We put a Groupon to good use a few weeks ago. In the Spring we purchased an overnight rafting trip! Our friends, Keith and Stephanie James joined us. We weren't sure what to expect, but the trip exceeded our expectations. We got up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning so we could meet the group at 6:30 and head to the Salmon river in Idaho. I didn't realize it was a 4 hour drive, it's a good thing I got shot gun in the 20 passenger van or I would have been hurling on everyone. The drive was long, but the guide that drove us was super friendly and I got to learn lots about him and our trip. I got first dibs on the double kayak that he said would be an awesome adventure, he was right! I found out that the 19 of us were not in fact sleeping in one giant tent, which put my mind at ease. All the information (or lack of) was quite vague. They gave us a list of things to bring which included, clothes and a sleeping bag. Needless to say, I was a little bit concerned. But it was AMAZING!
We got to our destination, they fed us lunch, we got on the rafts, or kayaks and were on the river for 3 hours. We stopped at a remote beach, and they unloaded ALL our gear. Two rafts were so LOADED down with gear, food, chairs, and tents the guides had to stand up and paddle to see over all the stuff. When we got to the beach they set up a full kitchen, pitched all the tents and cooked dinner. Kent, Keith, Steph and I played in the river and talked for hours.....it was really quite crazy. A fellow rafter actually came over and said in disbelief, "There are all these new people here to meet and you guys are over here by yourselves." It was true, we found a little cove, put our camp chairs in the river and sat. I replied, "This is the first time we have ever hung out ALONE as two couples in four years, WITHOUT children. We are having conversations without being interrupted by children. I don't think we'll be moving anytime soon. Sorry." We did eventually move over closer to the group at around 9 pm. but we mainly visited with each other, everyone else had pretty much shunned us by then anyway. :) It was so pleasant none of us cared.
The actual rafting was fun too! I did love the kayaks more than the raft because it was alot more exciting. You were right on top of the water and right in the middle of the rapids. I loved the thrill of that, put together with not exactly knowing what to do.....there's a fast learning curve. Kent and I made it through without any major upsets. (They call the double kayak "The divorce boat") Steph and Keith had a little trouble navigating one of the rapids and Keith fell out, he is still blaming Steph for it.....after that, I got in the kayak with Steph and we pretty much rocked the river!
1 comment:
Kayaking is way up high on my 'bucket list'
So happy that you did it and enjoyed the trip.
Did the guides provide fresh fish for dinner?
I guess that the name of the river suggests that to me. Guess it'll be too cold to go kayaking when I visit. Next summer??
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