Aly – Rogue River

“Dear Arden, Pete and Mike, It’s been over a month since we adventured down the Rogue with you all, yet we still drink coffee from our beat up Momentum mugs and talk about our late summer in Oregon. Rudy grew in inches, strength and soul during our trip; somewhere in the midst of the white water, the mouse in our dry bag and the games of bocce ball along the river great things happened for him and for all of us. As Arden well knows, I was so hesitant at the beginning of the trip (hesitant? No – petrified) having had a bad white water encounter before. Arden’s skill, reassurance and compassion, warmth and outrageous sense of humor helped me to let go of that experience and open up to this one. I can’t emphasize enough what this did for me, and as a result, what it did for our family. It meant so much to us that we were able to take this kind of trip together and that Rudy have an experience that challenged and thrilled him and that we all were able to get so far away from our day to day at home. The weekend after we returned, the three of us backpacked 5 miles to a spot overlooking the ocean in Pt. Reyes and spent the night listening to the waves. It was a great way to think back on the time we spent with all of you. Thank you again and again for this memory. We hope to see you all again.”