The weather was just a little tooo nice this weekend... I printed out
Cara's clues in Oxbow Park and threw a bag full of stamps & inkpads into
the truck (my compass and stampbook are ALWAYS in the truck). Brian
decided to forego a morning of Pokemon to join me.

We live west of Portland, behind the West Hills. As such, we miss a lot
of the cold wind that blows out of the Gorge. When we got within 5
miles of the mouth of the Gorge the wind was HOWLING. Fortunately Oxbow
Park sets back into the foothills of the Cascades enough to provide some
shelter.

The trail to Oxbow #1 runs right along and above the Sandy River. We
have seen salmon spawning on past trips to this park, but none today. A
few Steelhead fishermen were working the gravel bars and we waved to 2
different drift boats as they floated by. It was brisk out, but dry.
We did some rockhounding along the bank of the river, but not much to
find and keep, just tumbled basalt and volcanic stone urped from Mt.
Hood. We puzzled over the clues a little.... but were successful in the
end and stamped up on a damp log nearby!!

We got near box #2, but impending birthday party commitments made us
abandon the search for another day!

Question to Cara.... box 2 begins with instructions to start on trail
"D" on the RIGHT side of the road. Does this mean the right side of the
road as you drive IN to the Park or the right side as you drive back
from the amphitheatre?? We assumed the latter & the first clue or two
seemed to support that decision.... however, we couldn't find the long
downed log nor the wood & rope handrail. HELP!!

letterboxing... alive in Oregon!!!!
--
Thom Cheney
tcgrafx... among other things