Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

OK, we have seen a lot of cool stuff on the road, but no kidding, this is THE best adventure yet. Just so you know when you come to visit us in Texas, we are making the 4 hour drive to this place.

Adam Eyers is one of our Hobie dealers by night, but by day he is in charge of all the hooved animals at Fossil Rim. JJ is in charge of the endangered Prairie Chickens. We got to spend last weekend with Adam and JJ, and we had a great time doing a couple of kayak demos, going out for good food in Glen Rose (you know how we love that), and just hanging out for good conversation. But on Monday, Adam had to go back to work, and he invited us to shadow him at the preserve for the day. We were going to head back to the lake house, but decided to take him up on the offer. AWESOME DECISION.



"Our" first assignment was to bring in a Oryk who had given birth the day before. Her baby fell into a crevasse, and was rescued, but she needed to be re-introduced to the mother. She also was in need of colostrum (found in the mother's first milk) to be healthy. Adam and his team went to the area where the mother was last seen, while we rode with Kelly to watch for the herd to come over the hill, in case the mother were to run after she was darted.



I felt like I was one of Marlin Perkin's side kicks as we watched for movement on the ridge line. Then we got the call, the Oryk was down. We went to their location and watched as the team quickly worked together to check her condition, record information, cover her antlers and load her into the back of our truck. Once in the clinic, they updated her shots, did blood work and took some of her milk for the little one. Steve got in on the action, holding her back legs in case she were to have a reaction while Adam relieved her of milk.


Our next assignment was to dart and bring in a young male zebra who needed to be castrated in preparation for transportation to the Dallas Zoo. There can only be one male zebra in each herd, so the operation was necessary for the new zebra to fit into his new environment. Despite moral opposition from Steve, the operation was a success.



It was our first time in an operating room, of any kind. We were really impressed with the team, and the way they all worked together for the common good of the animal. Holly is the veterinarian in charge and was overseeing the procedures, self-proclaimed back seat operator (haha) and cleanser of the sheath. Rebecca, Asst Vet and Jim, preceptor, actually performed the operation. McKenzie was in charge of the anesthesia, vital signs and general comfort and well being of the zebra. We had no function what so ever. But I did get to pet the zebra, giving him encouraging words and healing energy. I'm sure it was most helpful. Thanks to McKenzie, he slept through the whole thing.


I was surprised by his shaved skin, which is also striped, and his pink teeth.












The rest of the day was a wonderful tour of the property. Even though the road was a little bumpy (huh Adam). Here are some pictures and if you just can't get enough, you can go to our web album and see more photos Fossil Rim Web Album





Close encounter with an ostrich. Its head is inside the car!









Feeding the Rhino's. It's a lot like feeding the black angus back home, but the horns (among other things) are bigger.















Ostrich goosing a rhino, now you just don't see that every day.









Another close encounter. We had a wonderful time with the rhino's. Holly & McKenzie told me that I would enjoy rubbing a rhino's inner thigh. I didn't believe them until I experienced it for myself. You'd just have to be there.

Adam and JJ, I don't know if you will read this, but if you do, please know that we will never forget our weekend, and our trip to Fossil Rim. Thank you so much.

www.fossilrim.org

2 Little Oregonians at the NCAA Finals

WHAT A GAME!! Wow, thanks to Brent & Molly's friend, Brian for tickets to the Finals. We hooked up with Molly & Brent in Austin (they are here for a conference) and Brian was nice enough to set us up with four tickets.

We made a day of it! Fellow kayak sales rep, Steve Sells, picked us up in the afternoon. Oh, BTW, he is the BIGGEST college basketball fan I have ever met. He's from Indiana (explains a lot) and never misses a minute of the tournament. On top of that, it was his actual real life birthday!



We headed to San Antonio from San Marcos and walked around the pre-game party. They had a massive playground for kids called Hoop City. There were hundreds of kids playing 3-3, enjoying skills drills, playing mini soccer games, softball, free throw contests, guitar hero, dance contest for the dads.... it was an awesome family event.

We forgot to bring some kids, so we were in search of a mojito and excellent South American food at a restaurant by the canal. Hakeem Olajuwon was having lunch a couple of tables over. He was really nice about pics/autographs, but we didn't ask.

Then we headed out to the main street where there was music and a great people parade. Both the Jayhawks' and the Tigers' colors are blue, so pretty much everyone was looking like big Smurfs. Hootie & The Blowfish were playing. They sounded ahrite for me, a little pitchy at times, but they brought it in the end. haha



OK, finally it was time to head to the game. We met up with our friend Chirs (here is Chris' smile) from Austin Canoe and Kayak. And oh man, what a game!!! We got to see Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, and Olajuwon all inducted into the Hall of Fame. The teams switched lead back and forth. Tennessee lead most of the fourth quarter . . . Kansas brought it into overtime with a last second three-pointer . . . EXCELLENT!

First Kayak Trip from Home

Well we've been in our new house for a week now, and have been out on the water a couple of times. The Adventure Islands are so much fun. There is usually pretty good wind in the early afternoons. Had some white caps the first day, so we got to go pretty fast! The next trip we went out to the island a couple miles out, cruised around the backside and had a great ride home. Whole trip was about 8 miles.

Oh man, Jack fell off the dock yesterday. We don't have a place where the dogs can get out of the water, so Steve had to run over to the ladder at the neighbor's place, Jack swam over (luckily) and Steve scooped him up and climbed the ladder with 85 lb Jack laying across his arms. I don't know how he did it, super human adreniline strength I guess. yikes! I slept through the whole thing, so was no help at all. The dogs haven't really seemed like they wanted to jump in the water, but we never thought he would just fall in. doh!

We were told the best fishing is right off of our own dock. Steve's caught 3 so far. 2 catfish and 1 bass.

We made a tradition to watch the sun set every night. And every night we think . . . . this is the best one yet. So, here is the best one yet . . . tonight. :-)

More Lake House

Her are sommore pictures from the lake. The inspection went just fine, and the owners were nice enough to let us camp in the driveway for a couple days.

It was wonderful. We fished, explored the town a little, and enjoyed every sunset. The weather was pretty cold and really windy. We can’t wait to sail the Adventure Islands out there. Just have to figure out how to get the boats down to the water.

On The Waterfront

After gruelingly searching for one whole day, we found a beautiful house on Lake Livingston that just screamed "this is it!" Our offer has been accepted, and we'll spend the next month to six weeks jumping through the buying a house hoops before we'll get the keys.

The living, dining and kitchen all overlook the water to the west. Hoping for many beautiful sunsets. The owners were kind enough to leave the house furnished, including a 21' pontoon boat, with lift, and the John Deere riding lawn mower. (I am more of an International Harvester girl myself.) Lake Livingston is the second largest lake in Texas and is around 60 miles long and 20 miles wide in places. It is great for fishing and sailing the Adventure Island!

We get to go there Tuesday for inspections, so will take more pictures to post. Anyhow, we are just bustin to get to stay there and can't wait for all y'all to come and visit. (How's my drawl?)

Denver

Here we are in Denver, Colorado. The high yesterday was 11. It has snowed a little and we have a beautiful view from our hotel room.











The convention center where our shows are being held is just across the street. The blue bear watches over us and the escalator plays sounds of people laughing all day. It makes me laugh every time.

Got to see Steve's Uncle Dan & Aunt Renee last night for a wonderful authentic Mexican dinner and tour of the city. We saw Coors Field, Union Station, the LoDo district, and the Klud home on the hill.