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And found it in Skowhegan, on the Kennebeck river in Western Maine. It was idyllic. Our campground was located near a place where we were planning to go river rafting the following day. It was a beautiful spot, adjacent to the river where we all went for a swim. Doug and Joya demonstrate their cannonball form. Mugging for the camera, and cold. Joya says "I don't know him . . ." A typical scene in the trailer. Guest commentary a la Joya: Ready for River Rafting? Doug is! He forgot to bring his tennis shoes. All he had on were flip flops; when given a threat to duct-tape his shoes to his feet, he opted to rent the incredibly stylish booties you see below. Booty Boy wasn't too happy with the situation, and was pretty annoyed that there hadn't been information to let him know to bring shoes that would stay on. After the orientation and safety talk, we all loaded into buses for the 40-minute drive over to the put-in spot. We took pictures of ourselves on our way over. We want to get WET! The rafting was incredible. Down the 12 mile stretch we covered, the Kennebeck has class 3, 4 and 5 rapids. A class 6 means "un-navigable -- you may die". It was wild at times. Jordan was initially hesitant, but our guide Eric was wonderful and reassuring. He had Jordan paddling right in front of him so that he could keep her in the boat -- and he told he that's why she was there. This really worked for her, and so relaxed almost immediately and had a great time throughout. As it turned out, perhaps I should have been sitting in front of Eric. On a fairly mild 'hole', where the river flowed briefly backwards, I fell out. Not to worry, though; I was picked up by another boat (there were 9 boats in our group alone), and rejoined my boat a few moments later, no worse for wear but rather chagrined. Everyone got a good laugh when the guides reported that the hole I had fallen in was called "Fluffy Bunny", and no one had ever fallen in at Fluffy Bunny that they could recall. Part of the float we were able to jump out of the boat and float through some class 2 rapids, which was really fun. The water was wonderful -- in the high 70s or low 80s -- and as long as we kept our feet up, it was reported to be quite safe to swim. Afterwards, as we waited for our BBQ to be ready, Doug and Jody sit by the quiet River and laugh about the trip they just had. While sitting there, I briefly saw a bald eagle fly silently across the river not far from me. Our campsite at Skowhegan: And we all took another swim that night. It was hot. We had done pretty well regarding weather on this trip -- we had a few warm nights, but we have mostly stayed North of the really scorching temperatures most of the country basted in during late July and early August. |