June 13-19

Fantastic group! The whole staff loved this week as it was non stop laughter and fun for all. Michelle and Steve (brother/sister) seemed a bit of a catalyst with their never ending humor and abuse of each other (it never got ugly - really) and came with their respective spouses Ty and Jan . We had a small kid group, as well, and while a few of the adults had raised eyebrows at first the boys proved to be a great addition! We all enjoyed seeing Griffin,Hunter, and Liam go from zero to turbo and there is something to be said for starting this sport at 14,15 and 16. Great having Dan and Elizabeth here and Monte was a rock (or crazy depending on how you look at it) to go paddling after having his shoulder partially replaced. Tommy and Kendra held major court with their culinary skills as usual and were much appreciated. We had relatively high flows early on but the emerald green water is back (as you can see from the pics on our fan page) and summer time feels fine. Thank you all for coming and making this an incredibly fun week for us. Special mention goes to Hunter Ney whose smile goes down in the books and whose enthusiasm was infectious. Leave a comment here or on the Fans page. Thanks peter

June 6 - 12

This week started with mega flows ( 15K the Friday before) but the river did drop pretty fast! Very game group with the week culminating in a solid upswing for all. Green river now with lovely summer weather (finally) and an amazing "margarita night" still in full swing as I write. First day of summer this and at last California is not a rumor. Loved having Rob and Linda and "the boys" and Leslie was on her usual roll cutting the staff no slack (or maybe that was Linda). Great to see the Oblander crew enjoy and scope the environs to the max and maybe we even talked Keith into the fold (his roll certainly is 4 star)! Joanne, Craig, Kurt and Tristan as always a pleasure. The week turned into a blast with the able assistance of a stellar instructional crew who truly pulled out the stops. The boss was very happy. Food was off the charts, as well and so cool to see Kendra rocking the culinary show big. OB cook-off is way on. You can check the fans page for photos!

May 31 - June 5

Great week for the first four days with excellent levels and then a warm rain hit. The team had pretty high flows on Wed (we moved the rest day up to Thurs) and everyone had a blast as the river rose to about 6k by late in the day. Reim distinguished himself as a big water aficianado but, really, everyone rocked! Sorry Steve tweaked his back. Thursday was a good rest with class five pondage. Levels were dropping fast, however, mother nature took a turn and we had yet more warm rain in the night. By day break the river was at 10k and by breakfast (Friday) it was at 13k and rising. So Kettering did his famous "risk" talk and we all took a drive down to Bloomers to sight see the logs running the drop. We then did more class 5 pondage with gates and play paddling moves and hikes in the PM. I guess all that snow had to come off sometime! Great having Pete Peterson for a second week and a real treat having Bella and Jeff back. Check the "Fans" page for more photos including the trip to Bloomers. Sorry I didn't get any whitewater shots of you guys. Thanks for coming. p

May 24 -30

Very rainy and cold in all of California this week. Despite the average age of this amazing group of long time OB veterans, this was a resilient crew that paddled hard all week. Of course, Peterson held court and while The Ferg often upstaged him, he was dominant until the very end and is even staying another week just to piss off the group. Paul Johnson and super chef son Dano were their ever charming selves and Merida Scully, while the true rock star of the group, was kind enough to put up with the sophmoric humour (she's English) while she gracefully styled the runs to the chagrin of the old guard. It was a rainy week indeed and the hot tub may never recover but we did love this group and while none of them may want to take a chance on Northern CA weather again we can only hope. Check our Fans page for photos and THANKS FOR COMING

May 16 - 22

We had four guests this week and much of the time four instructors. The great BJ and GC held court and D&J were a welcome addition to the team. Great fun seeing Steve Rottman again and his humor carried the week. Sheri and Carrie Ann and Chad were also a pleasure to be around, as well, and despite some very high flows, the learning curves were steep! It was a pretty cold week mixed with bits of sunshine and the "chinese fog landscapes" were second to none. Extremely beautiful here this spring and the place is running smoother than ever. Now if we just had more clients.... Thank you guys so much for coming!!

May 9 -15

Great flows and a great group. Full house this week and we really appreciate Maren and Paul and Steve sticking around for a second! We had fantastic flows all week and some beautiful weather on and off. Very cold storm on Monday and I managed to get yet one last day of Powder (10 inches up high). Boat one day and ski the next - pretty cool. I included a few snow shots on this weeks OB Fans page update http://www.facebook.com/pages/Otter-Bar-Lodge/84701887461?ref=ts We had groups plying the South Fork's Methodist Creek run, Knownothing run and Matthews creek run as well as two forays up the North Fork to the Idlewild run and runs on both Butler and Norheimer runs. It doesn't get any better around here as the water quality is stunning. Peter K , Silas, K&J made up the top notch instructional team and we are thrilled to meet D&J who clearly fit in with program. We haven't had Margarita Night yet and the groups are out ripping it up so I will post more later - especially a few more photos from tonight's festivities. Sorry I don't have more river shots! Cheers and leave some comments ("anonymous" works fine) either here or on OtterBar Lodge Fans page or both! We appreciate it.

May 2 - 8 First week 2010!

Off and running with stellar flows! A bit coolish this week. although plenty of sunshine and a solid group in every respect. The legendary Cat Lady and Tim Silbaugh made the scene, once again and there was no shortage of class 5 banter. Paul Popowich and Maren were back for a second year and are even staying for a second week! We wish Maren would quit dominating the conversation. Steve Rossberg put the hammer down and his deliveries were nothing short of slam dunk. Really enjoyed Whitney and Tom's company, as well and the inclusion of Jeff and Mary this week couldn't have been more perfect. Am I sounding a bit effusive? You should have been here. Another one goes down on the oral traditions and annal history of Otter bar Lore. And the guide staff was a bit of OK too with PK, Silas, J&K making for a beyond solid team. Thanks for kicking off the year with one of the best first weeks ever! Also, you can find photos for this week on the Otter Bar Lodge Fans page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Otter-Bar-Lodge/84701887461?ref=ts