're still seeing them, but not in the numbers we were. They sure have been cute to watch.

Last week, we received a new shipment of Ocean Kayaks. We now have the Venus 10, Venus 11, Caper, Scrambler and Scrambler 11 in stock, along with paddles, life jackets, paddle leashes and wetsuits. If you're thinking of buying a kayak, this is a great time to do it.

We've decided to use the Venus, Caper and Malibu 2 exclusively for the inn, so the Scramblers are deeply discounted. You can get a nice discount on any package and we'll guarantee 10% off accessories you buy in the future, including special orders.

You get a free lesson with Steph when you buy a boat and the bragging rights for that alone make this a purchase to seriously consider. I can see you now, sitting around the camp fire with friends, saying, "This guy paddled all the way from Canada to Mexico, and he taught me to paddle." This means you learned from a crazy person, but who cares? It makes for a great story.

We have booked several large parties for summer at both locations, which is a nice way to go into spring. We're even booking fishing parties for late fall and winter, which means you ought to think about making your own reservations in order to get your preferred dates.

Some of our guests are bringing their motorcycles up so we can show them what wonderful bike country this is. If you have a bike, bring it. Just the ride up from Redding is a wonder. It's mile after mile of perfectly banked "S" turns, which explains why I will cook up any excuse to make that ride. Then there's the trip to Coffee Creek and over the mountain to Etna. An entire mountainside is serpentine rock ranging from mossy green to shiny greenish black. I have yet to ride by it without filling my saddlebags with rocks. Did you know serpentine is the state rock of California? Did you know states had official rocks? I'd ask if you cared, but we're already so far into this, never mind.

Some of you were here for outdoor concerts and dances at One Maple Winery, which is a mile from our Bucktail location. They are carving out and landscaping an amphitheater to accommodate more people, since most of Trinity County turned out for last year's events. We had so much fun, we're working on co-sponsoring some of One Maple's winery dances. Steph is working on bringing the Blues Box Bayou Band up here; they put on a ripping good dance aboard our boat Princess of Whales on the San Joaquin River last summer. I'll announce the events when One Maple sets the schedule.

Well, that's about it for us. I think I'll have a pretty big announcement in the next newsletter, but if it doesn't happen, I'll make something up so you won't be disappointed. No sweat. Take care, be well and see you up here. Heidi

3/28/2008: The Coho Are Here & They're Chirping!

The biologists who installed the coho salmon tracking station on our property dropped by a few days ago to download data and it's official: salmon smolts that were tagged before release from the hatchery a few miles upstream have made it to us. Some have continued on their way, but each tag is unique, so the biologists can identify individuals. We know coho are passing by, but we also learned two of them like it here. They have passed the antenna numerous times as they swim up and down the river. I suppose some people would like to name these fish, but most biologists frown on it because that would imply anthropomorphism, what is also known as Bambi-izing. By giving them names instead of identifying numbers, we make wild things onto something more human. While I disagree with science's cool approach, I do believe we'd be better served if humans learned more about the natural world rather than covering its distinguishing differences by attaching cutesy names to wild creatures (Thumper, Flower, Bambi...).

Then again, when we were at Neah Bay fighting the gray whale hunt in 1998, a young resident gray whale was named Buddy. That did help people identify with the plight of the whales, which was a positive note. Who cares about anything until they feel a kinship with it? And if naming a creature helps humans make the connection, I say go for it. I am a conflicted soul.

The tracking station has been chirping over there by the oak tree because the biologists turned the sound up loud enough for us to hear every time a coho passes by. It is a cricket-like noise, which makes it fun to hear; it could have beeped or whistled if its designer hadn't worked to create amore natural sound for the device.

Since Easter just passed, I will resist naming the two fish who are hanging out along our shore Flopsy and Mopsy, but you go ahead and call them what you want. They are slippery little information-spreading miracles and it's very nice being part of this project. See you up here, Heidi

3/21/2008: Cricket Noises from the Salmon Passing By & Buddy News

You wouldn't believe how beautiful this day has been. Steph and I worked on completely different jobs. He has been stripping a new/old oak table which will go in one of the cabins at our Steel Bridge location. I have been in computer accounting hell. Gee, who has the better job? We had a cup of coffee and sat by the river for a mid-afternoon break and we saw fish from 1-1/2 inches to around two feet long. That one was a spawner, a salmon.

We agreed to let biologists put a tracking station on our property and it was installed a few weeks ago (just before things started greening up around here). Coho salmon smolts were released from the hatchery upriver recently, but we haven't heard the cricket-like chirp from the receiver yet to tell us a tagged smolt has passed by.

So there we were, drinking our coffee, conjecturing over how big the smolts are. I said I'd email one of the biologists to find out.

Not five minutes later, Steph exclaimed, "Look at the school of fish out there!" Mid-river was a tight formation of around 100 fish, all around 6 inches long, heading downstream. I'd say we got our answer on size. Steph went back to his patio-based project and I went back to the dungeon.

Why is it I spend the day wondering if anything I do gets me ahead and marveling at Steph's accomplishments? I ought to be smarter than this and wedge myself into more outdoor activities, especially when the temperature is lovely outside, the dogs are sprawled in the grass by the river and the birds are all singing and chattering.

We have a new family member to announce. Steph's brother Peter and his wife Rhonda got a border collie puppy named Buddy. Buddy and company came to visit and our dogs alternated between sheer joy and total disgust with him. Mostly it was good, but after about 8 at night, Bisco and Scupper gave us that "Get rid of it" look as Buddy pummeled them, chewing on their legs like a chainsaw and growling ferociously. Don't even ask what the cats thought of him.

Buddy took his first run down the Trinity with us and it won't be his last. He had a ball, mostly riding on Rhonda's lap, but also cruising back to visit Pete every once in a while. Pete & Rhonda are shown at the right here. Buddy is overseeing my photographic effort. Steph and Bisco are to the right of Buddy.

We just had a guest stay here who is all the way from Redding (45 minutes down the mountain). She's a nurse, has two dogs, and found us after she was given some extra days off that had to be used soon. She saw the National Geographic show "Whale Attack," but had turned it off when the killer whales attacked the baby gray whale. Learning I'm in it, she borrowed the DVD and watched it all the way through, crying just about where I wanted to throw up. Then she called her mom to tell her about her host. Her mom also saw the show and thought it was pretty interesting her daughter was staying at our inn.

The guest dogs had a riotous time here. They are tiny little guys who chased their ball out in the meadow and went on big hikes, compeletely crapping out once they got back to their cabin.

You spring travelers should wander our way. The river is delightful for paddling, as is the lake. Temperatures are perfect for hikes any time of the day and everything is buzzing, bursting or bubbling, as in bees, bulbs and the bountiful river. Take care, enjoy the return of green and see you up here! Heidi

March 6, 2008: Big News & Big Fish

So there we were; Steph and I were on our motorcycles, riding down to Redding on some trumped up errand that was really just an excuse to get out on our bikes after all the snow. It was sunny and the day was warming in Bucktail, but the snow was still thick on the hillsides along the highway. By the time we got to 299 (three miles), I asked Steph if he wanted to put his chaps on because it was pretty chilly even for me, and my bike has a more aerodynamic design which protects me from the cold. No, he said, he was fine. A mile later, I pulled over so I could pull my riding pants on over my jeans and this time, Steph was all for the chaps.

The ride was a gas. Motorcycles are such fun and it just gets better if you've been housebound for a while, as we had been. I don't know about you, but the flu kicked our butts. We had some favorite guests coming back just as I got sick, so they hung out at Sow's Ear and we stayed away from them, which was a bummer. But they were here to fish and fishing was great, so it wasn't a huge loss on their end.

We did go to Costco as planned. We ought to do this more often; it's harder to drop $200 there when you have to cram your purchases into saddlebags. After that, I suggested we check out Shasta Lake, the city and the dam. Shasta gets pretty confusing up here. There is Lake Shasta, Shasta Lake, the City, Shasta (which is on 299 west of Redding and nowhere near Shasta Lake), Shasta City and probably a few more we haven't discovered yet. We rode up to the dam, where I asked a game warden for suggestions on back roads to get over to 299 around Shasta, so we saw a lot of new country AND a bobcat that ran across the road right in front of me.

We also stopped at a little antique store and picked up an attractive set of silverware. Why would we need more silverware? Because we have four new cabins to outfit. Yep, that's the big news I alluded to earlier. The Trinity River Adventure Inn is about to quadruple in size.

We ran out of space for guests a lot last year and this is a pretty cool place. I won't go into much detail right now because the sun has just set and the hot tub is ready; also, I want to get some new photos now that the snow has melted and it's greening up. But here are some pictures and a brief description of the new place. It has four cabins in all and every one looks out on the Trinity, with steep, tree covered mountains on the other side of the river. It is on the river down by Steel Bridge, just a 6 mile drive from where we are now, or a 3 1/2 hour paddle if you only take one 20 minute break along the way. We did this paddle again yesterday and it is such a hoot! I can see a lot of trips between the two places.

The largest cabin is a grand A frame with a great kitchen and two pantries. We cook for guests a lot and having room for a table for ten is a big lure that may pry us out of Laughing Salmon. We're not sure, so we're going to try it for a while.

Next comes the Carriage House, which was converted into a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom cabin. It has a full kitchen, wood stove, a nice and deep covered back porch facing the water and the entire interior is soft, natural cedar. Next to it is the Artist's Studio, which will become an additional bedroom for the Carriage House. Between the Carriage and the studio is a nice, high fenced yard which perfect for guests who need a place for their dogs to hang out while their people are engaged in non-dog activities, which Bisco insists is ridiculous, because she goes everywhere, but there you have it.

The first photo above shows the A frame, with the Carriage House to its right, the high-fenced dog yard, then the studio. The Carriage and Miner's cabins are part of the historical Vitzhum homestead and the grounds have several burbling waterfalls from the springs above us. We're thinking of bottling our very own Trinity River Adventure Inn water.

The Carriage House is going to get a new kitchen floor and bathroom before it's rented, which means Steph's list of projects has just grown exponentially. I may get involved in the floor project, because it interests me and he's done so many around here on his own.

Then there is the Miner's Cabin. This is a restored and updated real miner's cabin. It has hand-hewn timbers, a magical loft with a very nice queen-sized bed up a ladder, a trundle bed in the living room and a tiny bathroom. It has a deck overlooking the river and is in a grove of trees all by itself.

No kitchen; just a sink, microwave, mini-refrigerator and a coffee maker, so it will be best for people who have us do the cooking. It is the cutest thing you ever saw and what a bonus: an excuse not to cook!

If we do move to the A frame, that means Laughing Salmon will become a vacation rental, too. What a gem it is. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, thirty feet from the river, wood stove. It's such a wonderful place to live that we are really struggling: Bigger place with a large kitchen or stay here and rent the A frame? We will figure it out in the next few months.

By the way, the fishing has been superb recently. The Bankson family spent last weekend here to celebrate Brian's 40th birthday. His wife Holly arranged the whole thing, complete with two couples joining them, as a surprise. The men fished and caught a bunch of steelhead, plus Sam Smith caught a huge German brown trout. Speaking of fish, we're seeing a good number of spring salmon that have arrived to spawn.

This family was pretty impressive. The kids built a teepee using branches downed by the snow. They played with our dogs, read in the hammocks and explored, just like kids used to do before computer games. Steph and I paddled down to the new place on Sunday, so before we went, he gave the Bankson kids a ride in a kayak. They had a good time and are already planning a summer trip back up to do a run with us.

The women went shopping in Weaverville and wine tasting at One Maple Winery. We ran into Ernie, who owns One Maple, just yesterday. He says they're carving an amphitheater into the hillside at One Maple for more summer concerts and dances. This is really good news because we've taken guests to several of their affairs and they have enjoyed them. See you up here... somewhere.

February 16, 2008: Snow Blind

Following record snowfalls, we've had beautiful sunny days. The roads are all open, but snow lingers on the meadows and in the shade. Yesterday, we kayaked down to Steel Bridge. We brought gloves, but never wore them. We passed fishers in T-shirts and saw our guests land one of over 20 steelhead as we went by them at Poker Bar.

The river level is high enough year-round that we don't have to portage through shallow spots, but there are areas where you need to know where the deeper water is. Most of the time, on the outer side of a bend there is deeper water. This is because the flow hits harder there. Sometimes, it's trickier to predict, so it's a matter of trial and error. We've figured out the route, which can change after the big spring flows.

The spring run-off two years ago was so powerful that entire channels disappeared in some places and appeared in others. We always do a run without guests to check for changes, meaning we're the guinea pigs. Those are some of my favorite trips.

January 5, 2008: Art Forms~Spawning Salmon and Stained Glass

Happy New Year!
It was nearly a month ago when I sent out the last update, complete with a tantalizing picture of spawning salmon in the clear, rock-lined shallows just below our cabin.
I promised to send the expanded version of the entire event soon, but then pre-holiday visits and Christmas got in the way. We had Sow's Ear, Laughing Salmon and the trailer filled with family, making it one of the best holidays ever. How was yours?

Imagine the single-minded determination salmon have to survive their years at sea and return to their birth waters, only to work and fight almost to their death to complete the circle.

This sequence of photos shows the smaller female salmon with her battered nose. The larger, dark male has a white gouge on his beak. He courted her for quite a while, running off a smaller male who was just as intent on being part of this final adventure.

The female mosied about, looking for just the right spot to dig her redd. As she did, the large male shadowed her until the smaller male cut in too close. The big fish would tear after the smaller one, chasing him forty or fifty feet from the female before turning back to her. But each time, the smaller male came right back.

For hours, the two males raced back and forth across the shallows. Then the female dug her redd, clearing the silt from between the rocks. This was where she would deposit the eggs. She might look dead in the shot at the right, but she's just turned sideways to fan the rocks clean.

When she was ready to lay, the larger male couldn't risk missing the moment by chasing off the smaller aggressor. Each male sidled in next to her just as the female shimmied.

Look closely at the picture to the left and you'll see all three fish have their mouths open. She ejected her eggs and they tumbled down in between the stones just as the males exploded, their milky white milt filling the water, the sperm from both males fertilizing the eggs.

The need for males to make sure their genes seed the next generation may not be tangible to the fish, but it's an intense instinct. Most whales aren't monogamous, but males will compete fiercely to be the last to mate with a female. That male's semen flushes the other males' semen out of the female and has the best chance of impregnanting the cow.

Note in the picture on the left how the larger male increased his sperms' chances by arcing over the female as she laid her eggs.

The female rapidly covered the eggs, creating a small whirlpool (right). His work done, the smaller fish left, but the larger male hung around for a while. We spotted the female hovering near her redd for several days and it was a melancholy sight. Maybe she was protecting it and maybe she just didn't have anywhere else to go; the redd was her last connection with this life. Each day, she had decomposed more.

All of that digging, then covering the eggs had taken its toll. Her tail was tattered and ragged. Her skin was mottled and appeared to be rotting. But she still had the strength to stand her watch until it was over.

All three of the fish are probably dead now. Their mission, mysteriously ingrained in their brains from inception, was accomplished against such tremendous odds. It is an awesome spectacle to witness, and an honor.

As I've said for years - sometimes after getting a wondrous whale or dolphin shot and sometimes after missing it - nature photography takes patience, endurance and luck. We got to share this experience because Steph had all three and was willing to stand very still for a long time on a cold winter's day, waiting.

But this isn't the end of the spawning story. Read on.

The Grand Glass Finale

Bobbi, the stained glass artist who writes so eloquently about life, struggles and nature, came up with Ardie to deliver and install her masterpiece. Knowing she would stay at Ardie's overnight, Bobbi thought she would make Ardie a suncatcher using one of the dragonfly designs from our window. I should note that Bobbi does nothing in a small way. The design for Ardie's piece grew just as ours had, and so did Bobbi's need for a ring saw, which would make the difficult cuts far easier to pull off.

Now that she'd completed two complex windows without it, we bought the ring saw for her, which allowed us to slide on in and sign the card for Ardie's window as well. When you've struggled as we have to find a tool or gadget Ardie doesn't already have, you can appreciate this a lot more. This picture doesn't do the glass justice, because it has no backlighting, but it is alive with sun behind it.

Ardie and Bobbi worked on Ardie's frame for our window, then, like Santa's elves, they took over the hanging of it. What was I doing? I know I was working on something, but my mind is blank. All I know is our guests stayed busy with their work for our pleasure. Aren't we gracious hosts?

This window was a gift from Bobbi and somehow Ardie got roped into making the frame. Well, I asked her to do it, so I guess that's how she got roped into it. The two of them decided where the glass would hang and after a brief consultation with us, there it was: Glorious and ever-changing, depending on the light, its source and its strength. It captures the view downriver from Laughing Salmon and is punctuated by 12 leaded glass jewels. The bottom says, "Believe." Those of you from our Sanctuary Cruises days might remember the pretty piece of driftwood on Princess of Whales that had the same word in the same writing. I made it not long after we bought the catamaran. If you're going to hitch your dreams on one word, that is a good one to choose. You can see the driftwood piece on the window sill under the glass below.

The last picture shows the glass with a snowy backdrop. One of our best Christmas presents came late: It was a heavy snowfall that lasted for days, draping our world in soft, muffled white.

All of us had projects to attend to, so Ardie and Bobbi's visit wasn't as fun-filled as it might have been, but we did have some memorable highlights, such as Bobbi introducing me to sidecars. You'd think Steph and I would know about this drink, since he has two sidecars and has transported our dog Bisco all the way to Washington and back in one of them, but we didn't.

You mix brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice together, shake it in ice, strain and serve. I found I like a cube in it, following the sentiment of our old neighbor Jane, who always took a cube in her glass of white wine.
"I know it's frowned on," she explained. "But I like the sound of ice tinkling against the glass." Me, too.

Bobbi has a bad back and was anxious to soak in the hot tub under the cold, starry sky, so we mixed up a few sidecars and headed for the tub. That was somewhere around 9 o'clock. We had our cocktails, not that many, really, and we talked. And we talked. I crawled into bed and snuggled up to Steph at 3 a.m., a complete raisin.

Ardie gravitates to hardware stores wherever she is. When she realized Tools and Supplies were needed to hang the window, off she went. It reminded me of the day last summer when Ardie was due to arrive after an Elderhostel photography camp in Florence, Oregon. Steph and I were at the Plotzky's hardware store in Weaverville and who should come cruising around the aisle with her basket overflowing with Tools and Supplies?
"Just needed a few things," she explained.

While Ardie was in Weaverville, Bobbi was called outside by Steph. Here is her description of what happened:

"Do you want to see a spawning salmon?" Steph's shout brought me straight out of my chair, through the door and into the sweet, but cold morning air. I ran to the edge of the deck and looked at the river where he was pointing.

"I can't tell if it is spawning, or has just spawned. But, isn't it something?" I just nodded, foolishly, because I couldn't speak past the lump that had formed instantly in my throat.

Steph continued with his morning duties, leaving me there to walk the length of the deck and back again, keeping pace with the salmon swimming a few feet beneath me. At first the only thing I saw was the dorsal fin, still proud, still flagging his presence in his home waters.

Then he turned and I saw him. All of him. All the journey, the relentless fevered purpose which had driven him so many miles, hurling himself against and through countless obstacles. His life flashed before my eyes as he turned, and again, all I could see was his fin.

He was swimming in lazy circles, just beneath the surface, circles that grew smaller and smaller. Then perhaps some briefly remembered burst of the relentless drive that had brought him here would stir, and there would be a muscular flash, sun on silver skin, and a purpose to the thrust of his tail. But, only for a moment, and then he settled back to his circling, an aimless concentric waiting, now that his purpose was fulfilled.

I paced back and forth, keeping step with the circles of this tired, tattered, and worn out warrior in the water below, watching the river rippling away from his endless circles. I stopped when he did, feeling the wood of the deck beneath my fingers, wondering what his end would be; a bear, a fisherman's hook, a wide-mouthed gasping at the water's edge?

The lump that had begun hurting my throat pushed unwelcome tears up to my eyes, and I lowered my head to quickly brush them away before they could be seen. I realized I was crying not for the death of this animal, but for fear that death would not dignify him, nor be as noble as his fight had been.

I carry in my mind a picture of that salmon swimming inside his diminishing circles, and I realize he has taught me a lesson about life and death. He won't be defined by the fact or manner of his death. He is defined by his success in fighting fatigue, predators, and water which continually beat him back, to come to the moment and place where he created the next cycle of life.

He is defined by the next silver flash of sun on skin, the next triumphant jump up the waterfall, the next one to return to this same place after many tomorrows, to trace the circles that he has drawn today, his personal circle of life. Life is his noble legacy, and death cannot change it.

Well, I feel better. I think I'll have salmon for dinner. By Bobbi Dunham 12/07

November 9, 2007: A Tiffany in Our Midst; Not That Tiffany

October 28, 2007: Kayaking & Grooving on Fall's Colors

9/13/2007:The Party Was a Hoot

Our fundraiser for Otter B. Good, the mustang en route to Texas to compete with 99 other mustangs, was a rousing success. We had some dandy volunteers, including Jeff, Anne and John Vandervort, who drove up from Newman to participate.

Dixie set up a small corral next to our cabin for Otter. Breezy, her 2 month old donkey and Rodney - her fat little goat that we all think looks like he's pregnant and about ready to pop - were tied to nearby trees. Rodney ate what blackberries he could reach, but when he was straining at the end of his rope, he slipped, fell over and was kind of hanging upside down with all 4 feet in the air. That didn't phase him in the least. He casually used the new position to reach a few more blackberry leaves before being rescued.

Once all the hard work prep was done, we had fun with the event. I was in charge of logistics: planning, shopping, pre-cooking, so I was pretty much finished when the party started. I spent a good deal of the day trying to find my margarita. Steph and Anne took over a good deal of the cooking duties and since we practically demanded each attendee order food to support Otter, a lot of food was sold.

Everyone was good-natured about having their pockets picked. I set the stage by telling some arrivals, "Think of it like we're the government only this time, you get to support something you believe in." I put a donation jar on one of the tables that said, "OTTER FODDER: Don't make him walk to Texas."

We had a strong turn out to support Otter, including most of our neighbors in Bucktail. We also had folks who came specifically to demo kayaks and there were a few surprises. Dixie, who has been training Otter, gave kayaking a shot and enjoyed herself, as did her grandmother! She and Jeff paddled around the river for quite a while and she liked it so much, she even tried to go again. Unfortunately, someone else was in line for a lesson, but she'll be back. She kept saying it was so peaceful and such fun! The kayak mini lessons were such a hit, both Jeff and Steph got involved in those. Our neighbor and friend Carolyn Ward also turned to and as usual, did her best to keep me in line.

Breezy, the baby donkey, had her own set of debuts: She walked on pavement for the first time, down steps for the first time and we're pretty sure she saw her first kayak lesson that day.

The party ebbed and flowed with the day and we caught this shot near the finale. There is only a little peek of Rodney the goat's legs; goats are notoriously camera-shy, most likely due to their aversion to Wanted posters, which also might explain why you see so few goats in post offices. What you do see is Jack, the tall fellow in back on the right, who runs our wonderful Lewiston Library and food bank. We donate food and support the library's fund-raising efforts with donations of gift certificates for catered kayak adventures. Jack supported Otter's fund by putting away something like two full French Gulch chicken meals and a couple of sandwiches. Good man.
The day was beautiful, spirits were high, Dixie made around $900.00 and by the end of the party, everyone was happy. [Dixie and Otter did travel to Texas to compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover, but due to an injury unloading Otter from the trailer, he was unable to compete in the riding competition. Even so, he placed high and Dixie was able to purchase him at the end of the event. He's back home with Dixie, Wayne, Rodney and the rest of the menagerie up the road.]

Down the River, Off to the Fire

Next day, we headed down the river with local friends; Kathy, a guest from Shasta; and the Vandervorts. Kathy came to us by one of those cosmic connections I marvel at. I knew her husband, who was a neighbor of my brother's 20 years ago. I assumed she had been married to him back then and that we had met.

Her husband was a pilot and was killed a few years ago in an accident. She and I have communicated by email for several years and when she saw the Otter Party invitation email, she decided to come up. That's when I learned we hadn't met before, nor has she ever met my brother in person. All communications have been by email, meaning she has never been treated to someone singing "Danny Boy" over a truck's PA in the middle of the night. There are some things email just can't bridge, you know?
The river trip was a gas. Kathy was new to the sport, but she got her water wings and did quite nicely after being attacked by a seemingly benign tree sticking out over the water. We picked blackberries down river and Steph and I arrived at the take-out spot thinking it was time to go home and take a much-needed nap after everyone headed home.

But first, Steph had to go get a fishing license, just to make sure he doesn't catch a fish this year. He had a date to go down the river on a drift boat with an outfitter and a friend the next morning. I said good-bye to our guests, walked inside the cabin and heard the fire department pager go off. I spent the next 20 hours or so on a fire line down in Hayfork. Zack, my partner, and I took our department's water tanker down and discovered we had two separate fires.

I learned that all firefighters wave to tender crews, which makes sense. Without water, a firefighter isn't out of business (thanks to hand tools, heavy equipment such as dozers and air support), but water plays a starring role and everyone loves seeing 2,000 gallons rolling their way.

We were detailed to a fire engine, so we hooked a line to it and pumped water in as the crew pumped water out up the hill. When we were empty, we'd unhook from the engine and go re-fill at a hydrant near town. Near dark, the incident commander sent us to the Hayfork reservoir to fill our tanker using a Flotopump.

The water was rimmed with gooey mud and 10' of floating debris that did its best to be sucked into the pump. I took off my boots and rolled up my pants to wade out to launch and retrieve the pump, then Zack headed back to the fire with our tanker.

I was left at the reservoir and filled the other two tenders working the fire. I developed this cool system of fueling the pump, starting it and pushing it out past the reeds so fast that it didn't suck them up. When it was time to pull it in, I had the tender crew close the valve at the tank to slow the pumping, then I quickly hauled the pump in past the reeds, shut it down and cleaned the suction intake while the crew detached the line. I successfully pumped 12,000 gallons of water into the three tenders, then after the last one left well past dark, it got very quiet.

I stretched out on the dry grass and looked at the stars. With no moon and in a bowl-shaped valley ringed by big evergreens, it was magnificent. Bullfrogs croaked, fish splashed and I thought, "How romantic."

Every time I think something is romantic, I know I'm headed for trouble.

An hour and a half later, the temperature had dropped 25 degrees and was going lower. My pants were wet and my feet too muddy to put my socks and boots on; the tank top I wore under my brush gear seemed a better idea when it was in the high 80's. I was fantasizing about the breakfast I'd served our guests 12 hours earlier and vowed to put some granola bars in my bag for next time (I did bring 4 bottles of water from home, in addition to three bottles of water hooked to my web gear; naturally, all the trucks had cold Gatorade and water).

When Zack finally returned to pick me up, I discovered why the tenders quit coming. The first meal of the day had been distributed. With the fire contained, crews were able to rotate off the fire line to eat, so they pumped less water and that meant it took a lot longer for the tenders to be drained. Zack hooked up the hose, I started the Flotopump, launched it, then hopped in the truck cab to eat and warm up.

We spent the night hooked to our engine, trying to sleep upright in uncomfortable seats that had very little leg room. If we'd had sleeping bags, or even our structure gear, we'd have stretched them out in the rock-strewn ditch and gone to sleep happy. Early the next morning, I was thinking coffee would be nice, but no such luck. I was astounded to see the crew from the engine attached to us climb out of their truck's upright seats, yawn, stretch, grab tools and trudge back up the mountain. I peeked in to make sure there wasn't some magical way of cramming beds into the crew cab; there wasn't. Their seats were more comfortable, but 5 or 6 guys who had worked a good 10-12 hours on a blazing hot hillside had spent the night largely as we had. Unlike them, we were relieved at 0700 and I went home to get ready for the next batch of guests arriving later that day. No wonder it's all a blur sometimes.

Steph had responded with an engine from our department after I headed to Hayfork with Zack on Sunday, but his team was turned around after standing by in the staging area several hours. He spent his time telling everyone how I single-handedly saved Hayfork. "And as soon as people figure it out," he added, "she will probably be charged for it." You'd have to see some of the crappy places there to understand. It's a shame because it is in a beautiful spot. The joke is a fire ripped through Hayfork and did $5 million worth of improvements.

An interesting footnote: On Monday morning, I carefully described my Flotopump procedures to our relief crew, but they never got a chance to use them. Another team managed to completely stuff the Flotopump intake with their first attempt to fill a tanker and that was the end of filling at the reservoir and our Flotopump, which required a complete tear-down to clean out.

It's a sign (or two)

I just spent several hours adding new photos to our web site. You can now see all 3 bedrooms at Sow's Ear, most of the rooms and grounds of the Meadow Cabin and more. I had to include the Meadow's laundry room, which is one of the coolest old cabins you have ever seen. There are two of these small cabins on the grounds. They were moved there by the fellow who built the A frame and probably were originally miner's cabins. You can see the new shots on the Lodging link.

I also have posted pictures of the new signs for the inn and Sow's Ear, but here's a preview. The TRAI sign is just the first of several in the works.
It's an old spool end that apparently spent years floating around in the San Joaquin River. I found it on the dock where Princess is based in Stockton and dragged it home.

It's so deeply grooved from water that it was a pain to paint - especially since it was just a temporary sign for Otter's party - but also a lot of fun. I filled the center hole with a Cara Mia artichoke heart jar and painted over it. The fish's eye is a beer bottle cap.

The Sow's Ear sign is on an old footboard for a bed. Rocks are everywhere up here, so it was easy to round some up for the base.

8/27/2007: Monterey Bay Kayaks Goes Inland

Tara Roddy, who manages Monterey Bay Kayaks, was just up here with her husband and their dog, who got his first river trip. Although he is in the boat in this picture, he spent much of the trip swimming and running alongthe bank. He slept very well that night.

Blackberry Cobbler, Anyone?

We have been stopping along the way on our kayak trips to pick blackberries. Half are eaten before they hit the bags and buckets, but we have still managed to come home with an adundance and they are just huge this year. A favorite side channel has the mother lode and because it's shady, they won't be ready for a week or two, but that's where I'm headed as soon as they are.

No Picture, Darn It

Last night, the dogs went crazy. It was the middle of the night and both of them were riled up, barking and charging around inside. Earlier, I had tried to coax the cats inside and they hadn't been interested, but a little later, and just before the ruckus, I tried again. They shot in like they had a freight train chasing them, which isn't too far off.

This morning, we headed out for a hike and found our extra large garbage can tipped on its side, the contents having been meticulously torn open, surveyed, tasted, and some of it eaten. This was way too big a project for a dog and we don't see stray dogs here, so we're thinking bear.

The cats are in lockdown today and don't seem to mind all that much. As for the bear, I recently learned if bear poop is black, it can mean they're eating grass and that's a bad sign. This is because if a bear is feeding exclusively on grass, it isn't getting enough food and is starving. This being berry season, I know the bear didn't spread garbage all over due to starvation. Probably it was a combination of a whiff of something in there and maybe a little boredom.

The same friends who had three fawns born on their lawn just lost two bee hives to a bear, making for a pretty funny picture in the local newspaper. There sat the bear, stuffed on honey and looking very happy, with the smashed hives strewn around it.

The River Flow Was Up Briefly

The river flow was increased for a few days and we had a fabulous trip down to Steel Bridge. They release more water to help the lower river fish move upstream and to cool off the warmer sections. A great side benefit for us is a zippier ride with fewer rocks to negotiate. This is a shot of Tara and her family on a run last week.

Fall brings us lots of salmon in the river, more temperate days and cooler nights. Then there are those blackberries. They will go strong right up until the rains start.

Steph and I will be running the next San Francisco cruise aboard Princess of Whales September 29 (Stockton to SF) and 30th (SF to Stockton). If you'd like to make one or both of these voyages with us, contact Delta River Cruises. Hope we see you somewhere along the way! Take care, Heidi

8/8/2007: From Sea Otters to River Otters

We have been watching our river otters ever since we moved here. They plop into the water on the far side of the river and cruise around, usually on that side. Guests who are patient can sit in chairs or lie in the hammocks and see these sleek animals early in the morning and at dusk. Every once in a while, one appears along our bank, but is there ever a camera nearby? Of course not.

Steph gets up earlier than I do if I have anything to say about it. He often takes the dogs for a hike up the mountain, but a few days ago, he was having coffee by the river when all three babies and the mother slipped into the water and came over.

They rolled and played and got closer and closer to the bank. Meanwhile, our cat Alvin Coolidge--the one everyone who stays here wants to steal--noticed the otters and came down to investigate. Alvin didn't ship out with us when we owned and ran Sanctuary Cruises, so he's new to otters, but he liked what he saw.

I never got a chance to experience Mon Ami, the friendliest of the humpback whales on the Monterey Bay. Way before that, I never saw the bear with her two cubs that a lot of our guests saw on kayak excursions when I ran the Sitka Sea Kayak Adventure.

I'm wondering if this is going to be more of the same for me with the otters here. Guess I'll have to get out of bed earlier, hmm?

A Really BIG Otter

The government rounds up some of the wild mustangs and donkeys to thin the herds that are living on public lands and then sells them. A bunch of volunteers throughout the country take the animals and work with them to get them off on the right hoof with breaking and training. Animals that can't be tamed stand a good chance of being slaughtered.

Dixie, our neighbor up the road, is one of the big-hearted volunteers who has taken on the task of taming mustangs. She has been chosen to compete with her current horse in the Extreme Mustang Makeover and will travel to Texas in the middle of September for the event.

Her horse is named Otter B. Good and he has been great. Dixe can bounce a big ball off his forehead without Otter flinching. He hops up on a flatbed trailer like it was nothing. He leads well and will even follow her without a lead rope. So far, he has been desensitized to all sorts of things most horses think are the Boogie Man, such as waving streamers, strings of cans flowing in the wind, loose tarps and tires.

II've broken and trained several horses and it's funny what spooks them (unless you're the one dumped on your head, which has happened to me more times than I care to remember). I had one that would walk past a row of mailboxes without flinching, then nearly fall over, shying away from a mailbox just like the 5 he had just passed. One day he was fine with buses; another day, he'd see one coming and just lose it. So what you have to do is keep introducing them to the frightful object until they get over their fear. The trick is in knowing what will set them off. Right now, Otter's working on inner tubes, which are scary only if raised over waist high!

As you can see from the wonderful picture above, Otter is a sweetheart. The picture below shows how handsome he is. Otter has done exceptionally well and Dixie is now riding him. Dixie has worked with a lot horses, but she says Otter is special and she's really fond of him. This makes us wonder whether she'll be able to say good-bye to him when he is sold after the competition in Texas. (She does have the chance to buy him herself and maybe she will.)

All of Dixie's costs in working Otter have been out of her own pocket. She does this great work to show people how smart and capable mustangs are. People who know horses appreciate mustangs because they're sure-footed and intelligent and they are tough as nails, but there are a lot of folks out there who hear "mustang" and think "wild and dangerous," so Dixie's work is important. We don't want ANY of them to go to the glue factory.

September 8th is a Saturday. We are hosting the Otter B. Good Extreme Mustang Makeover & Kayak Party at the Trinity River Adventure Inn from noon to 6. This will be a Meet & Greet for Otter and we will have a big barbecue, good things to drink and mini kayak lessons. Entry is $5 for adults and $3 for kids 12 and under. Kayak lessons are included, so bring your swim suit and try all of our Ocean Kayaks while you're helping Dixie and Otter out with their Travelin' to Texas Fund.

Food will include French Gulch oak BBQ'd chicken, portabello mushroom burgers, Aidell's sausages and plain ol' hot dogs. We'll have excellent garlic bread, salads and desserts, all at very reasonable prices and with every penny going to the Fund.

In addition to Otter, we will have Dixie's darling baby donkey and one of her pygmy goats for kids to feed and pet. It will be a relaxed day of good people and fun times, so clear your schedule and get on up here!

An RSVP will help us plan the food: 530.778.3444

The Bucktail Gang

Our local population of black-tailed deer, the Bucktail Gang, has recently come down from the mountain with their new fawns. They hang out at Carolyn's a few doors down the road because they have a cool, grassy lawn to bed down on and her dad, who is in his 90's, keeps them well-stocked with Cheerios, crackers, deer feed and bread.

We've had deer come up on our porch in the winter shopping for a snack, but they tend to swing wide since we have our dogs, Bisco and Scupper. Last week, this old girl and a few of the younger deer dropped in for a visit. While it might look as though she's going to kiss Steph, the hanging lower lip says otherwise. What she's really doing is reaching out for the cracker in his teeth!

There is another group of deer that are frequently seen by Dixie's underneath a huge apple tree. We call them the Applesauce Gang. Farther up the road, a friend of ours came home to find a doe had just delivered three babies in her garden! Triplets are fairly rare, but we've seen them before.

Most of our guests go down to Carolyn's to meet the deer and take pictures. It's part of the Bucktail Experience. I should have added DEER to our T-shirt design, which has, "KAYAK, FISH, HIKE, HAMMOCK, EAT" under the inn's name. But we should also have river otters, osprey, sidecar tours... The list goes on.

Speaking of osprey, they are magnificent large birds and we have had several of the closest encounters with them ever the past two weeks. They've been as close as 10 feet above us as we've floated past on our boats.

I LOVE MY NEW KAYAK!!!

I've paddled the new Venus 11 down the river several times now, both with and without Scupper on the bow and I am crazy about this boat. So is Steph! It has a beautiful bow that looks more like a graceful sea kayak. It is stable and yet it's very maneuverable, which is a tricky combination to achieve.

Everyone who has paddled the Venus 11 has really liked it, although it might be best suited to someone under 6' tall. The color is actually a little brighter than it looks here, so I am thrilled about that, but it also comes in several other happy colors. We sold a lime green Venus 10 to a woman who is 5' tall and it fits her as nicely as the 11 fits me. Note the cup holder forward of the hatch which is just forward of the seat. That hatch has a screw-on lid and it holds a small camera, sunscreen, lip balm and a snack. Cool, huh?

1% of the profits from Venus 10 and 11 sales goes to breast cancer research and we will donate 5% on top of that to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Susan died of breast cancer and her sister formed the foundation, which does incredible work; check it out), making this boat the most fun donation to such a worthy cause. If you come for a demo, you can try all of our boats. A lesson, rental and guided tour runs $75 whether you're a drop in or a guest and if you buy a boat, you'll get the full $75 credited to your purchase.

Guests here now have a 9 year old boy who just had a lesson with Steph using my boat. He and his dad are going down the river later and usually Steph and I would guide them together. However, the boy liked my boat so much, he wants to use it for the trip and I am just spoiled enough by it that I will stay here taking care of business. My boat or nothing!

We have sold several Ocean Kayaks with upgraded Surf to Summit seats and no wonder. They are extra comfortable and come with super options such as removeable backpacks that come in the form of a drybag (perfect for your camera), plain backpack or a backpack with rigid fishing pole holders on each side. The pole holders will do double duty as pool cue holders for those of you who like to drop by the Moose to shoot a little 9 Ball on your way down the Trinity.

Steph wondered if putting a $188 seat with backpack on a $600 boat wasn't a little like putting a $40 saddle on a $10 horse, but then we took our friend Randy down the river on his new Caper (another great Ocean Kayak model). Randy is a retired contractor and he has a bad lower back, but he got in that seat and said his back had never felt better.

At the end of the trip, most people stretch and walk around a little stiff-legged, especially if they didn't walk and stretch on our breaks during the paddle, but Randy bounded out of his boat ecstatic over his choice. He got the Airwave seat that has a padded, inflatable bottom pad. You can use it with lots of air in it for cruising, but when you get to the rapids, you can easily crack the valve and let out air for a more secure seat. This is because even an inch of seat height affects your stability, so having the adjustability is a really nice feature.

We're booked solid from now through the 16th, then we have openings. Our next Stockton to San Francisco cruise is August 18th (Stockton to SF) and 19th (SF to Stockton). Hope we see you somewhere along the way! Take care, Heidi

Wednesday July 26, 2007

Our first Ocean Kayak sale, a Venus 10, headed down the road yesterday. It wasn't the first one purchased, but several guests who bought boats while they were here are planning to come back to pick up their new boats and gear. They also have the option of paying $40 more and their boat can be delivered to their door. The Venus 10 was purchased by Ginny Rice, a Lewiston local who is retired and refers to "people who work" in the same tone of voice as one might describe people who eat feces.

This is because Ginny is always on the go and travels the world to hike and scuba dive. She usually travels with "people who work," so they don't have as much time as she does to play. On an upcoming trip to the Great Barrier Reef, she will hit Tasmania alone first, then hook up with some people who work while they're on vacation. We're thrilled Ginny now has a boat, because she's the type to join us on winter paddles down the Trinity. How about you?

The annual Ice Cream Social & Dutch Auction is August 5th at the Lewiston Elementary School. This is the Old Schoolhouse and Lewiston Library's biggest fund-raising event of the year and it is a sweet nod to the past when you could trust home-baked goods. We went last year and were blown away by the quality and variety of cakes and pies, as well as the fun way smaller prizes are bid for.

The winner of the Grand Prize will receive 3 nights and four days aboard a 47 foot, custom houseboat at Trinity Alps Marina on Trinity Lake. It sleeps 10 people for a weekend of fishing, swimming and recreation. This Grand Prize is valued at $1,400. It can be yours if yours is the single highest bid received in the always-fun Cake & Pie Auction at this year's event. Bidders who miss out on the Grand Prize could still take home any of the terrific consolation prizes. Just remember to bid high on any of the lovely dessert items on display in the Cake & Pie Auction and who knows!; $300, $200, even a $100 bid could be enough to guarantee you 3 nights of unlimited fun at Trinity Lake, lessons and an exciting Trinity River kayaking trip with us or some of the best lodging and dining in the north state.

And beginning this year, several High Value Prizes will be awarded for runners up in the Dessert Auction. High bidders achieving 2nd, 3rd or 4th place in the bidding order can choose from the following:

*"Kayaking Fun for 4": Go zipping down the Trinity River or paddling on the lake, then break for lunch (provided) with instructors Steph Dutton and Heidi Tiura from Trinity River Adventure Inn. Value: $350

*"The New Smokey" at Cedar Stock. One night aboard the 44-foot deck boat that accommodates up to 14 passengers. Value: $450

*"The Lewiston Getaway Package": A vacation package that includes lodging at Lewiston's Heritage Guest House Bed & Breakfast for two nights, dinner at Mountain Valley Grill and a patio boat rental at Pine Cove Marina on Lewiston Lake. (Details at the event).

*"The Escape to the Trinities Vacation Package": Includes a day patio-boating at Estrellita Resort on Trinity Lake, followed by dinner at Marino's restaurant in Weaverville and a night for two in the "Best Available Room" at the historic Weaverville Hotel. (Details at the event).
*And much more to be added later. More prize specifics will be announced at the event. Prizes awarded for single bids only, not cumulative bids.

So come join us this Sunday, August 5 at 2:00pm, in the cool comfort of the Lewiston Elementary School gym for Lewiston's grandest community event. Call 778-3701 for more information.

Steph and I ran the Stockton to San Francisco trip with our catamaran Princess of Whales July 21-22. This is a relaxed cruise that you can join us for on the downriver run, the upriver run or both. We plan to go out to dinner with some of the passengers who stay over in The City and cruise both ways. We dock at South Beach Harbor, a short stroll to the Giants' AT&T Park and a brief Muni ride to the Hyatt Regency, which is a stunning hotel on the Embarcadero. Our next overnight SF trip is August 18-19.

Wednesday July 11, 2007

Last night, the sky turned dark gray and the temperature dropped from the high 90's to the 80's. We ran the river with our dogs Bisco and Scupper and it was heavenly. Shafts of sunlight broke through and occasionally we'd get a blast of hot wind.

A few fly fishers were out, but mostly we saw deer and some of our favorite birds, such as kingfishers, mergansers and herons.

The dogs enjoyed the trip as much as we did. This was Scupper's first run after we took off his training wheels. He had done a lake paddle or two and ridden around on the river in front of our place, but no rapids until last night. He got his wings and is now an official water rat.

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