WHITE WATER RAFTING!

I think yesterdays adventure ranks right up there with skiing! WHAT A BLAST!!!!!!!!! We signed up through the OAP (Outdoor Adventure Program) here on base for their Family Rafting Day trip. We met at 7:45, hopped on their vans and drove 44 miles south to Bliss, Idaho to launch our rafts into the famous Snake River. There was a SHORT safety lesson and rules talk, then we got into our rafts and off we went!

These first 2 pictures are of Collin and Kaitlynn within minutes of launching. They were both a TINY bit nervous!

Each raft came supplied with 2 plastic buckets. For bailing??? NO!!! FOR WATER WARS!!!! One of the other rafts had a family on it we know from the base. The mom challanged her two teenagers with , " I will pay the first one of you who throws a bucket of water at Chaplain Smith five dollars." They wouldn't do it, and NOT knowing of that challange, Sam was the first one to throw a bucketful in the WHOLE group of 28 people, and he threw it at the teenagers who wouldn't take the challange. :-)
They were QUICK to retaliate!!!!!!!! Kaitlynn and I are in the back of the raft, with NO buckets, yet we were getting doused with FREEZING COLD water anyway!! NO FAIR! There were NUMEROUS water wars through out the morning!
Kaitlynn wanted her picture taken with the pretty waterfall surrounded by the purple flowers. There were hundreds of white butterflies all over the flowers. (Now, realize I am using a Kodak disposable water proof one time use camera, so the pictures are NOT of the normal great quality, and the fuzzy spots you see ARE water droplets and NOT my fault!! ) :-)
Our guide was Cecil. He was GREAT! He is here for the summer from Michigan for an internship on base with the OAP. They gave him a room in the dorms for the summer. I think he stood out among the other airman with the shoulder length hair! He said he always gets stares in the hallways.
Now, I couldn't take pictures of the BEST part of the rapids because I needed my hands to paddle and HANG ON, so this was the best of the pictures, but not the best of the actual rafting.
Our guide said at one point, we did reach a 60 degree angle on one of the Class 3 rapids. To bad there isn't a picture of that!!!!!
There were several slower parts where we just floated with the current and the kids could get out and float down by the raft. Here, Collin is in the BRONCO position, where experienced rafters sit going THROUGH the rapids.
This was a game called RAFT CIRCLING. Cecil challanged Daddy to circle the entire raft with out falling in. He made it all the way around, but fell at the last second, INTO the boat!

A family picture during one of the slower periods.
What a LOT of fun!!! THe OAP took some pictures too and I can get those from them next week. So check back then as I will add those on as well.

This is one trip we will sign up for again!!!!!!!!!!!!