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.