Wet and Wild and Wonderful!

Day 54 – Monday, August 5

We tried out our first whitewater rafting experience today!   It was wet and wild and wonderful!  Not only did we have a great adventure, but we saw some beautiful scenery and met some nice people.  We rafted 22 miles on the Nenana River, and passed over 10 major rapids…several 3’s and a couple of 4’s! Some of the river borders on Denali National Park, so we got to see it from a different side!  WOW…what an awesome adventure!   

I couldn’t believe all the preparation…watertight suits, helmets, boots, etc.  We got a little nervous at that stage…but were too far committed to back out.

Our guide Tim seemed to be very experienced and enjoyed trying to get us all wet!  There were 6 in our boat plus the guide. He made it very interesting by telling us about the rocks, the river, the canyon, and the technicalities of rafting.  We got pretty good at paddling in the smooth stuff before we hit the choppy water.  All of the rapids had names…the ones I can remember are: the Iceworm Rapids, the Royal Flush, and the Coffee Grinder. Halfway through the trip, one person (a girl) asked to sit on the bow of the raft (kind of like riding a bull!).   She got drenched.  And then JIM (yes Jim Lund) got up there and rode the bow.   I couldn’t believe he’d do it. ( No way that I was going to get up there!)  He went through the Royal Flush rapids and got a double flusher!!  Later, we entered into some smooth water, and the guide asked if anyone wanted to go for a swim.  And, Jim jumped in…can you believe it?   The river is fed by glaciers, so the water temperature was about 38 degrees!!  Then the last guy got on the bow and we went through the Coffee Grinder.  It threw him backwards and he ended up in the bottom of the boat!  What a rush!  The other raft said they could hear us screaming up the river! 

There was no way I could have taken pictures even if I had my camera with me because we were busy all the time.  But, there were some beautiful areas.  We even saw a small rock slide as we were passing by.  The guide explained that rain and floods constantly change the river, and that’s what makes it so much fun!?

It was surprising that we stayed so dry even with all the water that soaked us through the trip.  But, we all made it through okay, and have some new stories to tell about our Denali adventure!  I’m sure our sore muscles will still be talking to us tomorrow, reminding us of our excellent adventure.

We drive about 240 miles tomorrow to Anchorage, and we’ll  see what adventures await us there!