Once again, I am writing about this time of our life long after the actual happening. Attempting to recreate a better format for my early blogging days I am discovering some trips that I neglected to write about. This time as before I will let the photos simply tell the story.
Day one: Don loads up our kayaks in addition to his handmade wooden kayak and we launch on the Deschutes River near LaPine where the reunion is happening at Roger and Nancy’s home.
Abby loves to swim as always.
Day Two: We are comfortably settled in to a spot between the house and the big workshop/garage at Roger’s place
Whenever the Oukrop clan gathers there are sure to be lots of dogs. These are only a few of them.
Time for the traditional family float on the Deschutes River.
Late afternoon and everyone gathers for a family bar be que on the porch.
The Oukrops are a sporty family and everyone joins in with the kids for games on the lawn
Day Three: Family members disperse a bit for various activities. Mo and I choose kayaking over golf and head for a nearby lake.
We decide to try the Deschutes River again on our own and discover that an hour’s worth of paddling upstream will take us just fifteen minutes to return to our launch site.
Another side trip for the two of us to the LaPine State Park where we check out the history big pine.
Oukrop reunions are a special time with a wonderful family, happy kids, good food and lots of activities for everyone.
Tucked away in the Cascades, north of Highway 58, is a lake that is referred to as the “Gem of the Cascades”. Mo and I have thought often about traveling the three hours or so to this beautiful lake to camp, but for many different reasons, we never quite made it until now. Waldo Lake, although truly beautiful, is also very well known for it’s mosquito population. People who know Waldo warn that the only good time to camp there is in late summer and early fall. However, we thought that with a motorhome for protection, and our desire to be out on the water in the kayaks, it wouldn’t be too much for us to handle. Besides, it will give us some good practice for Minnesota and the northern Lake Superior region later this season.
We left by 9 this morning, and made it to the Diamond Lake Junction cafe just in time to savor another fabulous breakfast. The small tables are adorned with handwritten notes from diners all over the country, touting the wonderful food and friendly people who run this tiny, inconspicuous little restaurant. The cook laughed when we shared our “Bigfoot” breakfast and still needed a good sized to-go box for the part we couldn’t finish. 
Our site was adjacent to the bike trail along the lake, and just a few hundred feet down a gentle slope to our own little sandy beach. We set up camp, sprayed ourselves down with DEET, and checked out the surroundings. The sky was brilliant, the forest deep and rich. The trees were dominantly Western Hemlock and Shasta Fir, with an understory of dwarf huckleberry, a good indication of the cold moist climate at this high elevation. Our view of Waldo Lake was lovely and we took some time to settle in, relax under the trees in our comfy chairs and appreciate all the perfect amenities of our camp, including a really solid, big picnic table in just the right position by our awning, and a fire circle close by.
Mo and I have mountain bikes, but I don’t think we would qualify as mountain bikers. The first part of the trail was nice, but as it ascended to Taylor Mountain it got a lot rougher, with roots and rocks in the path, and some very winding twists among the huge trees. We rode a little bit beyond the Waldo Campground and then gave up and headed back to camp. Still, it was a nice ride.
The main reason for coming to this lake, of course, was the kayaking, and I was excited to get out on the legendary clear water. Waldo Lake is nestled into volcanic andesite rock, and is the second deepest lake in Oregon, second only to Crater Lake. 
It is pristine, with some of the purest water in the world, and a recent decision by the forest service to exclude gasoline engines from the lake will help to keep it that way. The lake has no natural inlets to bring in any kind of sediment or pollutants, and fish stocking ceased in 1990. 
There is very little plant growth, and no algae anywhere. As we paddled along the shore, the views were breathtaking, and the water was as clear as any I have ever seen. The colors reminded me of the Caribbean, with rich deep turquoise and cobalt blues that were nearly impossible to photograph. The wind came up as we headed back across the lake to our camp, and the sheer size of the lake was impressive. It was a truly amazing experience to have this huge lake and pristine forest almost entirely to ourselves.
We woke early to a morning chill, had some tea and little donuts before getting out on the glassy lake. Down on the beach it was a fight between us and the mosquitoes, and I think they could have carried our boats off if they wanted to. We launched and paddled like crazy to get away from them and for a bit I thought it was going to be a losing battle. Once we rounded the jetty, however, the winds picked up and we left the bothersome bugs behind. Again, our paddle was gorgeous, the water incredible, the views of the surrounding mountains magnificent. The pristine clarity comes with a price, however, and we noticed that there were no water birds around anywhere. The entire time we were there, we saw just a tiny little duck family by the boat launch. As much as I loved the clarity, I really missed the birds. Our murky Klamath Lake certainly isn’t as pristine, but it teems with life everywhere. 
Our spot at Islet Campground, number 42, was probably the very best spot in the entire area. We hope to go back again sometime in the fall, but have also heard that these camps get very busy when the bug season lets up. 
We wandered around town a bit and decided that taking a Duck Boat tour around the city might be a nice way to spend a good part of the day. 
The tour was fun, going to Lake Washington for the obligatory water entry, and then returning in time for us to find some supper before heading for the airport. 
As with the last post, I am writing this in 2021, and not surprisingly, my memory of that day is quite vague.
Instead we got off the ship and enjoyed walking around town viewing some of the beautiful buildings that grace the city . The sun was brilliant and lit up the local gardens with gorgeous color.
Even though it was chilly in the afternoon, the sun tried to warm the fog a bit and we decided to try a swim. We are on the 12th deck, and the terrace pool at the back of the ship is on 12 as well. We discovered that we could leave our room and travel all the way to the back of the ship without having to go into a public space at all. The hall emerges within feet of the pool. It was perfect for us, with no one else in the pool. It was also pretty nice to make a run for the room and the hot shower after our swim. The water was heated, and is fresh water, which is nice, but the wind was still really cold. It did feel good to get in a bit of a swim, though.
Today has been another quiet time in the cabin, punctuated by a meal here and there. After morning tea, we started watching a movie with Sandra Bullock, “The Proposal” and couldn’t get away for breakfast until after ten. Of course, the Neptune deck “Taste of Alaska” buffet was scheduled for 11:30 so I had just over 90 minutes to get ready for more food. Finally this ship came through with the carved fruit, ice sculptures, and fancy production. The Alaskan salmon was poached, delicate and perfect, the sushi was fresh and tasty, and I do love having all the pickled ginger that I want with my sushi. Mo and I shared another Alaskan Summer Ale with our meal and then headed back to try to finish spending our casino money. 
We set the alarm for Skagway, knowing the day ahead would be long and full. This time we decided to do one of the Princess excursions, because we didn’t want to miss the chance to do the two things really important to us and still get back to the ship on time. Skagway is a delightful little town, with an old fashioned boardwalk, and some good shopping, but our focus on this day was riding the White Pass Railroad and going kayaking.
The White Pass Railroad is part of the epic history of the Klondike Gold Rush, with the construction of a narrow gauge train 112 years ago. The White Pass & Yukon Route was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, along with the Eiffel Tower and our recent destination, the Panama Canal. In addition to the many hazards and obstacles the builders overcame, they built this railroad in two years, two months, and according to some storytellers, two days, two hours, etc. etc. Riding this train is a fabulous experience, unlike the many touring trains that dot the western landscape, this one has real views, and tunnels, and trestles, and has such an amazing history. 
Fascinating as well, was the young woman narrating the journey. She was born in Skagway, a town of about 800 residents and a population that drops to less than 500 in the winter. She graduated in a class of seven, all them them with close to a 4 point average, and all of them continuing that average when they went away to college. Her family has a gun business and a restaurant and were long time Skagway residents as well. She is entering medical school this fall and plans to be a plastic surgeon. She gave us lots of information about the train and the journey, but because we were in the “sound car” we got to hear her side conversations with some other people about what it was like to grow up in a small tight community like Skagway. 
After White Pass, we got off the train at Frasier, British Columbia, to begin our kayak trip on Glacier Lake. Our guides were typical young, adorable river boys, who gave us a lesson in tandem kayaking with a rudder, helped with our skirts and life jackets and let us out into the lake. Now you know that Mo and I are kayakers, but we do usually each have our own. It’s fun trying to figure out who is in charge when there are two people in a kayak. We did fine, eventually, and I did eventually figure out the rudder pedals. The lake was lovely, clear, and windy, with protected coves. The wind saved us from what I assumed would be legendary bugs, with only one mosquito to mar the day. Just one. That was amazing in itself! The mountains around us were topped with snow with several glaciers visible. 
The lake is in a place called Tribulation Valley, desolate and windy and incredibly harsh. We were on the water for just over an hour, not nearly enough, before we had to return to Frasier and the waiting coach. The train up the pass follows the east side of the river, and the Klondike road on the west side of the river was our route back down to Skagway. Our coach driver told us stories about Skagway and the local history as she negotiated many bikers from Sockeye tours who refused to move to the right of the road to let the bus pass. She had a few pithy comments about Sockeye, and asked us to please not do a tour with them, ever. From the way everyone talked, it was obvious that this was a small community, supportive of each other, but also much like a small family with some infighting as well.
By the time we got back to Skagway, I was starving and grumpy, and made a beeline for someplace to eat. After an Alaskan Amber and a burger at the Alaska Brewing Company I felt much better. The restaurant was great, and looked historic and interesting, but a closer look at the historical walking tour brochure revealed that the building was erected 3 years ago, called Old Town Skagway. The town itself is completely taken over by tourism and the cruise industry, with only a few local businesses on some of the side streets. 
Again, Diamond International and all the associated Caribbean jewelry stores dominate the main street of Broadway, with just a few interesting local shops caught in the middle. The town was crowded and busy, and with a population that swells daily from 800 to 10,000 or so with the cruise ship arrivals, it was certainly more like Disneyland than a true Alaskan frontier town. Mo and I were shopped out, even though we haven’t really bought a lot of “stuff”, and walked back to the ship. Again, the flowers were brilliant and gorgeous, the skies a perfect blue, and the mountains magnificent.
When we left Skagway, Kathy talked on the microphone about the glaciers and waterfalls, and Mo and I braved the incredible winds at the front of the ship to get great photos. We passed Haines on the right, the mountains adjacent to Glacier Bay to the north, and got an extremely rare view of three magnificent glaciers as we cruised down the sound. I took a ton of photos. Perfect. Perfect that is, until this morning, when I discovered the horrific fact that I left the smart card in the computer and took all those photos without a card in the camera. Geez, you would think a camera would tell you something like that. So, no photos of the extremely rare sunny departure from Skagway, while we listened over and over to just how incredibly lucky we were to see the glaciers and the mountains. We were, I just don’t have photos of that experience!