COTTON DEATH ROW AND FRIENDS FROM SCOTLAND

The cotton death row is an inside joke. Last year Kathy and I were in Zion National Park, and we decided to hike up to the Narrows. We went to the outfitter to rent special boots, walking sticks and a special waterproof bag. We then had to go to the safety talk. We learned that if you wore cotton you would probably die. Of course when we got to the creek we noticed almost everyone was wearing blue jeans and flip flops. We felt like the overdressed gringo.

That was then, now we have two friends visiting from Scotland, Ros and Andy. They are not Scottish they are English. I have known Andy for 4 years or so. We have spent a lot of time in Spain together and some time in Scotland. Having friends from other countries is a great thing. If you speak the same language, even better. It is fun to hear what they have to say about high gas prices (our fuel is half the price of fuel in GB), large cars and pickup trucks, great mountain bike trails (ours) and just funny things about life. In the photo Kathy, Ros and Andy are sitting above the Painted Hills near Mitchell in Eastern Oregon, and it is just about to start raining.  I, of course was wearing wool they all had cotton.  We managed to get back to the car before the rain so no fatalities that day.

The real big bonus of having friends from Scotland is when we visit over there. A holiday spent in some one's home is so different than one spent in a hotel or B and B. The evenings are spent talking, eating home food or even night mountain bike rides. 

Next week we are off to Ashland, Crater Lake and the Redwoods. It will be fun to show off our best to our friends, just like they do to us when we are over there. 

After a week of visiting we have become a little looser, the humor more personal and interesting. I am already looking forward to my next trip over to Scotland to see all my other friends.

Thanks for reading,

Don