Let's Go Rafting!

Grab your life vest, your paddle, and some sunscreen, 'cause we're heading out on the water to face the rapids head-on!

If I remember correctly from last year, there were quite a few campers who didn't care much for rafting. If rapids don't quite thrill you, no worries--we're going canoeing tonight under the stars, which will be a lot less intense, but thrilling nonetheless! If you don't want to go rafting, perhaps you can all carpool to a spot downriver a ways where we can meet for a picnic lunch, complete with sandwiches, chips, watermelon, and maybe some leftover Laceys (cookies) from last night.

For those of you who want to give rafting a try, I vote for electing Vince our guide! At the very least, we should get him to tell us some of his rafting stories!

When I was in 8th grade, I went rafting with my class through Bigfoot Rafting Co. There was one pretty big and awesome rapid named Hell's Hole or something like that, but it was also commonly known as the Fuzzy Bunny, at least in our group. ;) So get a good grip on your T-handle on the paddle and lean back, because we're going in!

It's a thrilling and crazy ride down these rapids, and you might get a little wet, but isn't it great? When we get to some calm spots we can maybe even play the trust game like we did last year, where we stand on the edges of the raft, link the T-handle of our paddles with the person across from us, and lean back. Just don't try this while we're actually in a rapid, though!

You know, life can be so exciting, can't it? I find that I often have a poor attitude about daily circumstances, but perhaps if we approach life with a spirit of adventure we may realize that on the river of life God can build teamwork, promote trust, and provide a lot of fun and laughs along the way, even when we do get wet. ;) Something to keep in mind as we float along!

Oooh, I think I see the rest of our group up ahead on the shore--with our lunch! So paddle hard and we'll all eat together. While we're eating, Vince and/or anyone else who's been rafting can share some of their stories with us! Then we can head back to the cabins, take a nap, and rest up before our nighttime canoe ride!

(Pictures are from the Bigfoot Rafting Co. website. If you want more than virtual rafting, be sure to check out their guided tours in Northern California!)

Let's Go Rafting!

Here we are by the banks of the river, and everyone's ready, right?

Are you wearing clothes that can get wet?

--Check!

Are you wearing your life jacket (properly strapped on)?

--Check!

Do you have your paddle?

--Check!

Are you ready for an exciting and thrilling adventure?

--Check!

Good! I think/hope we're ready! So off we go!

As we're rafting along down the river, I'll tell you some of my rafting stories: The picture you see above is from the Bigfoot Rafting Company's website(http://www.bigfootrafting.com/index.html). The Bigfoot Rafting Company is located in Willow Creek, CA. And unless I have a worse memory than even I feared, this was the rafting company that guided our class' rafting trip when I was in the eighth grade (we only had 12 students in our seventh and eight grade classes that year, and small classes allow for fun class trips).

I really enjoyed rafting with this group, and it was great fun going down the rapids. I remember a time, though, when we were at a still part of the river. Taking advantage of the calm waters, we decided to play a game. (Now, if you've been rafting before, you will recall that the end of the paddle has a "T" shaped handle, as long as all rafting paddles are the same! This makes it easier to really grip the handle.) The group in my raft (including myself and some parents), all got up on the sides of the raft. There was enough room to stand on the sides (it was like standing on a semi-stable and rather large inner tube). Half of us were on one side of the raft, and half were on the other. We locked our "T"-grip handles with the person across from us and leaned back. (Yes, this was like a trust game.) Can you guess what happened next? This exercise surprisingly can work, but if one person falls off . . . well, generally all of the group falls off. Boy, was that river cold! Thank goodness for a nice parent who pulled me up out of the river and back into the raft!

But let me tell you, playing a game is not the only time when you're rafting that you can get wet! And sometimes, you have a choice to get as wet as you want. For example, when I went rafting with a group from camp Veritas (a Christian camp in Oregon that was mainly hosted at the college I am now attending, although it was not put on by that college!), we got to a spot where we could get out and float down a rapid. Yes, I said float down a rapid!

Feet first, flat on my back in the water, down this one rapid I went. It was a bit scary, to be honest, because the waves kept coming at me and I was hoping I would be able to get enough air to breathe. But as you can guess, I made it (and I think I should clarify that we were all still wearing our life jackets).

Overall, I've had some really fun times rafting. Going with a guided group allows for safety, as well as a good time!

I think we're at a calm spot in the river now. Anybody up for a trust game?