White Water Rafting Trip - 7/24/10

Last year while exploring the Wind River Canyon (see blogs dated 7/26/09 - The Return Trip Through The Canyon and 7/25/09 - Wind River Canyon) last year about this time, Joe and I saw some people rafting down the canyon. We thought it might be fun to celebrate our 6th anniversary by floating down the river. And, that's what we did this year. What a blast!

While waiting to be suited up, I spied this bumper sticker. If you've ever seen the movie "Deliverance", you'll understand the sticker.

Here we are outside the company that was going to take us down the river. Great staff and reasonable prices too.

Here we are all suited up for safety with our life vests and helmets just in case we fell out of the raft. Those are the rafts behind us and the shuttle bus we rode on to get to the place about 12 miles down the road where the rafts put in.

View from the bus at the launching point...

Once in our raft, we were given instructions of what to do if we fell in the river. Do you know how cold that water was? I had no intention of finding out. Not long after getting into the water this train came by us...

This is a map showing the various rapids that we floated, rafted and paddled across. We put in at the lower canyon and went through various "classes" of rapids - the highest being class IV. It is defined as "Long rapids; waves high, irregular; dangerous rocks; boiling eddies; best passages difficult to scout; scouting mandatory first time; powerful and precise maneuvering required. Demands expert boatman and excellent boat and good quality equipment". One of those was named "Freight Train"on the Wind River.

There was our raft and one other in front of us and it was fun watching was about to occur with us, but happening to them first. Here we are just shortly after getting into the river and before any of the rapids.

Happy Joe - smiling and dry...

This is one of the boulders that fallen into the river sometime in the past. It was called the "House Rock" because..................it is as big as a house!

This was our guide named Vanessa...

Tipis on the bank...

Another reason why there aren't many pictures of me. Joe took this one and I was really craning my neck to be seen.

But then the lady across from me took pity and took my picture...

A beaver dam along the bank...

Some of our first rapids. My butt got wet at the first one as you do sit on the edge of the raft and not inside it.

Joe still in the boat...

Just sit back and enjoy the ride...

Joe enjoying the end of one of the rapids and that he was still in the raft...

More pictures to be added later...and yes, we were wringing clothes, dripping wet by the time we left the canyon.

My New Office For My New Job

I started a new job in the oilfield this week. I am no longer working with the department that handles all the environmental and safety issues out here. I have been transferred to the Procurement Department where I am presently tracking purchase orders for the moment.

I left my own personal office and for the time being this is my new office...stuck in the corner of the computer room. I have three boxes of stuff left behind in another office and took some items home that were hanging on my old walls.

I did get to select which cubby hole I wanted and you can see I got the one closest to the air condidtioner though it's a little noisy. I brought my chair with me - the only girly looking comfortable chair here and I hung my name on the wall marking my area too.

Eventually I will be moving into another office which I will share with someone. But, it beats the alternative to this temporary office - I hope.

Our Hike To Independence Rock

Joe and I went on a hike to Independence Rock with a group from Casper. This was sponsored by the National Historic Trails Center. We all drove out in our own vehicles and met together before ascending the "rock". It's about an hour from our house and takes the same route as when we go to visit with the kids.

This is one of the most noted landmarks along the emigrant trails. Popular legend says that the pioneers needed to reach this point by July 4, thereby giving it its name. But emigrants arrived at this site throughout the traveling season. Its name actually comes from a party of fur trappers who camped here on July 4, 1824. The large granite outcropping is 1,900 feet long and 700 feet wide and rises 128 feet. J. Goldsborough Bruff said it looked "like a huge whale" from a distance. The site was a popular camping site. (And no, I didn't take this picture of Independence Rock).

While encamped here, many many pioneers inscribed their names on the sturdy granite. As early as 1842, fur trapper Rufus B. Sage noted that "the surface is covered with names of travelers, traders, trappers, and emigrants, engraved upon it in almost ever practicable part, for the distance of many feet above its base…"* The Jesuit missionary, Pierre Jean De Smet, is credited with giving it the name "Great Register of the Desert."

This was our BLM (Bureau of Land Management) guide, Jason, giving us some of the history about the dedication of Independence Rock as a historical landmark before we made our hike to the Rock.

Joe and I stop at this rest area where I.R. is located every time we go to visit the kids - coming and going. But, we'd never done the "touristy" thing of checking it out until now.

Sign telling about I.R. The missing pieces of paint on the sign are caused by blowing snow which scrapes off the paint.

Here we are hiking out to I.R. That's Joe in the pink tee shirt.

This is one of the many markers that denote this section of the California-Oregon-Mormon trial and we were able to very clearly see wagon tracks.

These are various plaques placed on the rock during the dedication of I.R. as a historical site.

This is one of the many views showing how vast and empty the area is around I.R.

I've begun my climb up the "rock" and left Joe behind.

Up higher and Joe is the little dot in the middle of the picture.

Wow! What a view!

That's the rest area below us.

And even higher up. I can't even see my car anymore.

Names were placed on the rock through engraving or by painting them with wagon grease, tar or a combination of buffalo grease and glue. Over time, many of these name have flaked off or been obscured by lichens. Despite this, thousands of names remain and are a source of delight to those who climb the rock, including myself. It is absolutely fascinating to see the names of pioneers and trappers etched in the stone after all these years.

There were even pools of water on top of I.R. from recent rains.

Ta da! I made it to the top. But then there was the getting down part.

While we were all on the top, we gathered together while Jason read us some excepts from diaries and journals from people who had written their names on the rock.

This view is looking toward Devil's Gate and Martin's Cove where the Martin Handcart company had many members die during a blizzard.

While Jason was reading the diary/journal entries, I looked over and spied this young woman in period clothing. She and several other young men and young women were from Canada and were on a youth conference trip with the Church.

Even young pioneer women get hot on a very warm July day.

Yes, I made it down in one piece with no broken bones or boo-boos. But, I did hurt extremely bad in my thighs the next day.