the mcdowell clan

756

5 days, boundary creek to cache bar, 3.65

murray-the captain

mick-the master chef, kent-the ambassador, ben-the relaxed, frank-the comedian, pat-the safariman, ernie-the fisherman, lyle-the inquisitive, justin-the engaged, blake-the surfer, jed-the grooverman

fire island, state land, cow creek, elk bar

this is not exactly the type of scenery the mcdowell clan was expecting to see as they drove in to boundary, but you have to admit that a bus about to tip over is almost as exciting as a heard of elk.  the weight of the gear on the trailer is what held the bus from tipping over.  the road construction had left some extremely soft spots along the road and this caldwell transportation bus found one of them.  the bus did make it safely to boundary about an hour behind us and we were about an hour behind the mcdowell clan.

now this scenery is more like it!

safari man airs up a raft.  safari man got his name from the hat he brought along.  every person on a river trip plays a role in the play of the trip.  when you hook up with total strangers to float a river you never know if you will get an oscar the grouch, princess and the pea, or barney fife among the group.   we always seem to get lucky and the mcdowell clan was no exception.  a rather eclectic group but all easy to get along with and skilled enough behind the oars to stay out of serious trouble.  when it came to food i have never had any better along the river.  for our meals we cooked beef tenderloin for them at boundary and then bbq beef ribs at fire island and our meals were the worst food on the entire trip.  under the careful watch of their master chef all of their meals, from the seafood kabobs to the grilled chicken and shrimp, easily were as good as i have ever had.

looks like we just beat the rush for rigging space at the ramp!

3 cats and 3 rafts.  justin, blake and i in the cats and the clan in the rafts.  before long there was scarcely any room left for parking boats so it was a good thing that we were first to arrive, rig and get in the water.  time for those tenderloins.

safe at trail flat!  even though one raft made a sideways assault at velvet no serious problems resulted.  cool, moist, weather is making it more difficult to stay warm though and suddenly the value of dry suits and hot springs are greatly appreciated.  by now the clan was wondering if we were men or machines, but even in a dry suit you won't stay warm unless you row so row we did.  when the weather is cool we prefer to get to camp and get the fire going.  besides our fire island camp offered the use of sheep eater hot springs and sheep eater certainly delivered that night!