Monday on the Youghiogheny River

Sunday we checked into a Vrbo on the western shore of Deep Creek Lake. Monday morning we drove half an hour north to Friendsville, MD, to join a white-water rafting trip on the Youghiogheny River with Precision Rafting. On summer and fall Mondays and Fridays, and some Saturdays, they release enough water from the Deep Creek Lake dam to make class 3-5 rapids for 3.5 miles on the Upper Youghiogheny River. Most rafts have 3 people and an experienced guide, plus there are more in kayaks to scout ahead, to fish "swimmers" out of the drink, and to take photos. I never buy photos for stuff like this, but these were totally worth it to commemorate what was a really fun family experience. Admittedly, we wondered whether this would be safe with 2 senior citizens along, but the organization is really invested in participant safety, and we felt well taken care of.

These are alternating pictures between our two boats: me, Dear Husband, and my father with Robbie; my brother, his wife, and our mother with Keygan.

This was the very last stretch of river we rafted, looking back the way we came. It took all afternoon, because we had to wait for the water to flow downstream (we could paddle faster than the water flowed), so there were breaks to try some body surfing, jump off a rock, or otherwise rest and recover before the next push. Farther upstream was more scenic, with a winding river valley, lush greenery, blue sky, and fluffy white clouds that kept the strongest of the sun's rays from sunburning us.

We pulled out on the other side of the bridge from which I took this photo. Communication from the rafting company hadn't been very good (when to arrive, where to park, what not to bring); it turns out the "snacks" our fee included was pulled-pork sandwiches and hotdogs, but we had a pork roast in the slow cooker back at the cabin, so we drove home to eat and play games / do puzzle before jumping in the hot tub and going to bed.

Tuesday: target sports

A Weekend in SW Pennsylvania

When my youngest brother and his wife flew into Pittsburgh for a family vacation at Deep Creek Lake, I created a "tasting" itinerary of the area to whet their appetite for a longer visit:

Saturday:
Personal pick-up at the airport
Dinner on the back patio
A show at the Arcade Comedy Theater

Sunday:
Take the Monongahela Incline up to Mount Washington to enjoy Grandview Avenue
Have brunch at Eggs & Moore, a mom n' pop diner
Drive to Fallingwater for an in-depth tour of the famous house
Arrive at Deep Creek Lake in time for a late dinner

As usual, things didn't go entirely to plan, but they ended up okay in the end. From the airport, we drove over to The Village of Sewickley to pick up an audiobook I had requested from the library and then made a loop to show them the church where Dear Husband plays. Then we drove to Wexford to pick up my old car. Oh yeah, did I mention I bought a new(ish) car?

My Turquoise Torpedo is 20 years old, dented like a tin can, and has no working air conditioning. The new car--I'm taking nominations for a name--is a 2024 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid with a driver's seat that reminds you of a cockpit. Of course we ran into a couple of snafus, namely having to unfreeze my credit to get the bank loan, and then the car salesman completely missing the fact that we had a check-ready loan, leaving us waiting for a completely unnecessary hour while they tried to generate their own loan offer. Thankfully the restaurant where we celebrated our 20th anniversary that night was able to hold our reservation (Monterey Bay Fish Grotto)!

That was Thursday; this was Saturday:

(Playing arcade games before the show!)

Sunday morning we got terribly lost trying to get to the lower station of the Mon Incline, but we made it. Breakfast was delicious. We then got ~8,000 steps and a lot of sun as we ambitiously walked to the Duquesne Incline and back to the upper station--only to discover that due to a power outage, the incline wasn't running. Two Lyfts later (don't ask), we were home, packing our bags and the cars to drive south.

A short ride through very green southwestern Pennsylvania, we reached Fallingwater. Our tour guide told us all about the land that is now Bear Run Preserve, the summer cabins that the Kaufmanns visited before hiring Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s, and the house with its famous cantilevered terraces. Wright's design incorporates nature so much that it is currently being waterproofed to ensure that its sandstone doesn't erode from the inside out.

Above: approaching Fallingwater from the near side of Bear Run;

the waterfalls begin to the left, just outside the frame

Main terrace looking toward the bridge

View over the terrace wall down to the wading pool (left) and the flowing stream (right) with the Jacques Lipschitz "Mother and Child" (1941) sculpture 

The hearth was supposed to be the heart of the home. Also: alcohol.

Looking down the steps to the stream

I love this planter in the middle of a stairway, as well as the bookcase on the stairs

Tiffany lamp in the primary bedroom

To the left: geraniums as privacy screen in the primary bathroom; to the right: the only room in the house with window treatments (horizontal blinds) was the guest bathroom

Full bathroom with rainforest shower head and cork instead of tile off Edward Kaufmann, Sr.'s study

Edward Kaufmann, jr.'s bookshelves in his study; I've long wondered about the wisdom of keeping books in a home with Fallingwater's humidity. When it rains, the rock below has a channel to drain the water that seeps through the wall via pipe in the floor to the driveway.

Final stop: guest house and staff quarters (now offices). My pictures aren't very good, but I was left with an impression of color and angles that would be interesting to look at.

Of course we ended our visit with a stop at the lookout that gives the famous view of the house and waterfalls, an aspect that cannot be appreciated when you're actually in it.

Monday: running the river rapids

Rising above at Camp CAMP

This summer I was able to return to Camp CAMP (Children's Association for Maximum Potential) for a week as a healthcare volunteer (HCV). I couldn't go in June because of the trip to Norway, and actually they've moved that medically complex week to July so there are back-to-back sessions. This will make it easier to set up the cabins and attract students. I had to travel on my birthday and initially planned to treat myself to some sightseeing in San Antonio, but for various reasons I ended up hanging out at the airport until the camp director picked me up. We made a snack run to Costco and then chatted as we drove out to Center Point.

Left: funny little rubber glove baby spotted as I made my connection

at O'Hare Airport in Chicago; right: birthday margarita (prickly pear).

Camp CAMP lies 80 feet above the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, 30 miles downriver of Camp Mystic, which flooded so tragically on the Fourth of July. Almost no one was on the CAMP property because of the holiday weekend, but they had to cancel the next week's session due to the access roads being under water. The flood was 20 feet high and damaged the camp's small waterfront, where campers did outdoor cooking, pushed off in canoes, or enjoyed swings in the shade. The area depicted above used to be grassy and lined with trees. This article describes the cleanup, and there are plans to replant and rebuild sustainably.

Above: my pathetic attempt to take an instagrammable photo of my morning mug of hot chocolate on the rail of the health center deck looking toward the Camp CAMP sign.

I was assigned to the Hawk tribe with a dozen elementary- and middle-school girls with a variety of developmental conditions like Autism and cerebral palsy. I was in charge of giving medications three times a day, assessing any illnesses or injuries, and performing the bowel and bladder program for one camper, who uses a catheter to urinate 5 times a day and a 1.5-hour bowel flush once a day. This was a weighty responsibility, because until this point she had only ever relied on her mother (or a nurse) to do this for her, and now she had to do it with an audience (the rule of 2s makes sure no camper is ever alone with an adult). With only one snafu, we got through it with open communication and some silly inside jokes.

Yours truly: my uniform for the week is a CAMP t-shirt and shorts, sneakers, my prescription glasses and sunglasses around my neck, and a hat. One of the counselors confessed as she showed a camper the HCV photo on Facebook that she was afraid she wouldn't recognize me without a hat on! I usually carry a drawstring backpack with a water bottle, a book, and a pen. This year the water bottle did me dirty and leaked flavored water onto my brand new textbook, Care of Adults with Chronic Childhood Conditions.

Tools of the trade: syringe drying rack, med minder, medication list, masking tape, marker, pen.

Still life at the med table. The Hawk tribe's color is purple.

Lunch.

We had fun, too! One evening they staged a scavenger hunt for little plastic aliens, and the Scorpion tribe created a haunted house in the dining hall, complete with tickets and jump scares. Favorite memories from the week include relaxing in the shade with the girls before dinner; walking into their cabin in the middle of a growling competition with the boys in the other half of the tribe; finding an unused bathroom in which to unwind with a shower before bed; and seeing all the constellations at night. I had a particularly good time at the Thursday evening dance this year. They find ties and dresses for the campers, take "prom" photos of the teenagers, and get as many of them out of their wheelchairs as possible.

Above: lazy river. On Wednesday I joined the other HCVs in the main pool to cheer as 7 people "dunked" a camper with a trach. This involved supporting his body, giving breaths via an ambu bag, inflating the cuff, physically plugging his stoma, and then quickly suctioned out any water that had gotten into his airway. Putting his head under water was at least as gratifying to him as the water-proof cochlear implant that finally allows him to hear splashing, shouting, and the general merriment that happens while swimming.

I answered lots and lots of medical questions, prescribed a bunch of meds, and only made one assessment error that was quickly corrected. I learned how to remove nopal cactus spines (dried Elmer's glue < soaking in Epsom salts). I came home with more mosquito bites than I had when I arrived, but no sunburn. Ideally I would return next summer with at least one Med-Peds resident from my program, and I'm in talks with some of the other clinicians about reviving the educational lectures that happened pre-COVID. I would just have to figure out the administrative details of being away from my clinic. Until then, I will leave you with the recipe for Eau d'CAMP:

Liquid seizure medication

CBD oil

Miralax powder

Sweat

Combo bug spray-sunblock

The sulfurous smell of well water