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Ouzel Outfitters
Box 817
Bend, Oregon 97709
Res: 800.788.7238
Off: 541.385.5947
Fax: 541.385.0461
© 2010
Ouzel Outfitters
All rights reserved
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November 2007
Owyhee River - Our First Trips of the Season
 Our earliest and arguably most unique trips begin in April on the Spectacular Owyhee River in eastern Oregon. An Owyhee trip is an unforgettable 5-day river odyssey exploring an isolated and relatively unknown desert canyon. Deep, dramatic gorges, numerous archeological sites with a profusion of petroglyphs, natural hot springs, a large population of birds of prey and endless hiking opportunities make tolerating the often unpredictable spring weather of the high desert well worth it. As a desert river the Owyhee has a short and unpredictable rafting season with a limited “window” in which to explore the canyon. As a result, relatively few people visit this desert sanctuary each year.
Few outfitters offer the depth of experience and high level of trip quality that Ouzel consistently delivers. Join us for a comfortable five-day, four-night adventure through “Oregon’s Grand Canyon”.
Traditionally, the best dates balancing adequate water and reasonable weather fall within the last two weeks of April and the first two weeks of May. Our most popular trip is sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and launches on April 27th. There are only three spaces left for this departure but plenty of space on our other launch dates. Call today to make your reservation or book online. See more Owyhee Photos.
Pricing, Age & Discount Changes for 2008
Pricing: While fares for our short multi-day trips on the Deschutes, North Umpqua and John Day Rivers have remained unchanged for 2008, our 4-day trip pricing for adults on the Rogue has increased by $20 for 2008. This is due to increasing transportation and payroll costs. McKenzie trip fares have remained unchanged but we have added a $5/person fee for one-day Deschutes trips on Saturdays & Sundays. The Bureau of Land Management charges an additional $6/person in fees for weekend trips.
Minimum Age for Trips and Youth Pricing: We have increased our minimum age for Rogue and Salmon River multi-day trips from six to seven. While many six-year olds are ready for a multi-day wilderness rafting adventure we have had many kids for whom an easier or shorter trip would have been more appropriate. We have also changed the youth rate from “15 and under” to “12 and under”. This puts us more in line with industry standards. The average age of kids on our trips falls between 9 and 12 years old.
    
Discounts: As part of our participation in AAA's "Show Your Card & Save" program we will be increasing our AAA discount to 10% with a maximum discount of $200 off the regular trip price. As usual every guest with a previous reservation on record is elligible for a 10% discount off any regularly priced trip.
 Every year we collect hundreds of evaluations from our guests. The comments and feedback on these forms are invaluable in helping us to improve our service each year. As a way of saying “thanks!” for taking the time to give us feedback, every completed evaluation is entered into a drawing for a free trip the following year. And this year’s winners are…
Russ & Jonni K. of Renton, WA have won a free one-day rafting trip for two on the Deschutes or McKenzie River in 2008. Russ & Jonni rafted with us on the McKenzie River in July this year. Their trip was part of a large family reunion. Congratulations! (Chances of winning were 1 in 475)
Jan & Earl A. of Bellevue, WA have won a 4-day Rogue River Rafting trip for two. If you knew the circumstances surrounding their trip this year you might think that the drawing was rigged. At the last minute, Jan and Earl were unable to attend the privately chartered rafting trip which they had arranged for their family on the Lower Salmon. They were able to join the trip on the last day, however, by hitching a ride on the jet boat that had been chartered to pick up the group on the Snake River. Their evaluation featured feedback from their children and grandchildren. We were surprised and delighted when Jan & Earl’s evaluation was drawn out of the 80 evaluations we received from our multi-day guests. Congratulations!
Give the Gift of a River Trip for the Holidays
Simplify your holiday shopping by giving a gift that will be looked forward to all winter long. Gift Certificates for next year's trips also include free Ouzel t-shirts. Check out our Trip Specials Page for all the details.
Where are Ouzel's Guides Now?
Luke: Luke is currently in Fiji. As our penultimate international traveler, Luke hopes to find work as a snorkeling/scuba guide. He has worked in this capacity in many locations around the world and I’m sure he won’t find work lacking. Most importantly, he’s always back in time for the Owyhee.
 Justin & Erika: Justin and Erika headed to New Zealand in September and camped, hiked and bungee jumped their way across the country before heading to Fiji. They’re back in Oregon decompressing from their trip and getting ready to move to Bend.
Neely: After several winters in Lawrence, Kansas, Neely has re-settled in Portland for the winter and is renting a basement apartment from ex-Ouzel Super Guide Tom Clawson. You can find her tending bar for the Rogue Brewery at the Portland airport. Welcome home to Oregon!
John: John worked on the Grand Ronde River this fall rowing gear support for fishing trips. He’s back in Bend playing guitar with “The Band”. He’ll be working on the mountain this winter as well as on his website: www.guideregistry.org.
 Jason: As part of finalizing his degree in Recreation Management, Jason has landed a position as Regional Education Assistant for Oregon Trout. In this role, Jason teaches river ecology and riparian health to all ages from school kids to interested adults.
Mary: Mary is currently trying to decide whether to winter in Nebraska or Oregon. In the meantime she’s “hiking some mountains, rafting some rivers” and headed to Mexico for a week of sunshine.
Katy: Katy moved to Chicago this fall to pursue her masters degree at the University of Chicago. Get ready for a "real" winter and good luck!
Joel: Finishing up his degree in Natural Resources. Joel is currently climbing, rafting and kayaking while he waits for the snow to fly. He’ll be working on an ecology study for the Upper Deschutes Paddle Trail Alliance this spring.
 Ira: Ira is in his fourth year at the University of Oregon working on his geography degree with an appropriate emphasis in hydrology. He spent the time this fall between rafting and school with a 6 week romp around Europe.
Ron: As an Educational Assistant for the Bend School district, Ron is furthering his career in education. His golf rivalry with Brian is heating up - he leads by one stroke after 54 holes.
Tim: Tim has entered his usual winter hibernation state. Traveling and camping around Oregon during the off-season is Tim’s way of de-compressing from the season and loading up on lots of interpretive knowledge to impart the following year. Wherever Tim is, it’s bound to be interesting.
 Bobby: Bobby is back teaching at the River Bend School in Bend. He spent the fall camping with his daughter, Mikela and is also playing with "The Band". He brings his students by the office from time to time and is already itching to get back on the river.
Ben: Started his first year at Whitman College and is loving it.
Jim: Jim and his wife Linda spent an “amazing month” in China and Tibet. They’ve returned to the Northwest and Jim’s been raking leaves for a weak. Jim and Linda are splitting their time between their abodes in Oregon and Washington and Jim hopes to be working this winter as a “greeter” at Mt. Bachelor (free season pass).
 Ginny: Ginny spent the fall running outdoor and rafting programs for Whitman College where she is finishing her international politics degree. She’ll be back in Bend this winter working on her thesis
Roger: Continuing school at the University of Idaho in Moscow.
Will: Working on completing his studies in Business (take over the world) Systems. Will is commuting to Linfield College in McMinnville on the weekends and trying to stay a step ahead of 10 month old daughter Sonora who is now crawling and finding all sorts of ways to get in trouble. He can still be seen at the warehouse from time to time working on gear purchases and operational reports for the following year.
Brent: Brent is currently in Israel and heading to Jordan, India and southeast Asia
Greg: Back teaching the little rascals in Culver.
 Renee: As far as I know Re’ headed to the Virgin Islands. Has anyone heard from her?
Erin: Prior to returning to work at St. Charles Medical Center as a nurse in Orthopedics, Erin landed a 30 lb. Chinook Salmon. She intends to continue her angling successes with a fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas later this Winter. Carly: Carly is still working in the office helping Brian with season wrap up and marketing for next year. She spent a good deal of the fall camping, biking and brewing beer. She’ll be headed to the National Outfitter Convention in December with Brian & Will and is very excited to be heading home to Georgia for the holidays.
 Jarrod: Jarrod took off to Vietnam in September and we haven’t heard from him since.
Andrew: Andrew is still working at the OMSI camp on the John Day River. He is also custom building whitewater paddles.
Brian: Planning, budgeting, marketing, golfing, playing in “The Band” and writing this newsletter.
Learn more about our incredible Guide Staff and read guide bios.
Photo of the Month
 Things to consider when selecting a Groover site:Privacy
Accessibility
Wind Direction
Level Surface
Scenic View
Scenic View
Scenic View
Scenic View
Scenic View
Scenic View
Don't know what a "groover" is? It's time you experienced a multi-day wilderness vacation on the Wild & Scenic Rogue, Lower Salmon, Owyhee or John Day River.
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