(no subject)

we drove out to troutdale today, to oxbow park on the sandy river. i expected to see early campers, but not a single tent to be seen. just about a dozen or so fisherpeople parked in random campsites to get to the river. we walked along the trails and looked in the riffles to see if we could see any spring run salmon (nope) and then picked along the shale until we found a nice log to eat our lunch upon. i had cheddar and tomato, an apple. everything tastes better outdoors. it was cold enough for fleece jackets, windy along the beaches. we watched people fly fishing in the river, saw kayakers put in and begin to float down with the current.

the sandy is an interesting color, like a green-blue sometimes from the glacial melt. oxbow park was really nice (now i want to go camping there so bad!) but it wasn't the spot on the sandy that i remember from when i was a kid. my parents used to take us to this bridge where you could pull off and then pick your way across huge boulders down to the river's edge. it's always cold, even in the summer, but you can roll your pants up and pretend your bones aren't dying for a couple minutes, maybe in august when it's hottest.

no birds, though, and hardly any foliage. it was like going back in a time a month or so, compared to portland, which is sprouting up flowers and growing grass and leaves and flowering trees everywhere.



on the way home, we stopped at the outlet stores so i could buy some clothes. i spent $200 at the pregs store so i can stop complaining every morning when i get dressed for work. thank goodness, i finally have stuff that fits and looks nice.