Text Box: NO, it's not Mongolia...Sister City friends from Rubtsovsk shared a YURT in Grants Pass, Oregon! by Brian Robinson As most of you know, my wife Donna and I had the pleasure of hosting Elena and Andrey Kovylin. They arrived on July 17th and soon discovered that we did not have a home for them to stay in. Due to some unfortunate planning Donna and I decided to burn our house down in April. All this meant that our friends would have to stay in the yurt. Yes, it is a bit odd but Donna has had a yurt for some time. It is her little sanctuary and she had fun getting it ready for the visit. Lucky for the Kovylin’s our builder had a shiny new port-a-potty delivered and set next to the yurt. I gave them a flashlight so it would be easy to find at night. None of this seemed to faze them which Donna and I attributed to severe jet lag.   The first morning Al and Marina Rhodes were kind enough to come over and interpret. My meticulous planning envisioned a nice brunch in the front yard. Somehow I didn’t anticipate the cold rain that arrived that morning. Being quite resourceful, I moved the patio furniture into our newly framed garage where we enjoyed a light breakfast and very wet patio furniture seats. I am sure that Andrey and Elena were beginning to wonder what they had gotten themselves into but they were gracious enough to never show any obvious fear. I promised them that things would improve soon.   We left for Mt. St. Helens the next morning. Andrey is very knowledgeable about volcanoes and it has always been a dream of his to see St. Helens. The plan was for them was to take a helicopter ride to the crater. For two days we waited at the Johnson Observatory for a glimpse of the mountain but it wasn’t to be. Clouds and cold rain obscured the view and the forecast was for more of the same for the next 5 days. We finally admitted defeat and headed for Portland. In a bit of over compensation on the first day there I took them to two Omni-Max movies and an 11:00 P.M. showing of a Pink Floyd laser light show. (Note to future hosts. A late night laser light show is apparently a little tough on someone that is still jet lagged!) Our friends began to get that deer in the headlights look. In spite of being dazed and disoriented they seemed to enjoy a day at the Japanese Gardens and the zoo.   From there we headed to Astoria where I wanted them to marvel at the views of the Columbia from the Astoria Tower. You probably have already guessed that on arrival we couldn’t see the tower or the river for the fog and rain. Not to be discouraged we worked our way down the coast where we broke into the sun near Newport. My son Steve met us near Florence where he took them for a ride on Siltcoos Lake in his new boat. It was a bright sunny morning for a boat ride. The only downside was the gale force winds that churned whitecaps on the lake and threw copious amounts of water over the bow, soaking our guests to the bone. Our friends were very good sports. They never let on how frightened they were of our future adventures. The afternoon was spent taking a dune buggy ride. They didn’t seem to mind the sandstorm that kicked up and peppered their skin like little needles.   We spent two days in Florence where my family treated them to some All American food. Andrey even had to crank the ice cream maker. From there we headed back to Grants Pass to catch the Dinner Boat trip. The next day we visited the Redwoods where we took some nice walks through some of the groves. Donna seemed especially nervous about the walks. She insisted in walking in the middle of the group. She finally let on that she believed that it was likely that a puma would eat the first or last person in a group. It’s funny, one person gets chewed on in the Redwoods and she gets apprehensive. I didn’t tell our guests that she was willing to sacrifice them.   The next day we met up with Larissa Eagle who accompanied us to Crater Lake. Andrey was able to explain the history of the region better than any forest ranger. It was easy to tell that he really enjoyed his time there.   The next day was spent with some of my biker friends from Wind and Fire, a motorcycle club for Harley riding firefighters. We had fun dressing our guests in leather which they seemed to think was very strange. We loaded them onto the bikes and had a great ride. We ended the day by stopping at the Redwood Tavern in Wonder for an authentic American barbeque. The owner Kate, welcomed them and treated them to a uniquely American experience.   Andrey spent some time with a crew from Grants Pass Fire/ Rescue. They were training some new recruits and Andrey was able to get involved in some victim recovery evolutions. He followed crews into the smoke chamber where they searched for the victim and removed him from the building. He seemed especially interested in the differences between Russian and American firefighters. He took many pictures to share with his coworkers.   The last couple of days were spent shopping. I must say that they are world class shoppers. They were so good that Donna finally said uncle, and sat outside reading her new Harry Potter book.   On August 1st. we took them to the Airport to begin their long trip home. It was very sad to see them go. They had proven to be the gracious, open, and warm people that I had met in Rubtsovsk. I hope that they enjoyed their trip as much as we did. I am not sure when I will see them again but I will look forward to that day. Good friends are a wonderful thing.   Brian August 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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