I think it's time to finally post my take on the events and happenings during my recent whitewater rafting trip with some people from the church office. I had made mention of some things in previous posts and I feel now is the time to reveal what really happened.
We had planned to leave Brent's house at 8am Friday morning. As I was heading toward 405 I turned the radio to hear the traffic report. I was encouraged to hear the people say that it was a surprisingly light commute for a Friday...except for northbound 405 between the Maple Valley Highway and the Kennydale hill; exactly where I needed to travel on 405. It wasn't really that bad and I actually made it on time.
Haley and Rachel had a little trouble finding Brent's house and we ended up leaving at about 8:15am. A quick stop at Starbucks to fuel up and say hello to Gordon Wayne Gunther and we were on our way. Traffic was light and we made good time stopping only for gas in Kalama, WA.
Once we made it to Oregon, we headed east on 84. A few miles down the road, we were ahead of schedule so we decided to stop at Multnomah Falls. It is an impressive sight cascading from a sheer cliff 620 feet high. You can hike up to a bridge looking up at the falls or continue on up to the top of the cliff. We didn't have all day so we were satisfied with looking up.
Back in the car, we continued along 84 to Hood River and crossed the toll bridge. The woman in front of us was apparently nervous as she was going 20 in a 35. It wasn't about the bridge either because once we got across, she continued at her ridiculous pace. We could see her on the phone, of course. The funny part was when we passed one of those police radar things that tell you how fast you are going. the limit was 25 and she was rolling along at 20. We were laughing because if we didn't, we probably would have thrown something at her car!
We arrived at the base for the rafting company and were immediately suited up with wetsuits, splash jackets and helmets. I can't say enough about the professionalism and courtesy of the staff at Zoller rafting. Check them out at http://www.zooraft.com/. It was hot and in those suits and jackets made it sweaty. We were introduced to our guide Jon and off we went. We shoved off in to the unknown. This is where things got real interesting. A few rapids into our trip we were having fun, getting used to the feel and motion of the mini raft we were in. One of the employees was travelling down the river in an inflatable kayak next to us. In the middle of a rapid, he turned over the kayak and it got away from him. we immediately went into Coast Guard mode. The guide told us to keep paddling and if we could grab the guy or his boat, do it. Brent grabbed the kayak and our guide pulled the guy into our raft. After about 30 seconds, he managed to get his boat righted, and away he went. We felt pretty cool. After that, we felt up for anything. We continued down the river getting soaked and loving it. There is nothing like nautical rescue to help you get over your anxiety. I felt like I was sitting on something and couldn't figure out why I was so uncomfortable. I realized then that I had forgotten to remove my wallet from my back pocket. Dang.
A little while later in a relatively smooth section of the river, I noticed something shiny in the bottom of the boat. Upon further inspection, I realized that it was a 7 inch diver's knife in the bottom of our inflatable raft. I asked Brent if it was his and he said "no" (He's not much of a talker). We asked the guide but it wasn't his. He was pretty freaked out by it too. He wasn't sure what to do with it and apparently this was his first encounter with aquatic/cutlery fusion. He put it away in a bag he brought and we continued all the while keeping our eyes peeled for other boaters in need of rescue.
The river was beautiful and the scenery was amazing. The climate is like a perfect blend of eastern and western Washington. Lots of both evergreen and ponderosa, volcanic rock and wildflowers.
We finished our trip and took an old school bus back to base. The facilities were nice, save for the communal changing rooms.
We began the trek home and stopped for costco polish dogs in Vancouver. We drove home on I-5 as the sun was beginning to set. It turned the landscape golden like it does in the summer. That is my favorite time of day; when the sun is at an angle and it lights up everything with an amber hue. It even makes people's eyes look cool. We arrived back at Brent's place around 9pm and headed our separate ways.
It was a great day and a fun trip with lots of memories made. Although multiple theories exist as to how and why the knife ended up in our boat, most involving Scooby Doo style mysteries, I choose to chalk it up to the fact that wherever I go, intrigue follows. Whenever I set foot outside my front door, danger is lurking. If it's not a knife in a rubber raft, it's, well, it's something dangerous. Of that you can be certain.
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