Otter Bar Day 2

Monday

I just had a great day. We went to the Klamath River and tried out the skills we learned yesterday. I felt like I did a lot better in the river than when we were training in the pond at Otter Bar. But then I had yesterday's grueling trial by fire to get me ready. I'm not as tired as I was yesterday. I can row straight and bank the kayak into eddies and then back out into the river’s main current. We also learned to "ferry" across the river, which brings the kayaker to the opposite side of the river without moving up or downstream. We ran some very mild rapids. It was pretty cool knowing what to do.

It has been a great couple of days. It's been awesome meeting everyone here. I had about 12 people this morning at the Tai Chi warm up session. I start each day with a sense of trepidation, but eventually when we start learning what we're going to do, everything is fine. Every day we learn new skills and push ourselves in a new way. We also spend a lot of time reinforcing the skills the instructors taught us on previous days. The people are great. When we get back from the river, we rest up in the beautiful Otter Bar Lodge. It is replete with comfy accommodations and fantastic food. Last night we ate prawn and scallop choppino with a wonderful cheesy herbed risotto and an outstanding baby green salad. Each salad has had its own special dressing. Last nights’ featured delicious praline almonds sprinkled on top.

The place is the gorgeous manifestation of a family's dream. Peter and Kristy Sturges have built 16 buildings on their property in the last two decades. The Otter Bar is almost completely powered with hydroelectric energy. It is outfitted with skylights and florescent bulbs for maximum energy efficiency. There are backup diesel generators, but they don't get much use beyond powering the pumps that keep the kayak practice ponds full and irrigate the swaths of firebreak lawns that separate the Otter Bar from the surrounding forests. Forrest fires have been burning in this remote region of Humboldt County’s forests during the summer season. Just before the Lodge opened this season there was a fire that came within 1/8 of a mile of the complex. Fortunately the Sturges family has spent many years living in this environment, so they know how to prepare for the worst and come out o.k.


Well, I guess that's it for now. We’ll see what adventures tomorrow brings.