Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Adventure Begins with a Raft

My brother and I, as we grew up on the Missouri River, were always dreaming and scheming about jumping on a raft and heading out for the territories.  Not having a raft created some difficulties there.

These four boys, spotted this afternoon preparing to disappear down the stream, reminded me of my own time on the river.  They got the rafts safely in the stream, then realized they were sitting on the ground.  I told them to be safe.  It looked like fun.

2 comments:

Phil B said...

That is wonderful! There is such freedom on a self-propelled watercraft. I have found myself daydreaming lately of my past four years of exploring the Missouri by canoe and kayak from Bismark to Fort Thompson and Yankton to Vermillion.

One can't help but feeling a bit like Huck when on that river. Many a time I would take the canoe out after work, paddle to a nice quiet area and just lay down on the bottom of the boat and watch the clouds pass.

Good on these boys for rising to the adventure. But where are their life jackets? Adventure is all good, but safety is paramount.

Having been out on Cook Inlet in the kayak, I think the salt water will call to me the same as the might Mo, though I am still a bit wary of the tides. Get caught just right and no amount of paddling will get you anywhere but where the tide wants to take you.

John Nelson said...

The tide sound rough! I like the gentle pull of the river in summer, having grown up on the banks of the Bad.