Rufus Woods 2008

July 10- We arrived at Bridgeport State Park around 6:00 pm. and boy was it WINDY~ I took this picture when we first arrived but you should have seen it the next day! Wow, a lot of leaves and branches on the ground. Cyndie and I (with kid help) raked and helped the park girl get them cleaned up the next day. The adults took a little "time out" and watched "The Bourne Identity" in the Ladner trailer on the 32 inch big screen. We really rough it! Katie made Pico Degillo for dinner, a yummy pork dish. We waited until the next day to put out the awnings, we all know what happens to them in a wind storm. This is the first year we have all started our vacation with camp spots next to each other from the beginning. Usually one or more of us spend time in the parking lot waiting for a spot or we have to park wherever we can waiting to all move together when other people leave. Bridgeport State Park is pretty small, only 30 spots total.

July 11 - We all took the new boats and headed up to Malibu Beach. The Miracles have a new North River and the Ladners have a new Lund... wowie! The kids enjoyed letting Chris pull them around on the tube. The older boys were especially thrilled to ride the waves and try to dump themselves off the tube. As soon as they did though, they realized how cold the water on the Columbia River really is! The younger kids enjoyed playing on the beach, making sand castles and scooping up tiny fish in buckets. The adults tried to relax... chasing some shade and getting wet.

July 12 - Our first day of fishing! We all got up at 5:30 AM, (young and old) to head up to the "pens" to catch a BIG ONE. It was nice this time that everyone had their own boat and we were able to take all the kids at once. We all caught our limits that day. Hunter and Conner came away with some BIG fish! Conner caught a 10 pound trout. Holy Cow! I think this one will go on the wall if Dad has anything to say about it. Cyndie's turn for dinner today, ribs!

July 13 - Another lazy beach day. This time we headed over to "raft" beach as the boys named it. They found an old boat dock that was floating in the water and spent quite a few hours playing on it. Katie came back from Belfair with Molly taking the total up to 3 girls and 6 boys. Tonight we decided to have steak night.

July 14- Headed up for the day to "Nudie" beach. This beach was named by the old Ranger when he and his wife boated by and saw people- less than clothed. Somehow the kids heard the story and the name stuck with them. Katie and Chris helped almost all of the kids try out water skiing. They all gave it a good try but Maya was the only one to make it up! She was the queen on the skis. We had a hot dog roast on the beach too. Katie made dinner, Garret's favorite, pulled pork sandwiches with lots of BBQ sauce.

July 15 - Another early fishing day. We all headed up again to the "pens" and let Molly try fishing for big trout on for size. We were hoping she would catch a Whopper, but she had to settle for 5 pounds. Tyler managed to hit his mouth on Ben's head and chip a tooth. Our first medical event and thank goodness the last. A big difference from when he fell and broke his arm a few years back. Gail made dinner again, BBQ chicken.

July 16- We try to vary the days we go fishing and beaching. The trip up to the pens is 25 miles via boat and with gas at $4+ a gallon, we didn't want to make the trip too many times. So, today we headed back to "Nudie" beach for more water skiing and tubing. When we arrived, Chris could not locate the bar that went between the waterskis for the kids, so they had to settle for tubing and beach play. Still not sure what happened to the bar. It was quite a discussion, I think in the excitement of the first day, we managed to let it float away?? still a mystery. Marc made french dips for dinner.

July 17 - Today the Dads took some time to themselves and went fishing alone. The kids loaded up with Katie and Cyndie to take a Dam Tour at Chief Joseph Dam. We do that every couple of years, the kids enjoy it. The kids did manage to let Ginger out of the trailer. Her first "escape" of the vacation. She always wants to run and find the marmots. When the Dads returned from fishing... we got to hear all about the one that got away. Marc is sure that Jimmy missed a 25 pounder. So, we dubbed it the "Nibbler" and Jimmy tried in vain to catch him the rest of the trip... maybe next year! Miracles made dinner, pizza!

July 18 - Closer to the end of the trip... the kids needed one more trip up to the "pens" so up again we went. A few bigger fish this time, but no real whoppers to write home about. The kids enjoyed holding up their catch for a group photo. We also managed to still get in a beach time, headed straight over to "raft" beach so the boys could play again. We hope they all had a tetanus shot recently as there was an awful lot of nails in those boards. And a final note in the bike riding chapter. Katie learned to ride a two wheeler! Of the 8 kids.. 6 of them learned at Rufus Woods. But, Katie is the youngest, so this is it... she took about 2 days to get the hang of it and well, now she is a pro.
Ladner's hosted another yummy dinner of Halibut.

July 19 - Happy Birthday Jay! He turns 11 today (the sexy legs of Bingo). I am not sure if he thinks spending his birthday at Rufus Woods every year is a treat or not. But we try our best to make it a good one. This year we headed into town for lunch at the Mexican Restaurant in Brewster (Los Companeros). Most of the kids ordered a cheeseburger... go figure! The food is always good and the margaritas are better. We still managed to make it up to "Nudie" Beach again too. One more beach day before we head home tomorrow.

July 20 - Got up early and packed up all the stuff we had strewn everywhere for the past 10 days. Had to hitch up the boats and "dump the pooper" as the kids would say. We all met up in Brewster at McDonald's for a last day breakfast and were off. Another successful trip was had by all. The kids are already counting the days until next year.