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This morning, everyone got up early hoping that the river would be raftable. We loaded the van and got there as early as we could. The water level was about average so it was a slightly different trip than Sunday when it was way up. We had a good time, didn’t get dead, and decided to take a quick lunch and try a second run. Unfortunately, by the time we made it back to the river for the second run, the water was way down. We launched anyhow and got an education on bony-water rafting. Rocks, rocks everywhere and barely a drop of water to spare! It was a lot of work and very hairy. We got stuck every couple of minutes and had to bounce and paddle and shift weight to get loose. At one point in the river, a section called rock garden took on a whole new meaning. After getting stuck in it and realizing that there was no possible way of getting unstuck, our guide told us all to get out. We all got out on the super-slippery rocks, picked up the raft, and walked it until there was sufficient water again. This was very, very scary. For those who have never been rafting, one of the most stressed points of the safety talk is that if you fall out, NEVER EVER PUT YOUR FEET DOWN AND TRY TO STAND/WALK! It’s very easy for a foot to get caught in the rocks and the water to pull you down. While I slipped all over the rocks and felt the water pulling at me, I just knew I was going to end up with a broken leg. Fortunately, no one was hurt and we made it back into navigable water that we could go back to getting stuck and unstuck in. The trip ended up taking three hours. The morning one took just under one and a half hours. Turns out it takes twice as long to go down a dry river. It was hard work, hot, and tiring but we still had a good time. It was really interesting to see all of the rocks that create the rapids and to try to figure out how to get through them. We packed up camp while the kids run happened and we headed out with Sylvia while Brian went to retrieve the kids and take them home. On the way back to their house, we stopped at horsetail falls on pyramid creek for a very nice waterfall hike. The temperature was wonderful since it was 19:30 when we started. It was a very enjoyable hike that we finished with dusk coming on. It was late when we got to the house and, even though we stopped for dinner and an hour and a half hike, we still made it back before Brian and the kids.



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We loaded up and went to the river this morning to find it empty. We waited a couple of hours for them to turn on the water but they never did. We did at least have some entertainment while we waited. There was another group that showed up with a brand new raft and we watched them run around not knowing what they were doing. We also had several from our own group taking part in a rock-skipping competition. When they got tired of that, they moved on to skeet shooting where one would throw up a big rock while everyone else tried to hit it with little rocks. My boy got the bragging rights in being the first to actually hit it. After a while, it went to skeet shooting with buckshot (instead of trying to hit it with one small rock, they started throwing handfuls of pebbles) to make it easier. Finally, a couple of guys regressed to their animalistic roots and started acting ape-like with the rocks. An amusing time was had by all. We left and headed to some orchard for fresh fruit pies and ice cream. That ended up being our lunch. Mmmboysenberrypieandicecream. When we made it back to the campground, we headed to the pool to cool off and take a nap. Mostly, it was a lazy day.



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After going to bed early to make up for Friday night’s sleep deprivation, we woke up bright and early this morning. And I do mean bright – what’s up with the sun coming up at 04:30 when it didn’t set until after 21:00? What is this, Alaska? We were up long before everyone else so we took a walk around the campground and went down to the river to see if the water was on yet. When we got back to camp, we had breakfast and got changed for our watery fun. I’m not sure what time the van left but it was a very interesting ride to the put-in place. There was music blaring (most of which we were unfamiliar with) and people singing and laughing and having great fun. When we got to the river, it took quite a while to blow up the rafts and prepare them for the water. Having never been rafting except on a commercial gig, I was a bit apprehensive, especially since I had presumptions about the rivers out west being much bigger and scarier. We got pretty much the same exact safety talk that we get with our commercial outfitters on the Ocoee, which was actually reassuring. It’s good to know that the private rafters cover the same safety points. The rafting was fun. The American River is very different than the Ocoee, much less intimidating with only 2 and 3 class rapids, but much fun was had. The water was apparently very high and fast. When we got to the take out point, a discussion commenced on whether to go for a second run but since the water was supposed to be turned off at 13:00, it was decided that one run was it for the day. Of course, we did notice that the water didn’t actually go down until closer to 18:00 so we could have easily gotten another run or two in, had we known. But then we would have missed a great deal of excitement. As we were sitting around talking at the campsite, we started to hear sirens and commented on how someone was hurt. A few minutes later, after hearing many more sirens, we noticed the large plume of smoke coming up from the adjacent mountain. We walked up the hill of the campground to see the blaze spreading down our side of the mountain, which was probably a quarter-mile from where we stood. We discussed evacuation plans, should it come to that, while taking pictures of videos of the conflagration. We watched as the observation plane circled the blaze, three helicopters dumped water, and three planes dropped chemical retardant. What a show! After it started to get contained and the campground owner updated us that there would probably not be evacuations for us, we walked down to the river to watch the helicopters dip water. Amazing stuff. Amazing videos. It made for quite the exciting day. We heard news that they had it fully contained but there are still several spots glowing up there tonight.



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