Private Boating

I heard a kayaker refer to Ibuprofen as “I’ve been paddling” pills. After a weekend where I did two Upper Gauley trips and a marathon (upper and lower Gauley) I keep needing some of those I’ve been paddling pills. 10 years ago I used to do four marathons in a four day Gauley Weekend, but that was 10 years ago. I made an Upper Gauley trip with Alpine on Saturday and it was an interesting trip. Ronnie the trip leader gave me two “older” men who had never paddled before, one of them was 69 and so big it took two of us to push on the buckles of his PFD (lifejacket) to get them to close. Ronnie told me to just keep them both in the boat. They had no business being on the Upper Gauley, but that wasn’t my decision to make. There were five guests, including the two older fellas and me in the boat and I did take real safe lines all day and no one swam except me. I fell out after Pillow Rock cause I was paying attention to a boat that had flipped and we hit a small rock, which caused me to topple in, I had a very short swim. On Sunday I made a private trip for a friend and he wanted to do the entire river, so we did. Got a late start, we were supposed to leave at 9:00, but I don’t think we got on the water til about 10:00, we still made it all 26 miles to Swiss before 4:00 even though we stayed on Postage Due for 45 minutes and stopped at Mason Branch for a rest room break. We did have an ACE marathon trip setting a good pace for us. They would pass us and then just before a video rapid or just after a video rapid we would pass them. Monday I took a day off work and did another private trip for a friend that works for the retirement board in Charleston. He and his brother have gone with me for four years in a row now, it is like a tradition. We had a good quick trip. We put on about 9:00 and we were back at the Dam about 12:00 and we even stopped on postage due and watched a little carnage for a while. We were able to get back so quickly because I asked for and got permission to park overnight at the place where they towed my truck last time and Sharon helped me with the shuttle. The Park Ranger gave me a pass to put in my windshield so they wouldn’t tow it away and I told him he had better put a date on it or I would be laminating it and using it all the time. (He did.)

Some sad news occurred when I was setting that up on Friday, the ranger said call me back, I’ve got to go, we’ve just had a radio call that there has been another death on the Upper Gauley, the third this year. Turns out it was my company again, ACE and it happened in the rapid they call Lost Paddle. The story I was told is that a boat was pinned (stuck) on a rock and another boat flipped and a guest went under the boat that was pinned and couldn’t get out. It was a seven boat trip and a lot of things can happed to seven boats as they try to negotiate one on the tougher rapids. My friend, Mike Swope and I were on a trip earlier this year and something very similar happened to us, and all I can say is that except for the Grace of God we could have had the same thing happen on our trip. I was the Trip Leader for a seven boat trip and we had a boat up against a rock and another boat flipped against it and two people flushed up underneath the pinned boat, but they got flushed out the front side of the boat. You are powerless to do anything if you are downstream from what is happening except pray and pick up the people, paddles and assorted “stuff” as they float down towards you.

>Sharon spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Clarskburg helping Marci and Tommy get settled into their new home. Then she came back Sunday afternoon and met me at the Summersville Dam, it was incredibly good timing, we had dinner at Mabel’s a nice little truck stop near the Dam. I recommend the White Bean Soup and the long haul burger.

I am not sure that private trips are all that they are cracked up to be. My friends at ACE always call them Pirate trips, cause they believe that you are pirating people away from them. It was a privilege for me to take my Pastor and the evangelist down last weekend (Sept 26) and even though I tried to talk them out of it his son-in-law gave me a $50 tip. We didn’t keep it, but put it towards a picture for the evangelist and in his love offering. Then this past Sunday for the marathon my friend and his crew gave me $40 for the marathon to help “cover” my expenses and take Sharon to dinner. Monday, the four guys tipped me $100 for the quick Upper Gauley trip. But when you add up all the expense and work, washing wetsuits two or three times, loading everything up and taking it to Summersville, the fuel for our two cars, snacks and stuff to take on the river, my time, it really isn’t worth what you get. My pay from ACE for an Upper Gauley is $130 plus normally $40-60 in tips and if I trip lead $20 more, (trip leading is also something that isn’t worth what extra you get) the marathon trip pay would have been $195 plus tips. So maybe they are right to call these trips pirate trips.

It is always a privilege and a joy for Sharon and I to take family and close friends down the river, but it certainly isn’t something I do to make money.I do enjoy sharing the river with other people that enjoy it also.

Didn’t mean to sound so negative about the pirate, I mean private trips, maybe I just need to take a couple of those I’ve been paddling pills.

Upper Gauley

When someone tells me after a river trip in which they held on in every rapid and looked scared to death at every big drop that this was the trip of a lifetime I know that what they really mean is "I'll never make that mistake again." I took my Pastor, Delbert Walker and his son-in-law Aaron, Aaron's Dad Steve and our visiting Evangelist Randy McPheron down the Upper Gauley River in the pouring rain on Saturday September 26 and we had a very good trip, no one swam and we never had a bit of trouble, until that is when we arrived at where I had left my truck. Always in the past the point of security for stopping people from parking at Mason's Branch, a take out close to Sweet's Falls was a gate that was either locked or guarded. Well we've been able to get down there many, many times by catching the gate unlocked or getting the combination for the lock from one of the bus drivers. Well I out smarted myself. The National Park changed their policy and they now leave the gate wide open and simply tow away any vehicles that are parked illegally at Mason's Branch. Of course I didn't find this out until we had arrived expecting our river trip to be over and finding out that my truck was somewhere else, thanks to J and J Towing, oh those guys don't have a real good sense of humor either. If you are interested it cost me three pictures of U.S. Grant, a picture of Alexander Hamilton and a picture of Abe Lincoln to get my truck back. Anyway, praise God that Alpine was on the river right behind us and we bummed a ride back to the Dam for us and to Appalachian Bible College for my boat. Our adventure didn't end there. On the way out on the Alpine Bus a bus for Class IV ran off the road and we had to sit for an hour and 1/2 waiting, buses blocked in both directions, people couldn't get off the river from their Upper Gauley trip and people couldn't get to the river for their Lower Gauley trip. It was a crucial time for the Lower Gauley people also, they were going to run out of water as they turn the dam down early in the afternoon. I knew the bus driver, he used to drive for me in Fayette County Schools, he didn't look very happy standing there next to his bus. He'll catch flak over that for a long time.
There was some sad news for those of us in the River Community yesterday.
A 32 year old man from Kentucky was on a trip with the company that I work for ACE whitewater and his raft flipped in Pillow Rock, the rapid where they take everyone's picture. When they got the boat turned back over and all the guests back in the raft he started having trouble breathing and went into cardiac arrest, although they did CPR, brought in an AED and sent him by helicopter to a local hospital he died of the heart attack brought on by his swim. A grim reminder to all of us about the dangers in this sport and the need for safety. Hug your loved ones, keep your heart and mind clear - you never know which swim could be your last.
Not much to say after that. I've had a good river year, I'll end up with between 45 - 50 trips on the New and Gauley Rivers this year.
I've gotten out of the habit of writing and will try to do better.
The new job, start of a school year, the river and the garden have all kept me pretty busy.

A View to Eternity

The title come from my thoughts that since West Virginia is Almost Heaven and we ought to keep in mind those things that have eternal value we kinda have a view to eternity. I've been thinking a lot lately about the views that we have here in WV. There are the numerous views along the scenic highway to Snowshoe resort, I drove there recently in order to help with the transportation conference and for almost forty miles along Highway 150 I only saw one motorcycle and one car and that was right at the end of the journey. This road is well maintained and has beautiful scenery, takes your breathe away. As I was returning home that afternoon I saw several Hawks that were flying right even with the highway, one was a real pretty Red Tailed Hawk. That drive was what started me thinking that since this was "almost" heaven we could "almost" see into eternity. I might have been influenced by the Phillips, Craig and Dean CD, it was their "live" album and is very moving. Every time I work or play on the river and there is a difference, the view is amazing, 600 - 800 feet deep in a gorge with beautiful sights on both sides. On one recent Sunday morning trip I saw a large owl on the road to the beach at ACE, several egrets and a blue heron along the river looking for small edible delicacies among the rocks and a bald eagle perched in a tree between Surprise and Big Baloney Rapids. I love doing the early morning trips at ACE, when you are the first one down the river and the wildlife is still out and about. I love the view from Long Point, that is the picture on my Facebook page, my wife and I back in October of 2000. Sitting at Long Point you can hear Wolf Creek running, watch the trains cars with their loads of coal destined for some distant power plant, see the rafters on the New, watch the traffic on the bridge, you can almost hear some kid telling their parents that they see someone out on the rock, sometimes you can look across and see Fern Creek Falls, I'll bet a lot this summer - it has been a wet one. I love the view driving over the NRG bridge, and I get to do that almost daily, I think at times we take that awesome view for granted and can only appreciate when we slow down in order to take it all in. There is the spot along Route 19 just on the other side of Summersville when if you look left there is a break in the trees and ridgeline and you can see all of Clay County with small hilltops and vistas, some of the prettiest sunsets I've ever seen were right there, small moments of time when the conditions were just perfect, a gift from God. Once it was so pretty that we had to get a picture and we turned around and drove back, but in just those 30 seconds it took to turn around the sun was set and although it was still a nice view it wasn't the same view. There is the view along Gatewood road of the three crosses that at times has a beautiful sunset. It does seem as though the views here allow us a small glimpse towards eternity. I can't think of any place that I'd rather live and understand what is meant when folks say, "all this and heaven too."

Always and Never

Zig Ziglar said, "Always remember to never use words like always or never." I said when I retired from the Marine Corps that I would never work in Food Service again, it was a thankless job. (God laughed) My brother in law, Art asked me what I would tell people that I did in the Corps during my 20 year career. I said that I would tell them that I killed people. He replied that if the food was as bad as he remembered I probably did kill a few people.

I am glad to be back in Food Service, I think God has given me a heart for it.

New Job

For one seven day period I was on the river six days, that was awesome. I worked Thursday and Friday for Appalachian Bible College and then two days for ACE and then my cousin Mike, Cephus and Lorraine's oldest, came down for a visit and we went on the river Monday afternoon, and then I got a call late Tuesday to work an express afternoon trip on Wednesday at ACE. Six out of seven days made my shoulders a little sore, but that was a good sore. Makes you know you're alive and well.
Oh yeah, the new job, I applied for and got the job as Child Nutrition/Operations Director for the County. It is considered a step up. Food Service is something that I am pretty familiar with and it should be less hours and less stress than the Bus Business. We'll see. I keep telling everyone that they have to keep moving me around because I am so screwed up that they can only leave me in one place so long. Although I did stay in the bus garage for four years. Four years is the longest I've held any job. In fact I've held two jobs for that long in my life - The Principal at Emmanuel Christian School and the Bus Garage. Unless, you count raft guiding which I've done for 15 years. I know that I was in the Corps for 20 years, but I had many different jobs in that 20 year period. I have a list of them for my memoirs.
Tips - no tips at ABC, two pictures of Andrew Jackson and one of Alexander Hamilton on Saturday, that is just as good as one picture of US Grant. Then this past Saturday I got another picture of Andrew Jackson and three of Abraham Lincoln. Sharon was so impressed with all of those pictures that she asked me for them and of course I gave them up.

Annual River Trip

Sunday, JB, Patrick and Isaac came down and we finally got our annual "Fathers" Day trip in. Here is a link to JB's Blog about Boating in WV.
http://creekwv.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-family-tradition.html
It has a nice picture of the four of us in Fire Creek on the Upper New. We set up the oar frame on my small boat and rowed the uppers with the boys enjoying the water. It was a bit chilly for mid July, but it has been that way this year. They spent the night and went hope Monday morning. Isaac just turned two.

Mike and Kim

It was great to see Mike and Kim, we hadn't seen them for quite awhile.
They stayed in one of the cabins at ACE with a couple of friends. They went horseback riding and did a canopy tour at ACE. Sunday evening we went to the New River Gorge and went rappelling. I love doing that, but it made me a little nervous because I haven't been in a awhile and there is very little room for mistakes in that sport. If the boat flips on the river, people take a swim, but a mistake when you are rappelling can be fatal.
I thought of all the people that I will really, really miss in the bus and custodian business, but then I wondered if there were any that I wouldn't miss at all and I thought of 10 people so fast that it surprised me.
One thing about wearing a long sleeve shirt when I raft is that my hands get tan and look a lot darker than my arms. Seems funny at times.
Sharon's family reunion is this weekend and she is heading up to Clarksburg on Friday, I have a River trip Friday afternoon and will drive up Saturday morning. Sharon is working a FLEX schedule, 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days.
All of the Director's at work got a new Blackberry, you can read email and surf the internet on your phone. Lots of folks call it a crackberry because it is so addicting, as addicting as Crack cocaine. At first I had it set so that it rang for both emails and phone calls, but that only lasted one day and now it is set just to ring for phone calls.
Last week Sharon and I went and picked Blackberries and got about two gallons. She made a cobbler that was superb. Saturday night when I got home from the river she had made stuffed peppers, squash and that cobbler. The peppers and squash came from the garden.
I know that this is more rambling and aimless than normal, please forgive me.

Wet and Dry Money

I realize that I skipped a week. I just thought that I'd give everyone a break. I hope that everyone had a very Happy Independence Day.
Today is Isaac's 2nd birthday. JB told me that they were going to celebrate it at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. That's a beautiful spot to have a birthday celebration, not that a two year old cares about things like that, but I hope that Isaac had a good day, Patrick was lucky he got to be there also and it wasn't even his birthday. See, there are some advantages to having a younger brother. For awhile Patrick and I were trading emails, with his Dad's help and that is a real joy. JB - that's a hint.
Guides love to get a tip at the end of the river trip and they don't mind making it obvious. I admit that I like getting tips, but I do figure that I'm getting paid to do something that I love to do, so that is reward enough. But a tip does say that you gave your guests a good trip and they want to show their appreciation. When I trip lead I use the line about if you want to show your guides your appreciation they seem to really like pictures of founding fathers and dead Presidents, so it would be nice to give them some of those. I've gotten a $3 tip this year, a $4 tip and a $9 dollar tip. That is way too many pictures of George Washington. I prefer pictures of Andrew Jackson or Alexander Hamilton. I got a picture of US Grant last Friday, my first good tip of the year. Guides really like pictures of Benjamin Franklin, but that is a rare treat. I've heard a lot of appeals over the years about tips, some say remember what we taught you about your paddle, it has a shaft and a tip, now you have to decide which of those you want to give your guide, more - if you enjoyed your ride, tip your guide, another - our guides don't know how to spell gratuity but they will sure accept one if you had a good trip. One company would hand guests an envelope with their car keys at the end of the trip that said guide tip and a spot to write in the guides name, that is a very strong hint. ACE doesn't push guide tips as much as other companies. Working for Alpine at Appalachian Bible College a tip was a very rare occasion. Oh yeah, wet and dry money, when someone hands you wet money at the end of a trip it says to me that they came with money in their pocket and were prepared to give you a set amount regardless of how good the trip was. I prefer dry money, to me that means that they have actually thought about it after they got back and decided on an amount big or small that they wanted to give to show their appreciation. I do think that the economy being down has a lot to do with the size of the tips this year.
All last year I had 22 trips and it is only the beginning of July and I already have 21 trips logged in my logbook. I am loving it.
Like checklists, I like keeping logbooks. I have a log book of my flight times, a log book of my scuba dives, a log book of hikes, a log book of every river trip. They provide rich information and memories.
We've been getting a lot of cucumbers and squash out of the garden. There are also new potatoes and green onions. I can't wait for the tomatoes, we have lots of green tomatoes, but no red ones yet. That first tomato sandwich is going to taste great.
We had company over the 4th of July Holiday. Debbie, Sharon's oldest sister and her husband Bob came down from Clarksburg and spent three days with us. Then on Saturday Marci surprised us with a quick trip down. I was good to see Aidan and Sheridan. Marci, Happy 29th birthday yesterday. I hope you had a very Happy one. The town of Fayetteville really does put on a big celebration for the 4th of July, it lasts all week, with activities every day. There was a carnival across the street from us and Sharon and I took Aidan and Sheridan over to it. I'd love to have had a video of Aidan going down the big slide, he was afraid so the attendant had to go down with him and he had a look of sheer terror on his face the entire way down and once he got to the bottom the look of relief that "I made it" I remember when JB was just a little feller, we allowed him to go up a giant slide and he came down his head just a bobbing, I thought he was going to break his neck, no terror on his face, when he hit the bottom he grabbed his burlap bag and was headed back to the top before anyone could even get to him. Aidan and I went on a spinning ride and Grandpop got a little dizzy spinning that car so fast. Sharon noticed how green my face looked.
We would love to have anyone and everyone come down for the 4th of July. Fayetteville has a 30 minute fireworks display that is mighty fine, mighty fine. Paid for by charging folks with out of state tags $150 for 1 mile over the speed limit. So if you do come on down, drive slow, don't be in such a hurry.
Well I've rambled aimlessly way too long.

Chunky Dunking

The sign in the gift shop on the Cape May - Lewes Ferry said - "We no longer Skinny Dip, we now Chunky Dunk." Just another way for someone to tell me that I am fat. It was that way all weekend.
My mother in law said, "You can tell David doesn't miss any meals"
My mom said, "you and Steve were so fit and trim when you were in the Marines, maybe you need to start running again."
My brother Steve said, "What is your waist size?" SAME AS YOURS BRO!
The airlines announced that they are going to start charging for extra pounds. The seat at the baseball stadium seemed awful small. Anyway, it seems like a good time to go on a serious diet. Especially after all that good NJ food. It is normally 8 hours between when we leave home and I am sinking my teeth into a NJ submarine, but we were taking Sharon's Mom and our niece Mandy with us for the visit so we went to NJ via the Cape May - Lewes Ferry. It is a pleasant boat ride across the Delaware Bay. I think everyone enjoyed it. It added about 4 hours to the trip, we went over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis, which is also impressive.
We had a quick trip, traveling on Friday and Monday - which only left Saturday and Sunday for visiting. We went to North Wildwood Saturday morning just before the rain that lasted all day hit. Saturday night about 20 people gathered and Mom's and we had some "Big Johns" pizza, a special taste and memory from my days growing up in NJ. Did you know that smell is the closest sense we have to memory? When I walk into Big Johns the smell is exactly what I remember from 35 - 40 years ago. The pizza tastes like I remember it also. Sharon agrees with me about NJ food and is becoming a big fan of Big John's Pizza. Especially the sweet peppers, onions and sausage pizza that Freddie turned us on to. Never had that growing up, but it is good.
Sunday I spent the day with Fred. Brian had tickets for the Phillies and Orioles game and he was taking his Dad for Fathers day and they invited me. Thanks again for that! I'd never been into the new stadium in Philadelphia before. I went to the old Connie Mack stadium two or three times. Once I remember Uncle Carson taking Fred and I and we got to see Johnny Callison play right field. The one game I went to at Veterans Stadium I saw Mike Schmidt hit a home run. The Phillies lost this game 2-1 a real pitchers duel. Ryan Howard didn't play cause he had the flu, he might have made the difference. He had hit a 3 run home run the night before. After the game Fred and I slept in the car as Brian fought bumper to bumper traffic for quite awhile. (I don't know who snores louder me or Fred.) Then we visited Jim and Pam and got to see their home and sample some of Jim's grill expertise. AJ/Alan is a good baby and I finally got to hold him at their house. He was being held by everyone else at Mom's on Saturday night.
Sharon, her Mom, my Mom, Mandy and Dianna went to the shore again on Sunday while I was watching baseball. This time it didn't rain and they got to walk on the Ocean City Board walk and see the sights. This was the first time Mandy or Sharon's mom had seen the ocean and when they said that on the beach on old fella didn't believe that Mom Jarvis had never seen the ocean. Sharon loves feeding the seagulls, she could stand and do that all day long I think. She was surprised that the came down and took food right out of my hand, she just throws it to them. I think Mandy and Sharon's Mom - Lotus Jarvis had a good time visiting and I want to thank everyone for making them feel at home.
Hey life is too short to hold grudges or be mad at anyone. Family is too important to not stay in touch and stay close.
Well I think that I've rambled aimlessly long enough.

Checklists

Saturday at work the river was running about 10 feet above normal and I was scheduled for a 7:30 trip and my friend Mike Swope was scheduled for an 8:00 o'clock trip. Mike rode in with me and he tried to get moved up to my trip and no one wanted to switch, well I headed for the river to pump up the boats and get ready and he stayed back with his trip and the river manager "Bo" got me switched to the 8:00 o'clock trip, but on a "gung ho" boat. That means that the customers paid extra to hit the bigger waves and tougher holes on the river and probably flip the boat and swim 3 or 4 times. Anyway I thought, Mike what have you got me into this time? At the water level we were at they actually give the customers a rebate and put them in a bigger boat and you don't have to take as many risks, but it is clearly understood that these guys wanted to go for the gusto. So anyway we hit all the big stuff and they got what they asked for and we all stayed in the boat the entire day. There was a great shot on the video of us smashing into a wall of water in a rapid called Greyhound Bus stopper that was neat. We ran the meat of the hole and the wave broke on us right as we hit, it buried the boat and we hung on for dear life hoping to stay upright and we did. Very satisfying!
Sunday on the river Mike and I were on the 8:30 trip and we were down tying on the lunch coolers and stuff on the boats and the 8:00 o'clock trip was all ready to go. There was a female guide on the earlier trip that has the name Ode, like Ode to joy. Well, the trip leader told a group to go down and find the guide Ode. The group thought he said "old" and they came down next to my boat and asked me if I was old. I said yes, I'm old, so? They said then you are our guide. I was meeting and greeting them when the trip leader came down and corrected the situation.
You just have to smile about those things. One older fella on the trip that I was on said that it made him feel real good to see someone as old as me guiding on the trip. I don't feel old! Especially on the river.

I like checklists, Sully Sullenberger, the pilot that landed on the Hudson used a checklist to prepare for that descent. It helped keep the situation in focus. A checklist just gives you the things to do and possibly in the right order. When JB and I used to scuba dive a checklist was essential to make sure that you had all of your gear. It could ruin your outing if you forgot an essential piece of gear for the dive. I have a checklist for packing for rafting, paddle, PFD, helmet, throw bag, sun screen, etc. I have a checklist attached to my travel bag. On the front side is our name and address and on the backside is Bible, fan, charger, slippers, dirty clothes bag, water, night light - there is more but you get the idea.
If you read Ecclesiastes 8:15 the checklist would be 1. Eat 2. Drink 3. Be Merry. I wish that checklist for all of you.

Nothing on but his PFD and a smile

Well it was the last day for students on Friday, so the buses didn't run today, drivers were cleaning them up and getting ready to turn them in for the summer. Most can't wait, they were scheduled to turn them in tomorrow, but many had them cleaned and ready today. We took any that were ready today less for us to mess with tomorrow.
Not a lot to write about this week, we've had a lot of rain and they have also had a lot of rain in Virginia and North Carolina where we get most of the water for the New River. So the river was running 11 feet plus on Saturday and I took a afternoon express trip down, we had 4 boats and one of them flipped in a really bad place called Berry's Hole in the rapid called Double Z, it is nasty place to be. It took almost a mile of river to recover the people and get the boat turned back over. I was very frustrated. The funny part was that one of the young men in the boat that flipped lost his clothing in the hydraulic. He got in another boat with nothing on but his PFD (personal flotation device - lifejacket) and a smile. One of the girls commented that she didn't know the water was that cold. That made his smile go away. After a few minutes of embarrassment, one of the guides on the trip dug a pair of splash pants out for him to wear although they were too big at least he was covered.

Where the Blackberries Grow in the Summertime

Sharon said that I should quit boring you guys with these aimless ramblings. Someday I'm going to write a book and maybe I'll use these to write it from. The seven Seays know that a good book title for our stories would be "Don't tell Dad."

When I first became bus director for Fayette County a little girl was on a bus and we had a sub driver that didn't know where she lived and she was the last student on the bus. He asked her where she lived and she said, "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime" as if he would be able to know where that was. We did eventually get that little girl home, but that would be a good title for a book - "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime."

Not a fiasco, an adventure

I have to admit that things don't always go smoothly when my friend Mike Swope is involved. When we plan a early spring river trip it will be rainy and cold, we call it Swope weather. He has been known to lose the keys to the shuttle vehicle. Once on a trip on the dry section of the New River with the guides from Appalachian Bible College they lost the keys to the take out vehicle and after making their way back to the put in vehicle those keys were "lost" also. I'm glad that I wasn't on the trip. The things that happen when Mike is involved are always funny looking back on them, but often frustrating when they are happening. I think that if you googled Murphys Law - there would have to a picture of Mike, although Mike always says that Murphy is an optimist. We've had a lot of rain here recently and Friday afternoon Mike came down from Morgantown where he lives, I took the afternoon off and we "planned" to go boating on the Upper Meadow River, there is
a four mile section of river there that is beautiful, remote and continuous, if there is a better section of intermediate whitewater available I am not aware of it. It never stops, just small eddies to catch your breath and get ready for the next maneuver, it is a great run, it could easily become my favorite. I've only been able to do it twice. The Meadow is a small river in between the New and Gauley Rivers and has three sections, the uppers that Mike and I wanted to do, like I said an intermediate run, the middle Meadow which is close to home and has a short shuttle, so although it is an easy run the easy shuttle and beauty of the river make it worthwhile. The Meadow also has a lower section that flows into the Gauley River (right above Lost Paddle Rapid for those who have been there with me) only serious paddlers attempt the lower Meadow, kayakers like JB make it seem easy, but it has claimed a few paddlers lives. I plan to run the upper section more. I just need a paddling buddy close by that has Mike's sense of adventure. Anyway, the river run should have been about an hour and 1/2, the shuttle should have taken about an hour and we should have been home by 4:00 o'clock, but that is not how it went. First we had a delay because the Dept of Highways had a road crew working on the one lane road that we were taking to the put-in, Murphy's law in full force. Then we couldn't find the turn off for the trail down to the put-in, Mike thought that he found it and we pumped up the boat and started off, it did seem odd to me that we were going uphill when we were trying to get down to the river, and the trail wasn't really a trail, more like an overgrown right of way, it was full of briars, which kept getting in between my toes and that is a wonderful feeling, but I digress. Mike never lost faith that this was the trail down to the river even when it became obvious that we were headed up hill and in the wrong direction. After we abandoned all hope in that course of action, Mike then decided to hike down a small creek bed nearby which obviously had to go to the river, I had gotten smarter by this point and waited at the truck, choosing to spend the time picking the briars out from between my toes. When Mike came back we drove around for awhile and found the right road for the put-in, pumped the boat back up and hiked down with a renewed sense of purpose, remember that the plan was to be done with this river trip and be home by 4:00, well it was 5:00 o'clock and we still hadn't gotten our feet wet.
All I can say was that the river portion of the trip more than made up for all of the troubles, we saw a bald eagle and a strange looking duck. Funny thing about birds that you scare on the river, they tend to fly away from you down stream, so in a few minutes there you are again, I'll bet they are convinced that we were are a predator chasing them down. At the end of the four mile rapid there is an eight foot water fall and we had an exciting but successful run on it, we had planned to get out and scout it, but we hit a rock on the way into the eddie just above the waterfall and we had no choice but to run it on the go, just hoping our instincts were right and we had the good line. They were and we did. Anyway, we had a successful trip even though it turned from kind of a fiasco into an adventure. That is one thing I have always enjoyed about hanging out with Mike is his sense of adventure. He takes the road less traveled and I like checking it out with him.

Back in the Saddle

When you love doing something it doesn't seem like work, it is enjoyable.
I wish that everyone could have a job that they love. Monday afternoon after a weekend of four river trips, one on Saturday, two on Sunday and one on Monday, my lips were chapped, my face and knees were sunburned, I have blisters on my hands where callouses used to be, I have a raw spot from walking around in a wet bathing suit, my shoulders are sore from paddling and my on my this feels great, I'd love to do it 365. If I could afford to be a full time raft guide again I sure would. Saturday was a little rough, I wasn't very sharp and missed my line a few times, wasn't always right where I wanted to be, Sunday the first trip was a little better and the second trip also had improvement and then on Monday I felt like I was "back in the saddle again." The boat was where I wanted it to be and I didn't miss a wave.
I did get the smallest tip of my rafting career on Monday, a couple that was in my boat gave me $3, I mean he was drinking a $5 High Sierra Beer and he gives me three one dollar bills. I never look at the tip when people give it to me, just thank them and shove it in my pocket, so when I was in my truck on the way home and pulled out the $3 I dug back in there to see if I had missed anything. Working for Alpine - we never got tips, but at ACE you expect to get a tip, and I normally get decent ones, but I've never gotten a $3 tip before.
Sharon spent the weekend in Clarksburg our grandson had a graduation from kindergarten (K-4) and she wanted to spend time with her Mom who isn't doing well. I missed her, I had to wash my own clothes. One thing I like about the river guiding business is the wardrobe, three items of clothing sandals, swim trunks and a shirt - all that is needed.
I think I should print these emails out and snail mail them to Fred, why should he be exempt from having to read this stuff. I say equality for everyone. Everyone must suffer through these. Pam - can you make sure your dad reads this stuff?

Another gardening lesson for me, I should have read gardening for dummies, but I skipped it and am paying for that. Something has been pulling up the corn stalks right up out of the ground, - the crows, so I need to put up a scare crow. Catchy name, huh. They pull them up even though they are four or five inches tall, just to eat what is left of the kernal at the root. Gardening is something that I never pictured myself enjoying, but I do, I love this yard.
Well I thing that I've bored everyone enough for the week. I did miss Sharon for more than just my laundry, she is my best friend.

Never worked and never will

There was a story I always read to students, whenever I got the chance as a Principal, about a cobbler who had the sign up in his shop that said, "Never worked and never will." Turns out the cobbler liked making shoes so much that he didn't feel like it was work to make shoes, he was having fun. I wish all jobs were like that. That is how I feel about my job when I am working on the river. I'm getting paid to do something that I love to do. I worked the job that I love on Saturday for Alpine. We took a group of High School Seniors from a Christian School in Xenia, Ohio down the river and although they weren't the best paddlers they were a nice group of kids and it was a good day. The river was 5.5 feet and rising, it was over six feet by the time we got finished. If a group isn't good paddlers you can sneak almost every rapid and they don't even know the difference. Five - six feet is a high level, but not high enough to be dangerous, just a lot of fun. The river cured by aching back and made me tired enough to sleep well Saturday night.
My back had been stiff all week from working in the garden, that is another job that I love, but my muscles aren't used to working like that. We have a frost warning out for tomorrow morning and after church tonight we covered up all of the young pepper, tomato, pickle, squash, etc, with buckets and boxes. Hopefully that will keep them safe. I think the potatoes and onions will be ok without my help. The potatoes really look good, but I think I planted too many, next year I'll cut back.

Chocolate Colored Water

Forgot to mention in my weekly ramblings that as I was on my hike I saw that the river was running very high, it was chocolate brown and way up in the woods.

All of the river trips were upper trips either from Prince to Thurmond or from Prince to Cunard, the gauge says it was running 14.5 feet and it came up to 16 plus this morning, but now it is going down. I even saw a duckie trip come into Cunard, that had to be exciting, fast moving brown water makes for a quick trip.

There was flooding in Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, the two counties immediately south of us. They have declared Raleigh County to be in a state of emergency.

Sharon and I don't worry too much about flooding, there is a 876 foot gorge right next to us for any excess water to go.

Elvis and Mom - Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day Mom, I remember all the things you did for us. Raising 7 kids, going to church faithfully, the trips to Georgia almost every summer, the weekly visits to Eatmor, I always felt privileged if I got to ride with you to Greco's and get that treat of a pack of crackers and a soda. It is the little things long remembered than mean so much. I love you and hope you have a great day. Look forward to spending some time with you in June. Enjoy your cruise!

Don't forget that Mom and Elvis were born the same year! She was 18 when John was born, 19 when Fred was born and just shy of being 21 when I came along in 1956, by the time Barry joined the tribe in 1962 she was just over 27 years old with seven of us.

Red Ashe Island

I am attaching a link to a web site with pictures from the cemetery at Red Ashe Island, I took a hike out there today. Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dseay7/RedAsheIslandCemetery#

I got back just in time, it has been raining a lot here lately and it was clear while I hiked out today, but no sooner than I had returned it cut loose again.

Pickin up Sticks

Our backyard has 27 full grown trees in it. I'm talking mature, leaf producing, shade providing trees. Hickory, poplar, Oak, black cherry, there is quite a variety. Someone told me if you want to enjoy the shade in the summer you have to put up with the leaves in the fall. I don't mind the leaves, it is the sticks that keep me busy. I'll bet I spend 15-20 minutes a day picking up sticks that fall on the ground. I can pick up all the sticks in the backyard and come back a few minutes later and there they are again, more sticks. We did make a place where we can pile them up and have a hot dog roast or toast marshmallows once in a while. We look forward to roasting and toasting back there for many years to come.

The fella that is in charge of rafting at Appalachian Bible College Coach Tim Barton asked me to teach the guides some of the history of the mining communities and the ghost towns in the New River Gorge, so this afternoon I was heading down into an area that I could hike to an old cemetery and I was going to mark a trail back to the beach where the rafts stop for lunch often. However, a man who was camping with his family had fallen out of his canoe yesterday and since he didn't have a lifejacket on you have to know that there was no happy ending to that camping trip. Sad, but true, that more people drown in that river every year that are fishing than in 5 or 6 years of rafting, all because they don't want to wear a lifejacket. Anyway, my plans were changed because they had the road blocked off to where I was heading, a little place called Red Ashe Island. They were still searching for the man who drowned.

However on the way down into the Gorge I saw a BFR - (big flat rock) I had been wanting to get a BFR in order to make a bench out by the stick pile so while we are roasting and toasting we'll have something to sit on. I actually want to get two more BFRs, but one at a time. Well I stood the ol BFR up on it's side and walked it over to my truck tailgate and laid one end on the tailgate and tried to pick up the other end, but I didn't have enough umph to get it up all the way on the tailgate. Hence the B in BFR. So I called my good friend Nick and went and picked him up and between the two of us we had just enough umph to get it up and in there. I don't think that there was a lot of extra umph, we both had to grunt pretty hard. Sharon always makes fun of me when I go to pick up something heavy because I study it for awhile, but I think that lifting something really heavy requires a little bit of studying. I don't ever remember my Dad studying
anything he wanted to pick up, but I'll never be that strong.

Live like Bill Lived

Bill and Cora Withers are our neighbors, we knew Bill and Cora from Fayetteville Baptist Church, he was the former Pastor there and also served as the Pastor Emeritus after retiring from another local Church. We purchased the house we now live in from them. Bill is dying of leukemia, he calls himself a vampire because the only thing keeping him alive is weekly blood transfusions and occasionally some platelets to boost up his blood. Bill's body stopped making good blood awhile back, the leukemia has destroyed his bone marrow. Bill is surrounded by his large and loving family, daily people come from various places to pay their respects to him while he is alive and visit with him. The driveway at their house has different cars in it every day. The other night a local folk music group stopped in and Sharon and I were invited over for a hour concert in the Wither's living room, quite a treat. (There is nothing like live music, makes me wish I could play.) He mentioned to someone that he had never tasted lobster and the next night his grandson had some fresh ones delivered from Maine and they made a big lobster feast. I am trying to paint the picture of someone dying slowly without pain and with a lot of love. There are many ways to die, I've always thought that I'd like to "go" quickly, without a lot of fanfare and trouble, but seeing how Bill is dying has made me think that it is not such a bad way to go. You can settle old accounts, let people know how much they meant to you and pass on your blessings to your family and friends. The thought struck me and I am sharing it with you that in order to die like Bill is dying you have to live like Bill lived. He dedicated his life to serving God and others, his home was a place of hospitality, he would get up in the middle of the night and sit with the man next door who lived in the house we now live in when he was having a bad time. The list of things Bill did for others would be a long one. Well I am trying to live like Bill and stay in touch with our family, I hope that this becomes a weekly habit and that no one objects to my aimless ramblings.

Timber

Well we can all celebrate AJ's day of birth, that is great news.
This is my first attempt at a Picasa Photo Album.
We were busy on Friday April 17, 2009 with this project.
We are getting settled in and love our new home.
I love the big flat backyard.
Flat is a premium in WV, this is mountain country.
With all of the cow and turkey manure we've put
on the garden it should do well.
The neighbors really loved the smell of the turkey
manure. The 4th of July is a big celebration here, and the fireworks
and fair are across the street from us.
I'm still boating and spending as much time outside as my job will let me.
We'd love to see everyone - all at once or one at a time.

Check out the picasa album of the Hemlock tree coming down.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dseay7/HemlockTreeFayettevilleWV#