Rockin' the Rogue

It’s been awhile since I wrote my latest reflections, but I have to tell you, it’s certainly not for lack of things to talk about. Because I have things to talk about. But oh…where do I begin? I guess I’ll go back to the Oregon trip from July 29…

Mr. Mingle and I drove up to Oregon to meet our friends JP&JD at the Rogue River for a little camping and river rafting. We were celebrating JP and my birthdays and any excuse is a good excuse for a visit. We met up around 1pm on Saturday outside of Grants Pass (near the Oregon – California border) and soon discovered that all campsites in the area were full. Actually, JP&JD had discovered this the night before when they arrived earlier then us. Fortunately they found the most perfect spot by the river where there was plenty of space for two tents (which didn’t matter since Mr. Mingle and I forgot our tent poles), no neighbors, and it was free. We set up camp, went for a swim in the river, and then ate. And then ate again.

After a restful night’s sleep we went to meet our group for an all-day river rafting trip. It became obvious early on that this trip was to be more of a lazy trip down the river with occasional rapids, rather then a white-knuckled helmet-wearing adventure. We all decided that it would be more fun to go kayaking instead (the tour company had brought them along with the boats) and each got our own inflatable kayak. By the way, when they said “inflatable” I had envisioned something just slightly better then an air mattress with walls, but luckily I was badly mistaken. They were heavy, heavy duty boats which we paddled for 6 hours down the Rogue.

About two-thirds of the way through the trip we finally stopped for lunch at which point we were all ravenously hungry. I think the tour guides sensed that this trip might turn ugly and asked that "Everyone back away from the food tables until we are done setting up." The four of us walked away, but never out of site of the food tables and amused ourselves by throwing rocks to see who could hit the bigger rock. Let's just say it's pretty obvious none of us played baseball or softball. Finally they let us eat, so we built up our strength and hit the river again.

We hit some rapids which were fun to go through, and then we could relax the arms and shoulders a little and let the river push us along sometimes. JP came away with the only war injury of the day when her boat tossed her out into the rocks. Her brave husband came to the rescue, not only catching her on his way down, but also her hat.

After the trip down the river we got into our cars and drove up to Portland to JP&JD’s house. We wanted to see their new place, meet their cats, and also check out the local scene. I also wanted to find out more about the job market up there so Mr. Mingle and I met with recruiters on Monday. As coincidence-luck-fate would have it, shortly after we met the recruiters, Mr. Mingle got a call from a company in California offering him a job. He accepted, and the search for a job in Portland ended as quickly as it had begun.

On Tuesday we sadly said goodbye to our friends and began the long drive back.

Mr. Mingle started his job as a Research Analyst this past Monday in Menlo Park, and so far so good! He’s enjoying the work, although not the commute and is learning all about chemicals in India. What? More to come…