Day 46: Rushin' the Russian River

I finally got off my lazy-lately ass and decided we were overdue for an adventure! Pack your towels, your sunscreen and your strap on sandals, let's go to the river!

The Russian River is "the" river in this area. It's warm, it's slow, and it's a major hotspot for the locals to gather at to go tubing, paddleboarding, or just lounge around the shore. Somehow, some way, we haven't made it to the River yet in the 3 years we've lived here, despite it's popularity.

Until now!

We picked Steelhead Beach as our spot on the river today. It's a regional park, so it has bathrooms, a reasonable parking lot and is very dog friendly. We went there not knowing what to expect, but that's half the adventure! So we packed a lunch took the 45 minute drive out there. 

This is a great spot. Being a weekday it was pretty quiet out there, but what few people were there were on the sandy "beachy" part of the shoreline. We ventured over to the pebbly part, because it kept the people away, and it's a river and rocks are half the fun. There were lots of little fish, some big fish, and a handful of fearless ducks that stalked you like sideeye-staring vultures, waiting for you to accidentally (or purposefully) drop a snack. 

The boys LOVED the river. They said the river is far better than the ocean (at least on this part of the coast). The water is warmer, as in, you can actually get in without instantly dropping dead of hypothermia. It's calm and has both shallow wading areas and deeper swimming holes in the middle. They spent the day swimming, throwing rocks, watching fish underneath them, and running full speed (with sandals on) from the top of the hill all the way into the river until their legs failed and they'd belly flop, a game my cousin and I used to play at our river growing up. 

Looking for fishies

Snacktime, poolside

Those ducks were so close, they weren't afraid of us at all

Rebel loved the river too. It's not as big and loud and scary as the ocean, and he waded right in as soon as we got there. The pebbles were pretty hot, so he spent the vast majority of the afternoon in the water, even if it was just on the edge of the shore. He even took a nap in ankle-deep water. 

Naptime in the river

The funniest thing was the ducks, who didn't give a crap about humans, or dogs. And Rebel, for being a "bird dog", didn't give a crap about the ducks. They stared at him and he started at them and everyone remained friends, even when the ducks got extremely close to him. The only time he ever lunged at them was when I threw bread, and he wasn't going after the ducks, but their bread.

It was a great summer day at the river. We will be back for sure. 

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