Floating away

We attended the 23rd annual Oregon Brewers Festival over the weekend. It is always the last full weekend in July and it was quite an undertaking. The festival was located on the southwest side of the river and featured over 80 different craft brews from around the country. So we a grabbed a mug and some tokens and made our way into the crowds to find some good brew. The first stop was the Buzz Tent. This tent featured beers with higher than normal alcohol content. The beer was good, and cold. We met up with some friends and secured seats facing the river and settled in to drink some beer and people watch. We had beers from Pennsylvania, Alaska, Colorado, and of course, Oregon. Each time we found new flavors and favorites. I personally liked the Alaska Brewing Pale Ale and the Victory Brewing Victory Prima Pilsner. Dan had beers from Ninkasi and....well, we lost count.

As we sat looking at the river and feeling quite nice we shared a few laughs with some friends and welcomed sunset.

Sunday morning I woke up much earlier than I would have like for a Sunday morning but it was because there were good things ahead. Sunday was my first experience floating down the Clackamas river. So my friends and I packed up inflatable boats, life vest, sunscreen, and food and headed for McIver park.We inflated our boats and launched in to the river. The water was COLD. The Clackamas is fed by run-off from Mt. Hood and it's glaciers. I encountered my first set of rapids and survived more less successfully. Just a note: even little rapids look big when in a small inflatable boat with no steering mechanism or paddle. After a few bumps from the rocks it was peaceful floating from then on. Several of us strung our boats together and meandered our way down the river. It was an amazing way to see some beautiful landscape. The water was chilly but sun was out in full force and this native Floridian was loading up on sunscreen. We meandered our way down the river and about 5 hours later landed at the Carver boat ramp. Exhausted from dodging rocks, the sun, and lazing around on the river it was a quite ride home. Luckily our fearless leader, Melinda, had thought ahead and had marinated a stack of short ribs. Couple that with some watercress salad, corn, and rice and we settled in for an excellent feast. Another member of the crew, Karen, made homemade whoopie pies- a great way to end an amazing weekend! You should have been there.