July 15: White Water Rafting

The little finch is still tap, tap, tapping at our window. Larry tried to approach with Cuddles thinking they could make friends. He got about a foot from it and it took off. I tried to get closer to her to get a real close up and got to within about a foot and she took off. However, the predator cat, you know, the one that could eat it, was allowed to get right up in it's face (you'll probably have to click on the picture to see the bird on the other side of the window). Mother Nature is weird.


Today, Larry has been allowed to peck back on the window at her - she taps back like she's mad at whoever is on the other side of that reflection.

What a day!! I'm worn out. Didn't know a leisurely raft trip down a river that normally is about 1' deep could be so tiring. The Pigeon Forge River is a controlled level river - they only allow enough water to flow from the dam to keep the fish alive downstream. They start making electricity from a lake in N. Carolina around 11:00 am every morning. By letting water run thru the generators, they release lots of water that raises the Pigeon Forge River by only about a foot but increases it's speed tremendously.

We arrived in Hartford, TN around 10:00 am, got equipment (life jackets, helmet and one ore). Then road a school bus full of people with about 9 boats strapped down on top over to the N. Carolina state line. When we stopped to back up to the water, the front of the bus was in N. Carolina and those of us in the back stayed in Tennessee--that's how close we were to the next state. On the trip up, we got our lecture in safety: what to do when ejected from the boat; how to grab the rope if thrown; how to sit properly in the boat. Our instructor said it was pretty much guaranteed that someone would go into the water on every trip so I was getting really excited. He said there were class III and IV rapids on this river - with Niagara Falls being a class VI. Again, I'm getting really excited (scared?). The only thing that kept me going was another white haired woman who looked older than me - I knew I had to hold up our decade's honor.

The first dunking was very cold. The water was 64 deg. and the air temperature was only about 80. But after that, I didn't even notice the cold - it was really pretty comfortable. I almost went in once when the boat was going thru some rapids and stopped abruptly against a rock. The poor little girl on the other side of me got nailed by my flailing around but we sailed right on thru and no one went in. Larry had to grab a small ring that was on the inside of the boat right at the front where he was once or twice. He sat in the front because, according to the guide, that would be the place that got the wettest. Well guess what, the whole damn boat got wet. Somewhere along the way, we were all allowed to get out and swim. I sat on the side of the boat because I knew I'd never get back in. We were with 4 young ladies that wore long culottes, so I assumed they were from a religious group that didn't like to show much leg. They were all college age.

Some of the rapids were called marvelous things like Lost Guide (class IV), Vegamatic (class III), Big Rock, Power House, Duck & Run (ran under some overhanging trees), and many more. It was 5 1/2 miles long and took us about an hour to go down. I'd do it again, but it will have to be sometime way in the future. I'm going to be doing good to walk tomorrow.

We came back and ate, again, at the Old Mill. Larry got the Country Fried Steak again but I got the Chicken & Dumplings this time. Got a picture this time. The part you can see here is the grinding mill and their general store. The restaurant is behind the trees.





We came home and crashed. I'm thinking it was the hard work of the river that drained me (not to mention getting up before 9:00) - not the carbohydrates of the Chicken & Dumplings combined with mashed potatoes, corn chowder and corn fritters. AND, then ice cream for dessert. Probably not enough sugar generated there to make me collapse.

Tomorrow we'll finish our trip thru the Great Smoky Mountains.