Float On

     So the morning started at 9:30 with a question of what to do today. Rafting was brought up and so the search for a outfitter began. We found one that had two times slots they floated, 10:30 and 2:30. Some suggested for the 2:30 but for some reason we went with the earlier time slot. This meant that we were in a mad dash to make it. It is 30 min to town and we had to be there 30 min before bus departure. Needless to say, we were not there 30 min early. We signed waivers and fitted into Personal Floating Devices (PFD), grabbed a paddle and boarded the bus. It wasn't long before the pushed off and about 10 min later we were at the landing. The main guide gave us a pep talk and safety tips then assigned us rafts with our own guide. We had Chaz, a greenhorn. On the job for about a year. The water wasn't more than four feet deep in any given spot so I wasn't too worried about his experience. There were a total of four rafts and three kayaks. There were a family of Iowa Hawkeye fans that threatened us harm if we were Iowa staters. Another raft with a couple of western Indian families. They looked like a "fish out of water". Sorry for the pun. There guide really struggled to keep his raft going straight down river and not getting stuck. The other two rafts we really never heard or seen much from. Did I mention that the kids had water guns? It really ruined mom and dad's chances of getting out of this dry. After Smelter Rapids, we're Samuel learned how to fly, we stopped for a snack break and that is when the weather decided to turn from sunny to a down pour with a side of hail. Even with all this and lightning we pushed off after our snack. The rest of the 4 mile float was uneventful but enjoyable.  Except for the disembark, we had to step into a foot of water to ensure that we got wet. Dad wasn't pleased.

     We dried off and ate dinner at steamworks brewery. Good food and good beer. It was back to home and to the hot tub. Not a bad day.