CATAPULTED!!

Okay, so river rafting has been really fun because it's OUTSIDE and I meet new PEOPLE everyday. Some people are SO fun that it feels like hanging out with friends all day laughing hard, playing, getting into major water fights . . . And then there are some people who are a drag and you just sit there spouting out random facts about the surroundings (like 10-13 year old boys who are CONSTANTLY asking every 30 seconds - When's the rapid? Are we almost at the rapid?? Was that a rapid??? How many rapids are there????; And old geological men who are fascinated with the soil age, name, colors, rock era, etc. So they throw out all kinds of random questions. I actually had someone get in my boat one time and say to me - before he'd even give me his name, "Now all the details you can give us on the geological facts on our surroundings would be very nice during this trip." Greeaaaaat.) Not that I don't like rocks - I wear one on my finger! Okay, I don't care about rocks.

Whoa - tangent, sorry. Back to my story. So I'm really enjoying my job, the "fear-factor" has slowly ebbed away until I don't have butterflies anymore when I see particular rapids and wonder quietly in my head . . . Are we going to make it?! Oh man, I hope we make it! (Ha, ha now you know what goes through a river guides head - never try to read their faces, it won't show you how they REALLY feel in those climactic moments.) So I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful (and quickly I find I'm way too confident).

I don't have pic's of this so you'll have to do with these really cool drawings.

A couple days ago I'm taking a group of people down river and we're approaching the last one in the trip. The water's pretty high so this rapid - Rocky Rapid, has some great hits on the lefts side with large waves. It looks great so we're going in! (See, that's me sitting on the back end of the boat.)




After 3 really big waves and lots of splashing we're laughing and I'm maneuvering the boat to get ready to make a sharp 90 degree turn to the left, when out of nowhere I suddenly find myself FLYING through the air (Yep, that's me AIRBORNE)





I almost speared myself in the leg with my oar handle and finally landed on one of my guest's lap. Uh, Hi . . . Matt. Thanks for holding onto me. Everyone stops paddling and stares before asking "Are you okay?", "What happened?", "What WAS that??" I had taken us over a pour-over that I didn't see and while the front end of the boat went down, my end flung up and threw me out of my seat. That was . . . enlightening. Now I'm scared of that rapid ALL over again. DANG IT.



Oh yeah, and I've received a colorful souvenir from that adventure. See how pretty?