Salmon River - Logan and Eric - Week 25 - June 21 - June 27, 2021

Another week in Oregon.  We went to Canon Beach and enjoyed perfect weather.

I took Jude and Eric on their birthday backpacking trip.  Decided to go up Hwy 26 to the Salmon River.  I'd been there years ago with scouts and decided to try it again with grandsons. 

 

The initial plan was to go two miles to Rolling Riffle Campground, but we only made it one mile.  This was Eric's first trip and carrying the pack wasn't the easiest thing for him.  The trail wasn't too bad - mostly level but with some stretches rocky and at a jaunty angle.  At one point - the one mile point - I looked to my right and saw what looked like a perfect campsite.  Turns out that from my point of view, the area looked flat...but it really wasn't, but the commitment had been made.  I pitched the tent and relegated Eric and Jude to the side with the steepest slope.  The photo seems to show level ground, but it was not.

This was the view at stream level - - perfect!

A really big log spanned the entire campsite and the boys loved playing on it.

This was their secret hide-out

But they loved playing in the river the most

Eric discovered the art of making a cairn and became quite proficient!

The boys especially liked throwing chunks of wood (I mean boats) into the flowing water and watching them careen through the rapids.

They'd brought their favorite stuffies.  Jude had Snowy and Sam and Eric brought a rabbit just like Rivs but with a little jacket.  Their campsite was in a hat hanging from the log that went right over our tent.

When we packed up, ready to go, Jude realized that Sam was lost.  He was devastated!!!!  We looked everywhere.  The trouble was that Sam had played with the boys up on the trail and in the secret hide-out.  Somehow, Sam had been left behind.  It was really traumatic with lots of tears and sadness.  But we had to leave.  A short distance from our campsite, Jude discovered Sam!!!!  He had been found by a fellow hiker who put him on a log alongside the trail.

I took my friend Vannessah to the hospital on Tuesday the 22nd.  I got a call from Elbereth who was in New Hampshire.  She said that Vannessah was having a great deal of trouble and anxiety, that Ethan and Stacie were with her, but that "an adult" need to be there to evaluate the situation and figure out what to do.  So -  that was me.  I went up there and, indeed, Vannessah was not well.  Fortunately, I got Ryan to stop by on his way to work.  Talking to him and then later to the oncologist in Seattle, we all determined that she needed to go to the hospital. So, I drove her, and Stacie followed in her car.  It was a difficult trip because she could barely talk....she asked me to promise her that I would make sure Ethan did all of his "Mormon Stuff."  I promised.

Vannessah's condition deteriorated over the week.  I went to visit her on Saturday.  There were a bunch of people there... Nicole White, Ethan, Phil Morss, a friend, another friend and son, and then Linda and Becky Morss came too.  There were too many people.  Vannessah was pretty much unresponsive.  Everybody but Phil, Ethan, and I finally left, and we stayed and talked a bit...mostly about missions and missionaries, and so forth.