Whitewater Rafting - Continued Right click console for controls As we paddled down the river, someone spotted a squirrel, floating down the river in obvious distress. We all agreed to paddle back upstream to rescue the little critter. Pulling up next to him, we coaxed him to climb up on our outstretched paddles. We all breathed a sigh of relief as we gave him a ride to the safety of the rocks, where he lay exhausted while we continued on. We stopped along the river for lunch and to take in some sun on the rocks. We continued to enjoy each other's company, telling stories and making jokes - laughing until our faces hurt. If we didn't have a story, we made one up! We stopped at "Jumprock" to take a dive off the rocks into the river. The temperature was around 80 degrees and getting warmer and the cold beer waiting for us at the bus was starting to sound good. Our trip was nearly over as we made our way through New River Gorge, home of the world's longest single-arch steel span bridge, towering above us nearly 1000 ft in the air! The bridge is home to "Bridge Day", where bungee jumpers and BASE (Bridge, Aerial, Span, and Earth) jumpers meet for a weekend of craziness. We continued to paddle toward the ramp. Jarhead had already positioned our bus on the ramp in preparation for our arrival. It seemed the closer we got to home, the more we laughed. We also realized that our journey together was nearly over. We paddled past some people on the shore who cheered us as we passed. We were a team... By the end of the day, the other rafters wondered what was so funny on our raft. Our laughter was echoing through the gorge. It was fun... It was magic, and I'm glad I made the trip to West Virginia. We were coming to the end of a great day together and getting ready to say our good-byes. We took the short ride back to Class VI where we traded addresses and telephone numbers and showered up for dinner. There was the glow of friendship everywhere as we said good bye to the people we had only just met. The sunset was gorgeous! That evening, there was a beautiful sunset waiting for us, just in time for dinner. After a wonderful dinner, consisting of Roasted Buffalo, Crawdads, great company and a fine bottle of wine, it was time to retire. On Sunday, Johnny and Christi would drive back to Tallahassee, Steve and Dave would return to North Carolina, Kim would return to her home in Kerens, West Virginia, and I would fly back to Connecticut. Aletha and Adena would remain in Lansing to meet the next group of anxious rafters another day and take it "from the top". That next day, I met my pilot, Ray McKenzie at Beckley Airport. He was a little late getting there, but it didn't seem to matter. I was in no hurry to leave West Virginia. Ray's a friendly guy from New York City. He snapped this shot for me, then sealed the hatch and checked the gauges. We taxied down the runway of the small airport and soon we were enroute back home. The flight was smooth and I daydreamed about my trip down the New River and the new friends I had met. I wish I was back there now... The hardest part about this whole trip was the good-bye part. To Kim, Aletha, Adena, Johnny, Christi, Steve, Dave, & Ray... Thanks for the ride! I hope our paths cross again some day. "Don't want to close my eyes I don't want to fall asleep 'cuz I miss you babe and I don't want to miss a thing" ~ Aerosmith Please Sign The Guest Book