I'm a Redneck Woman

So, for those of you who are wondering if I am still alive, as I have not posted in (gasp) two weeks...I am indeed alive! And thankfully, more rested!

Friday morning (of the long weekend), we woke up at 5:30 AM, and left the house by 6:00! Since we were leaving on a weekday, we had to beat the morning rush hour. We drove up to Pemberton on smooth, silky concrete roads, which I will never take for granted EVER AGAIN! From there, we turned the truck down a logging road and started the first "extreme adventure" of our holiday.

About 15 - 20 minutes after we got onto the washboard-of-a-road, I hear a funny sound. Kinda like what a tailpipe would sound like if it was dragging along the bumpy road behind your truck as you are driving. Funny... cuz that's EXACTLY what it was! It was rusted beyond repair, so Colin had to take it right off. As he was looking under the truck, he noticed that one shock was destroyed. Oh good. Aren't shocks neccessary for things like crazy logging roads?

The broken shock didn't seems to make much of a difference. Along the road, Colin looked for a good place to give me my first "redneck woman" lesson of the trip: "Shooting 101". We went up a steep road where there was nothing around for a few hundred km. He got out his .22 rifle. I have never held a gun, or never really wanted to shoot one. Part of me only did it because if I didn't, I'd be bored. Colin certainly was going to shoot at stuff for awhile whether I did it or not. The other part of me wanted to try it just to see if I could do it.

We started out with a gun safety lesson, then we sat up the pop and beer cans which Colin periodically made me jump out of the truck to retrieve along the logging road. EWE! At first, I took one shot per minute, because it actually is harder to aim than you'd think. By the end, I was shooting the whole clip in the same amount of time, making the cans dance! Poor things. Wish I took a picture of them when we were through with them.

Tyax was incredible! It's a huge log cabin resort, but has the feel of a bed and breakfast. Mostly because we had a buffet breakfast every morning, and also because the staff were so friendly that you felt like you were getting special treatment. You can go all-inclusive (quite a bit more pricey), or you can do what we did: gorge yourself with the no-charge breakfast, skip lunch because you're still full, then drive 15 minutes to eat at the Motel in Goldbridge (a town with the population of 43 people) for dinner. They've got delicious food, in large portions, for cheap! Groups of 6 or more can rent individual log cabins along the lakeside. That will be a future trip!

All guests at the resort have unlimited access to rowboats, canoes (which we used often), paddleboats (which are S-L-O-W), interpretive hiking/biking trails, hot tub and sauna. They even let you borrow a can of bear spray whenever you venture out into the wilderness, and only charge you for it if you use it! I felt much better when clutching onto the bottle.

For splurges, you can take a float plane sightseeing ride, or have the plane drop you off to explore the alpine meadows and come pick you up later. Then there's the ATV's!

To top off my "redneck experience" we HAD to rent an ATV! We took it out for 2 hours on a narrow trail that went around the lake. It gained a LOT of elevation (got really cold), and had incredible views! There was no one else on the trail, so we were tearing up and down hills (safely, of course). I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would! I was giggling with glee the whole time! Who needs a rollercoaster??

Included in our specific promo package was a trail ride on horseback through the hills around the resort. I had a large horse who liked to take his time. When he noticed how far back he was from Colin's horse, he'd start running, which I am not familiar with! It scared me at first, but then I found myself slowing my horse down so he'd have to catch up down the road. Colin's horse had a mind of it's own! He was hungry the whole time and was always looking for a tasty snack off the trail!

Another part of our trip was geocaching! There was one hidden in Goldbridge. No one had found that cache yet, so we were looking forward to being the first people to find it (Geocaching bragging rights, and possibly a good prize)! To make a LONG story short, someone found it 2 hours before we got there! ARGH! (our "cache"name is sillysalmon, so on the links, scroll down til you see our name).

There was also another geocache on a hiking trail at Tyax. Read details of our adventure here. We found a special item in that cache: a travel bug! Check out his story and photos of his journey from California.

From reading this, you're probably thinking that the Roth's don't know how to relax! But we do! We escaped the cold evenings by sitting in the outdoor hot tub every evening (usually alone), had naps and played darts & pool. One of my favorite relaxing moments was when we ordered a hot chocolate and played crib in front of the 30 foot high stone fireplace in the common area of the resort! Ahhhh....

We'd recommend Tyax to ANYONE at ANY season! But of course, you have to take us with you!