Just back from Antarctica. I was invited by Graham Charles to go down on a three week trip aboard the 72 meter OCEAN NOVA. After a bit of "airport hell" I completed the transit through Buenos Aires to Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina. Quark Expeditions was the host company and I was thrilled that they provided sea kayaks so that I could paddle the ice and get shots like the one above. It was an incredible experience to visit The Faulklands, South Georgia and the Weddell Sea side of the Antarctic peninsula. Extremely well run ship in every respect and the Expedition Crew were tireless in their pursuit of creating the ultimate experience for the 60 passengers. This trip includes lots of Zodiak landings and this, of course is a major highlight. Normally they have a complete sea kayak agenda which I would highly recommend, however, this particular trip did not include this itinerary. They were kind enough to include a couple kayaks, though, so I could get a feel for how ridiculously fun paddling in the ice is! Thank you G Charles on that one. The combination of seeing tons of animal life, ice, ocean and a supremely comfortable ship was unparalleled! If you are interested there are a ton of photos on our "fans" page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Otter-Bar-Lodge/84701887461?ref=ts. Back on the river now and waiting for snow with Christmas coming in a few days. Looking forward to seeing the kids ( Rush back from the Congo recently and Alli working with autistic kids in Berkeley) and spending some quality family time. Love to you all! peter

October 12 2011

Wonderful Fall weather now at Otter Bar with approx 4 inches of rain to date. Ponds are clean and almost full. New roof on the shop complete and a new wood shed addition complete, as well. Back to landscaping now and the days grow shorter. We had a much better year with bookings up and tremendous water throughout the season. The Fall salmon runs have been epic and check out the dive clips on our "fans" page. They are spawning on the property as I write and it is a wonder to contemplate their tenacity to return to the exact same spot they were born and continue the cycle. Kristy has been busy completing the season's office work and we will be departing soon on a trip North to visit friends and family. I am headed to Antarctica in November for a three week trip with Graham Charles aboard the Ocean Nova. Quite a treat! Gearing up for ski season now as there is snow up high and the juices are flowing. Thanks for making this wonderful life possible and we will continue to make otter bar the place of dreams as long as our clients keep loving it here! Cheers and keep in touch and I will continue to put up an occasional post throughout the off season. peter sturges Fall 2011

August 21 - 27

It was a great way to end the season with a full house, fantastic people and great paddling. "The Ferg" even made it for the last few days! Really enjoyed seeing Paul and Werner again and Cheryl Hunt took no guff for her second week. It was a delight having Bill and Carrie and Justen return once again despite the fact that Carrie never quits harassing us. John and Amy McLachlan made the scene once again and there was no shortage of humorous banter. Enjoyed meeting the Boche family and the boys really ripped it up on the Ikes run. Ryan and heather London were new on the scene, as well and were really fun to have around. Elizabeth Snyder came from DC to avoid the hurricane and created a typhoon of energy here at OB. Super fun week with stunning weather in the high 80's low 90's and the food was off the charts (THANK YOU Kendra Dano and Jackie). Wonderful send off with PK, Benny, and Jess and Daan, holding court and I will miss you all! Thanks for being such killer employees and thanks to all the guests for making this fine life possible!

August 14-20

Super fun week for the entire staff and the guests, as well. Special mention goes to the wonderful Russian families that came so far to visit us in the remote wilds of Northern CA. The three kids (Kamil, Arslan and Tagir) were keen boaters and great students! Their parents (Bulat,Liliya, Rustern and Fagima) also were particularly joyful to be here and this week will never be forgotten by any of us! Great having Cheryl Hunt here again, as well as Wade hall who hadn't visited in many years. And then there was the amazing 78 yr old Jack Batzler (former fighter pilot and navy Admiral who skippered the Nimitz) who just decided to learn to kayak. We loved seeing Jennifer Stewart again and Tracy and Charlie Keene and Jack Kyman were a wonderful addition. Fantastic paddling on the Salmon and the Klamath and some of the group even did the Ike's run. The Wednsday diving was the best in OB history as there are so many fish in the river (Kings and Steelhead) and you couldn't miss seeing them. We are approaching our last week of the season and will so miss chef extraordinaire Kendra Howard who is off to Burning Man this Tuesday. She and Dano and Jackie have kept the culinary standard to the highest level! Great job from guides Peter K, Jess and Daan, and Kyle Kovalik. You guys make my life so much easier. Thanks to you all for being here and making this week so spectacular!

Another wonderful week. We were mostly on the Salmon with the exception of the Stand Up Paddle boarders who dominated on the Klamath. I did take a few photos of two of the SUP/RIVER crew on the property run the last day but none on the Klamath. The jury is in, though, and apparently the Klamath is 5 star for paddle boarding. Sean, Sebastian and Chris starred in our first ever foray into this new sport and successfully ran all of the runs we normally use in the kayak program and LOVED them!! Great seeing Kirk Heyne after many years who brought his loquatious and lovely daughter Clare. Seija Surr was a delight and we enjoyed meeting Renne and Veronika as well as Ed and Chris. Fantastic paddling, biking and dining for yet another stunning week of perfect weather. Blue/green days and intensely starry nights with highs in the 80's was the norm. Great job, Andy and Ben and Chris. Kendra was top flight in the kitchen, as well as the amazing Dano and Jackie. Easy to love what you do with this crew. Kristy rocked it in the office, as always, and I can't say enough about what a great job she does here. Two weeks left which are solidly booked and we may even have to pay taxes this year. Thanks for coming! p

Perfect weather, amazing flows, food, people, punctuated this week to the end. It was a full and fun week especially with the addition of Doug Hudson and his partner Eric. Three teen girls (Shannon, Nahanni and Hannah) kept us on our toes. John Mason was back with his son Kyle and coupled with KC and Clint, Bob and Jen and Dave and Betsy and Nick we had a rollicking time of it on and off the river. We were, once again on the Salmon the whole week! I shot a ton of pictures on the lower Salmon on Thursday and with stunning water quality, temps in the high 80's it was an indelible experience. There were a few blunders in the eddies and a swim here and there but that's what going to a kayak school is all about. We had a ten out of 10 success running kissing rock on Friday and Margarita night was full throttle. Stellar guide crew with the PK, Benny, Andy and Andrew holding court. And, of course our chefs extrordinaire - Kendra, Jackie and Dano were on their game as always It's hard to believe we make our living doing this and we owe it all to you guys for showing up at this remote outpost. Thanks for coming!! peter

July 24 - 30

There were a lot of highlights this week with killer flows, weather and camraderie! Great to see John Perone and Steve Hochederafter so many years as well as Bruce Van Nice. Those guys in combo with Steve Barns and Bill Kraft kept the humor meter pegged all week. The paddling was 5 star and the learning curves steep (nice job on that combat roll Ione)! We dove on the Salmon on Wed and there were lots of Kings deep in the hole. It was a real pleasure to meet Karen Graul as well as the Fromm family (Gerrie, Rick and Russel). Erica gets the prize for the biggest smile at the end of the week. We were on the Salmon the entire week and the water just kept getting clearer and warmer. You guys were a blast! cheers and thanks for coming! p