The Blood of Our Lives

River oh river you still seem to take me, to a place in my heart where my soul needs to go, a place in my heart where the river can grow. Pete Kartsounes

WFE sent me an invitation to join him when he hosted a performance of singer songwriter Pete Kartsounes as he rambled through yet another town on his journey. Pete isn't a boater, but he has the spirit of one. He has the ability to capture the intangibles of our sport in lyric and song.

For 5 dudes in a 14 foot raft the Sandy Gorge this past Saturday was as shallow and rocky as our economy. Getting stuck is temporary, we will all be flowing free soon. The forecast is for rain all week, and faith will pull us through the recession.

A gave Pete a hug after he finished singing River O' River, grateful that someone was finally able to articulate the "Blood of My Life".

Whitewater Designs

Ken from Whitewater Designs out of Eugene Oregon has been making high quality river and safety gear for years. All materials are bought and produced from suppliers in the United States. Ken has also been an active supporter of river communities as evidenced by providing prizes at each of the events during the course of the 2008 Western Whitewater Championship Series. Ken has been running rivers longer than most of us are old and actively researches better and more innovative products each year. See his work at:http://www.whitewaterdesigns.com/

Gut Check

Challenges are presented to us every Saturday. Unlike in life, we know that on the seventh day we will be asked to dig down and step up. The rains have subsided thus our class IV-V rafting runs have diminished. In an attempt to emulate extreme conditions we decided to have a training day. This strategy worked as evidenced by the pulling of neck gaskets to breathe, and dudes doubling over so they didn't puke on their pretty new IR drysuits. We were all smiles in the end as every challenge and even failure presents an opportunity to grow.

Two paddle teams have participated in our sessions conducted 5 of the last 6 weekends. Here we come.