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River Love

IMG_4899The song of the river ends not at her banks, but in the hearts of those who have loved her. – Buffalo Joe

There is no rushing a river. When you go there, you go at the pace of the water and that pace ties you into a flow that is older than life on this planet. Acceptance of that pace, even for a day, changes us, reminds us of other rhythms beyond the sound of our own heartbeats. – Jeff Rennicke, River Days: Travels on Western Rivers

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.
– A. A. Milne, Pooh’s Little Instruction Book

Travel

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

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Ever-present

JLD_4304“Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?” That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.”
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

“the joy of life comes from our encountrers with new experiences…”

IMG_4805“Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.

The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.”

-Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Why we paddle…

IMG_4085There is something you get out of paddling that you can’t get in any other sport. It’s finding the happy balance with an always changing force of nature, and it makes you feel very small yet powerful at the same time.” Shannon Caroll

No Fun in Life without Adventure

IMG_7445“What constitute the pleasures of the traveler are obstacles, fatigue or even danger. What charm can there be in a journey when one is always sure to arrive and find his horses ready, a downy bed, an excellent supper and all the comfort one enjoys at home? one of the great misfortunes of modern life is the absence of the unexpected, the lack of adventure. Everything is so well regulated, so well fitted into its place and ticketed, that chance is no longer possible; another century of improvements, and everybody will be able to foresee from the very day of his birth all that will happen to him up to the day of his death.”

– Monsieur Theophile Gautier, 1840

Parts of the river…

canoeing the cache la poudre river fort collinsFlow

“Flow” refers to the water running in a river or stream. There are two important aspects to a river’s natural flow. First, there is the amount of water that flows in the river. Some rivers get enough water from their headwaters, tributaries, and rain to flow all year round. Others go from cold, raging rivers to small, warm streams as the snowpack runs out, or even stop flowing completely. A river’s natural ups and downs are called “pulses.” Like a human being’s pulse, a river’s natural flow of water is life support for animals, plants, and fish, delivering what they need to survive at the right times. When we divert water away from a river, we change the river’s natural flow.

The second component of natural flow is how water moves through a river’s channel. In a natural, wild river, the water runs freely. But in more developed or degraded rivers, dams and other structures can slow or stop a river’s flow. When a river’s flow is blocked, migratory fish like salmon can suffer, unable to move up or downstream.

– From Americanrivers.org

Guided ducky trips with Mountain Whitewater

Cass (Black helmet) guides a ducky trip.
Cass (Black helmet) guides a ducky trip.

Inflatable Kayaks (also known as ‘Duckies’) are perfect for the adventure seeker in all of us. Duckies offer more independence to the paddler in a smaller boat that makes every wave seem much bigger! Inflatable Kayaks offer the sensation of kayaking but with better stability for the beginner to intermediate user.

Reach for the Stars

I’d rather be a “could-be” if I cannot be and “are”; because a “could be” is a “maybe” who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a “has-been” than a “might-have-been,” by far. For a “might-have-been” has never “been,” but a “has” was once an “are.”
-Milton Berle