River Rodent

I saw a beaver yesterday!

Now, when a typical Portlander makes this statement it's pretty safe to assume they were frequenting one of Portland's many strip clubs. I believe that we have the most per capita, though I would have to double check that statistic. But no. Never fear, dear reader, I was not at a den of sin last night. Not even close.

I was on the mighty Willamette in a canoe.

I am participating in the Pole, Peddle, Paddle this weekend. It's a race from the top of Mt. Bachelor to Bend comprised of downhill ski/snowboarding, cross-country skiing, cycling, running, rowing, and sprinting legs. My company put a team together last year (we got 15th in the corporate division!), and we're going back for the glory this year. Last year I did the downhill snowboarding portion. In an unfortunate turn of events, I missed the start by about four minutes and was miserably late. This year, I'm trying the whole snowboarding thing again (if I don't make the start I'll probably get fired), plus the canoe portion with my coworker Jerry.

We went out on the Willamette to practice last night and it was beautiful. We saw herons, baby Canada geese, Dragon boaters, and the aforementioned beaver. It swam parallel to us for a bit and then slapped the water with its tail and dove under. Nature is so exciting. Way more exciting than strip clubs.