Rafting

We went white-water rafting a couple weeks ago when we were in Colorado.

Now I must admit, I was very apprehensive about this little adventure. In fact, I tried to sit this one out. Rafting just wasn’t going to be my thing. First, I couldn’t swim. Second, I’m scared of the water. And third, I was pretty sure I was going to die. I knew it could be very dangerous. So, I thought I would save everyone the pain and heartache by not joining this expedition.

And it must have been genetic, because Beck felt the same way. We just really weren’t sure about the whole rafting thing.

But as you may have deduced, we were strong-armed, browbeat, forced and coerced into it. The little turkeys.

Now I’m going to show you our raft first, because, as you’ll soon find out, one raft was much more exciting than the other.

Here we are. Don’t we all look happy? Life is good. We’re just floating peacefully down the river.

Oh my.  Something is up.  Our expressions have change.  The water is rough.  We’re in the middle of a Class 4 rapid!

And I love Ashtyn’s face in this one.  We’re about to get drenched.   (Well, mostly just those poor suckers on the right side of the vessel.  Me, being the highly skilled rafter that I am, chose the best location to sit and incurred minimal splashing.)

Wait for it…here it comes!

Bam!  We got nailed.  It was epic.   (That’s a word rafters use.  I know this because by this point in the voyage I’m pretty much a professional rafter and am now using the same lingo.)

But please, for the love of all things holy, tell me the expression I am displaying in this picture is not a look I exhibit often.  Good grief.

But we made it through!  Whew!

And we decided to give each other a celebratory paddle high-five (another thing we professional rafters do) when our guide fell out of the boat.  I couldn’t believe it!  What were we to do now?  We had several more rapids to navigate and while I had become quite the accomplished rafter in my 45 minutes on the water, I wasn’t sure I could navigate the whole thing and get everyone safely to shore.

We were in trouble.

I was starting to panic.  This was not supposed to happen.  SHE was supposed to be the professional, not me.  Oh, what to do??

Okay.  I’m just kidding.  Our guide did not fall out of the raft.  Thank Heavens.  Although, the first time she leaned way out like that I was afraid she was going to fall in and believe me, I did start to panic a little.  But I soon found out that leaning way out of the boat was a technique she used to control the raft and there was no cause for alarm.  And she did a great job controlling it, by the way.  She was awesome!

And now, while our guide nor anyone else in our boat fell out, the same cannot be said for this craft.

And this picture may have been a sign, because the one person who is not visible in this picture happened to be the poor soul who fell out.

It also happens to be the individual who is not contributing to the navigation of the raft.

(This picture cracks me up, by the way.  Look at those rowers bent to the task.  They are working hard and in sync and doing what is asked…all except the one person smiling for the camera.  Hee Hee.)

Okay.  Have you guessed the unlucky soul who fell out of the raft?

Yep.  It was Beck.

Here’s how the story was relayed to me.

The rafters had just about gotten completely through the Class 4 rapid when, suddenly, they hit a rock.  And they hit it HARD.  The entire crew was pitched into the front of the boat.  All except for Beck, who popped right off the raft and into the water.  She said it happened so fast she didn’t know what happened.  (And no one else in her raft noticed her disappearance.)

Until Matt, who was getting positioned back in his seat, noticed a person floating past.  Oh no! And Cody, who was also settling back in, saw his sweet mother floating by.  Both boys were quick to grab “the swimmer” and, with help from Craig, pulled her back into the boat.

The whole episode probably took about 12 seconds.  But no doubt it felt like an eternity.

And the best part was, the rafting company just happened to have a videographer at that particular rapid and videoed the whole thing.  We replayed the video numerous times and put it in slow motion to get the whole effect.  It was hilarious…once we knew everyone was safe.

And Beck was proud to be inducted into the Poudre River Swim Club.

But she was a good sport and I think we would both be glad to go rafting again.  It really was pretty fun.

Hope you have a great day!