~ 6 people, 1 minivan, 1 tent, 1 raft - great bonding trip!
~ M locked his keys in his car while picking up A (with all their stuff) - opps :)
~ M&M had a miscommunication which resulted in 5 sleeping bags for 6 people - opps :)
~ Way to go M&J getting a fire started in a wet pit with wet wood!
~ When a random person (older gentleman) jumps into telling a joke, why do we fear it will be something sexual/crude? (we were correct - it was sexual - but cute)
~ Fayetteville is a cute little town, I'll have to venture there when more then just the coffee shop is open.
~ FYI - Water levels on the New River are dangerous below 0 and above 6 - luckily for us the level was around 5 and decending - still made for an intense day.
~ A great raft trip can't happen without a great guide... thanks Bill Tanger!
~ We spent some time practicing 'high side' during the flat water. We left one person to try 'high siding' while the other 6 of us tried to flip the raft. Result - that one person goes flying!! Remember when you were 4 and your dad threw you accross the pool?? Yeah, this was just as much fun!!
~ Of course we did the obligitory jump rock. Coolest part was all the butterflys on the rock.
~ Per our guides request, we all swam 'swimmers'. At lower water levels it is a much friendlier swim. Yesterday it was a decent length wave train with dips of at least 3-4 feet. Fun and a bit scary... did I say FUN! :) Good practice in case you actually do swim and need breathe while bouncing thru waves.
~ I've been rafting quite a bit and tend to concentrate on my paddling so much I'm looking down at the water instead of up ahead and enjoying the ride. Yesterday I made sure to keep my head up, what a different experience! Most of the rapids on the new are just plain fun!!
~ Since our guide rocked, we took a detour right before 'Miller's Folly' to hike a waterfall. Eating our fill of red raspberries on the way up :) We crossed railroad tracks to find a beautiful waterfall. The sun was shining through the trees on four different tiers of the waterfall. It ranks up there as one of my favorites. We climbed up and stood under the second tier. COLD!! A train came by, so we headed back to the river by way of the tunnel. Hard to explain, but it was a cool experience and will forever seperate this trip from others!
~ We had the chance to swim one more rapid at the end of the day. 'Thread the needle' (btw - M did a great job of taking the raft through this by her lonesome!) We were supposed to stay spaced out, but R is slow so I kinda ran him over, sorry R! You kick off one rock and go to the right.. the kick off the next rock to the left. Hoping to get caught in some hydrolics that will pull you down 6 inches and spin ya. Well I got caught in a couple hydrolics but flip out to much to let it spin me... I kick back to the top in semi-panic mode :) We laughed the whole way through it!
~ It never ceases to amaze me the power of water. Swimming through the rapids you can feel it under the surface pulling at you in different directions... crazy!
~ We only had one unexpected swimmer yesterday, but I for sure got the most beat up I can remember on a rafting trip. No blood, but plenty of bruises!!
~ The New River Gorge Bridge is pretty darn amazing! Especially from below!
~ A white water trip in WV just isn't complete without dinner at Dirty Ernie's Rib Pit!
