Ryan Hill in June

Megan and I packed the car the day before we headed out to Ryan Hill. All the necessary accoutrements were there, including what seemed like way too much dog stuff and way too much camping stuff. After all, it was only for one night, and only with one dog. How things change when you add a little variable to your lifestyle.

I wanted to leave by 7 am on Saturday, but we didn't actually hit the pavement until a leisurely 7:45 am. That was just fine. We stopped at REI to snicker at the dog-related items like a sports drink for dogs. (I wanted to buy one to see if Linus would start sweating green beads of moisture like in the old Gatorade ads.) In order to make sure Linus was comfortable while we were in REI, I gave him a chewy bone. By the time we came back some 20 minutes later he had apparently eaten the entire thing. Or else he managed to bury it in his crate somewhere. Ah well. Next time we shall watch him more closely.

Then we set out onto 84 to get to the usual northward turning point at Biggs. At some point Meg suggested we take the old Historic Columbia River Highway, so I turned off at the appropriate exit. We soon came upon the beautiful Wahkeena waterfall and took a swift jaunt up the path to the bridge. Linus met some new friends while Meg and I tried not to step on some rather portly slugs. After a quick stop for some canine bodily functions, we continued onward. This time we didn't stop at Multnomah Falls because of the already hefty tourism going on there. We did stop at Oneonta Gorge to walk through the short tunnel and admire the creeky river.

Onward we pressed with a brief pause at the mock Stonehenge replica in Maryhill, Washington. Speaking of which, we do need to see Maryhill Museum for the fabrics and other tidbits they house there. Another time. After another canine bodily function moment at the Agriculture Museum in Union Gap, we finally arrived at Ryan Hill. Grandma and Grandpa Ryan, the Hoys, and the Striblings were there along with their dogs. It was a great time to meet some new friends (in Linus's case) and greet some old family. After some conversation we headed over to Tim & Stacy's house for some dinner. Roger was there, and it was nice chatting with him. We also saw Remmy's brother, Therby, though he didn't talk much. There we all stayed and talked and visited and remembered until about 10 pm or so. Megan was teaching Sara and Sammy how to crochet while Tim introduced me to the wonders of Peggle (which is now permanently attached to my iPhone). At long last, Megan and I drove back to Grandma & Grandpa's place to pitch the tent in what was becoming a strong wind. Grandpa pointed out a good spot between the grapes and the pool and in moments we had the tent up and filled with dog and sleeping bags. However, Megan and I did wander around the orchard a bit in the dark looking at satellites and spooky branches before getting to sleep.

The next day we visited some more around the breakfast table with rye bread and coffee. Meg showed everyone some photos on her laptop -- a device we were proud to introduce to Grandma and Grandpa! Some time later Grandpa insisted we all go and get cherries (bings and rainiers) and so we all obliged. While we picked cherries, Linus was getting used to the Stribling dogs and they were teaching him his place in the temporary pack. After a lunch with the family, we packed up the car and headed for home. The trip home was quick, but we did pause for a few hours at Mike's apartment in Lake Oswego where we talked with him and Angela about their goings-on, and looked at some of their recent photos.

It was a long weekend, but completely fun! Linus is still exhausted from all that activity, and I'd wager that Meg and I are in recovery mode as well. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to another visit during August.