Any other River Running Mammas out there?

[RiverMamma]

I am a River guide, but not working this season cuz I'm busy being a new mom! Would love to find some other River Rat moms out there, I know of one... would be great to have a tribe of kayakers, rafters & such!:surf:

[RiverMamma]

:bump: No other boater mammas? Really???

oh... when did I get moved to fitness & weight managment? Who is going to find me here? Boating isn't about exercise, it's about having fun!!!! I mean, yeah, I'm fit when I'm working... but that's not what it's about! what happened to FYT anyways?

[Norasmomma]

Me, me!!!! I LOVE rafting my DH and were owners of a company for years, last year we decided with our partners to sell because we were sick of the client aspects of it, customers had taken all of the charm out of it.

I live in N.C. WA so our season is purely snow melt based. We can do little family floats this time of year. I haven't hardly gone since DD was born 2 years ago. Since we sold our business we lost our free raft privileges and only recently have gotten a raft(of course after the season). UGH... I only went 2xs since DD was born and didn't go once this year:(.

My Dh has been a guide for about 12 years, we both grew up on our local river, WE LOVE IT and can't wait to take our little river baby out(she LOVES the river too, not surprising). I am purely a raft girl, I dislike hard shells, but will go out in our ducky boat. Hard shells make me feel too confined, DH has kayaked and has one. I like the big raft. We mostly do class 3-4, I've done one 5 in my life, but that was really a one time thing, especially now. We've kinda lost touch with some of our rafting buddies because well we are parents. I am really excited to be a private boater and now have to deal with any more clients, they can just be so frustrating.

I'll join your tribe, boating is my thing.:joy:

[RiverMamma]

Yeah!!!:joy: We need more River Mammas out there! What company did you own? in WA? Yeah, I'm a rafter too... duckies are fun & I would Love to get a canoe someday, but kayaks friggin' hurt! Besides, I like to take the kitchen sink, the lounge chairs & the cooler ful of beer!:D I think you guys were smart to sell out... goodness knows I couldn't run an outfit! And yeah... I wanna be a private boater when I grow up! So what kinda boat did you get? My boat died a fiew years ago, so I have to borow.:( I actually did a trip last month with some mamma friends of mine, & while I was running the shuttle my boss drove up to the put in to try & mooch some beer off of my friends for borowing the boat cuz "that's the way we roll arround here." He is such a fruit cake!!! (I used to work with him when he was just a guide, & we're buds.) Anyways... yeah, I had to... go boating that is. That was the whole reason to introduce DD to a bottle. (I can take her with me where I work right now & wouldn't be seporated from her for any other reason.) I manged to get on the water 4 times this season! The first time was when DD was 7wks, we went to AZ for family stuff, so I had to swing down into the Salt River Canyon for a visit. I hopped on a friends boat for a morning as a bow flower (I was still bleeding, I bled for 12 wks,) and didn't touch a paddle. DD hung out with Daddy & my boss (the same one who was trying to get beer out of my mammas!) Then I got on Browns Canyon of the Arkansas 3 times, once w/a bunch of friends, once with my Dad (he's a boater too, but hadn't been on the water in 7yrs!) and once with just the mammas...that trip was good for my soul!:heartbeat We had been planning all summer that we were going to go do a family float on the Rio Grande tomorow with some other boater mammas, to get the DH's & DC's on the water too! Then, one after the other all the DH's decided that they had to work instead,:irked: like at the last minute too. So we are going to take my little dory down to the local swimming hole instead.:shrug You were lucky to find a good boater to mary:lol our DH's arn't into it at all, & just put up w/ the fact that we are boaters. And yeah... DD is defonitly a River girl! Picies even. I worked all through my first trimester, poor kid doesn't have a chance but to be a boater... & a musician too, but that's another story. Anyways, yeah, I think that us River families need to stick together, (I never fit in with the party croud anyways.) Sorry about the lengthy ramble... just excited to find more River Mammas! I need to get RiverUndine on this thread too, she's one of us.:love
ps. I LOVE free flowing, snowmelt dependent rivers!!!:stillheart: They are my favorite!!!Are you familiar with the Salt in AZ?
pps. the are some River picts of DD & I on my link.

[Norasmomma]

Well we were owners of Osprey River Adventures(NOT Osprey Rafting CO, there's 2 Ospreys in WA). My DH and I have been together for 14 years and actually got into boating together, our good friend got DH to start guiding and it just clicked. I am familiar with the Salt, but I have rarely rafted out of WA, I've done the Thompson up in BC and have also been on a J-rig on the Frazier which runs into the Pacific in Vancouver, BC. I also have done the Owyhee in S.E Oregon, it is like a mini Grand Canyon with it's colors and canyon areas, it is an awesome multi-day trip, with hot springs, so beautiful.

Our season is usually May-July, we have gone down on floats pretty much every time of the year. The raft we just got is just an old Momentum my parents had that they gave to us, it isn't even self bailing, but it will be fun for a float with our DD and the dogs. We still are getting another payment in a few months and are planning to buy an AIRE Tributary, the pro deal on them is really good, we'll be getting a 13.5, our rivers are pretty small(as are most here) and little boats helps maneuver through our pool-drop rapids.

When I was preggers I went twice-once on a whitewater stretch and one on a birthday cruise when I was 8 months and it was like 110, all I did was swim and float and watch my friends get drunk:drink, lol.

The last couple years we have had some pretty intense high water and lots of debris, so for a bit there it's not safe to go. DH and I both have been feeling like something has been missing-um hello RAFTING. We miss it, and now that we have our little floater boat we can go a little, but we need our WW raft.

It's cool there's another mamma out there.

OT- I read your birth story on the C/S thread, I had a very similar experience with my DD(although I was in the hospital). I was going to have a waterbirth and everything went all awry, nothing seemed to go as planned and DD started having severe crashes with every push I had, and my uterus started to seriously fatigue. I totally can relate, many C/S are unnecessary, but they also do save lives(like myself and my DD) and you and your DD. I understand where you are coming from, as I have been there too.

[RiverMamma]

Hey.. bucket boats are good, that's what mine was, an old Legacy, little 12' bucket boat... I miss it.:( But yeah, AIRE's:bgbounce I Love AIRE's. They are defonitly my favorite boats! There is a 13.5 old school purlpe AIRE on our fleet that I WILL buy someday. I Love that boat!
Anyways, I'v never done any boating in the Pacific NW, allot in Idaho & Montana, & the South West. I worked the Rivers in Scotland for a season too. I would really like to see allot more international waters. My friend Jeremy (she is RiverUndine on MDC,) Is a guide as well & was talking to a friend this morning who has a company in India that does a guide exchange program (wish I had known that 6 or 7 years ago!) Aparently she also has a friend in Chile who owns "Bio Bio Expiditions" and has a 3yo & one in the oven. Jeremy was talking about getting her on MDC, cuz she is into NFL too.
Also Sonia, who makes "River Betty's" (the coozies that strap to your thwart so you don't spill you beer,) told us that they are expecting! I also have some River friends in Durango, CO who have kids now too.
You are very lucky you got to boat at the end of your pregnancy, aparently Jeremy did w/ her first. I puked off the back of my boat all through my first trimester:Puke while explaining to my customers that I really wasn't just hung over:drink & that I had actually conciously chosen to concieve!:1sttri: When I pulled out my PFD this spring, I found a baggie of crystalized ginger in the pocket!:lol
Anyways, we didn't get our float in today, but we did have lot's of fun tootling arround our tiny swimming hole in my tiny kids dory. Jeremy's 3yo was Loveing it! She was pattling & ferrying like a champ! Not quite a float trip, but fun nonetheless.
So yeah... that whole c/s thing... I used to think that I was too old fashioned & was born in the wrong century. WRONG! Wow am I glad to be alive today, (in more ways that one,) and to have a beautifull healthy daughter!!! I am certainly greatfull! I was sadend reciently though, I got a call from my best friends DH the other day (they live in AZ,) they were due in the begining of Oct. But just had a preterm c/s at 35wks because of a Dr.'s mistake. She said she's OK, but I'm not convinced... my c/s was necicary & I'm still bummed about it, not to mention my DD didn't spend any time in NICU. Even if she's not botherd about it, I am.:angry
Oh well, anyways, all's well that ends well I spose. I have actually been trying to type up my birth story (the lengthy detailed one I wrote 3 days post partum.) Hopefully I will have it done & post it in the birth stories soon.

[riverundine]

i'm here! thanks for the link, lish! i'm happy to have this thread started. someone ought to let the mods know that we need to be back in fyt. the "running" part of river running probably threw them off.
yeah, laurel is gonna be a natch, i think. and i'm pretty sure faith is my class 5 baby.
i want to chat more but steve just got home from work and wants to play cards...gotta go!
:joy: yay river mamas!

[RiverMamma]

so how do we do that? ge back to FYT?

[andisunshine]

Hi, ladies! I am a rafter at heart although I haven't done it for a several years since the company I worked for got sold off. I rowed a lot of cruise ship tourists. We used paddle-assist rafts with stern-mounted oars since the clients were mostly older, out of shape and accustomed to being coddled. They didn't have to paddle if they didn't feel like it. I am one day hoping to buy my own raft for DH and I to go with the kids. DS1 is three and DS2 is three months, so it will probably be a while.
We live in Juneau, Alaska, where the Mighty Mendenhall flows. A glacial river, class three on a rainy day, lol! My first trip ever was on the Tatshenshini with my grandparents. It was an awesome backcountry trip that lasted two weeks. I've been dreaming about going back ever since. I also lived in Durango, CO for five years. Tubed the Animas many times through town, went on an actual raft a few times with my riverguide friend. This was before I got my job rafting the Mendenhall, which lasted for five seasons. I also went on the Westwater in Utah a couple times with my guide friend and all the guides on a company trip. That was a blast! Boaters left to themselves without clients have so much fun!
River running is in my blood. The Tatshenshini River flows into the Alsek, then into Dry Bay where my great grandmother was born. The Tlingit people used to pole upriver for subsistence fishing. My grandparents are linguists and anthropologists, their friend owns a company that used to employ them to provide the cultural aspect of the Tatshenshini on trips. They aren't as young as they used to be so they don't go anymore but they used to do several trips a summer and take one or two of us grandkids with them. I really want to do that one again someday. It would be awesome to take the kids.
So glad to see some other mamas that raft. DH is afraid of taking the kids on a raft for fear of them drowning. Honestly, I can see his point but I still want to go. It's not like there wouldn't be PFDs. I remember my old boss bringing his two year old down the river, but then again his wife was a kayaker.

[Norasmomma]

Welcome andisunshine-my family has been nervous about us taking DD, but she has a PFD and is a natural watergirl, plus I'd take her on a float, not a WW trip. My grandma hates the fact that I raft, she always is trying to get me to do something else with my time. Whatever, she does nothing but complain about everything.

My friend did a lot of guiding up in Alaska outside of Girdwood, I don't remember what river it was, but they did a ton of fishing trips, the Talchitna or something? Can't remember.

It would be nice to get this moved back to FYT. Mods maybe it could be done, it's not really a fitness thing, more of a leisure activity(or business).

[RiverMamma]

Jeremy (riverundine) said that she pm'd a moderator, or something to that effect. So hopefully we will get moved soon. Anyways, yeah!!! Welcome!!! I'v always wanted to get up to AK, our dog's name is Alaska, (she's our first daughter:lol) we were headed for AK when we got her. We didn't made it that time, but we will someday.
Yeah, we plan on doing the Family float thing for a fiew years. I was 4 before my dad took me on whitewater, and he waited till I was 6 to take me on class 4. I figure that's a pretty good timeline. Yeah, both Jeremy & I have little 3rd generation boaters...:love I think there is something to be said for that "in the blood" factor.:D

[RiverMamma]

I know it's off topic, but I would Love to hear your c/s story too andisunshine. :hug

[andisunshine]

I know it's off topic, but I would Love to hear your c/s story too andisunshine. :hug

I'm open, what would you like to know? :shy

[riverundine]

hey water girls!
the mod of fyt said she'll happily move us back. should occur soon.
so happy to have a river thread :treehugger: ! where's the smilie hugging the river :love ? or floating downstream in her pfd?

[Norasmomma]

Well I just went to an awesome wedding that was predominately boaters and skiers/boarders(most were both). You gotta ride the water when it's frozen and when it's flowin. It was really fun connecting with some friends from the past river running days and seeing their families. I hope in a couple years that we will be taking some trips to the Tieton River in S.C. WA, it's a dam released river that is the only thing flowing in the state, they let it flow for agriculture(mainly apples), but it creates an awesome little class 3 that is FUN and crazy busy. It also creates massive chaos because there are some newbie boaters out there that don't know what they are doing. When DD gets bigger maybe we'll start celebrating her b-day down there.

Glad to hear that we'll be moving back to FYT, see ya there.

[RiverMamma]

hey water girls!
the mod of fyt said she'll happily move us back. should occur soon.
so happy to have a river thread :treehugger: ! where's the smilie hugging the river :love ? or floating downstream in her pfd?
Thanks Jeremy! I lobbied for a rafting smilie on the smilie thread in the Q & A forum. BTY, are you going to post your river history for the other lovely ladies here?

I'm open, what would you like to know? :shy

What happened? where you trying for a home birth? did you know you were going to have a c/s ahead of time? I was going for a home birth, so was totally unprepared for a c/s. Sure glad to be allive though!!! & DD too!!!:joy: (cord arround neck up near the placenta... she was on a leash. I pushed so hard the cord began to detatch from the placenta!:bigeyes)


So I have it figured out how to appease the River Gods so as not to get trashed really hard in really big rapids (most of the time anyways:o) So the Jeremy... how does one appease the birth Goddesses so as not to get trashed really hard in the O/R after a 3 day labor?:scratch JK, lucky you though, ony one here so far w/ out a belly scar!

[RiverMamma]

You gotta ride the water when it's frozen and when it's flowin. When DD gets bigger maybe we'll start celebrating her b-day down there.



I'll figure out this multi quote thing someday! Anyways... yeah... I miss skiing!!!!! I havent been at all in 2years!!! And only once or twice a season in that last 4 or so before that! What ever happend to my 75+ day seasons?:( Someday... someday I will have time & money! :wink I couldn't live without the River though.:love I think that was my compromise, give up the winter rideing to maintain the summer rideing.
Anyways, I have spent just about every B-day on the River since I was a kid, :balloons it's kinda my little tradition. This year I got on water the day before, but hey... close enough for me!

[riverundine]

Hey.. bucket boats are good, that's what mine was, an old Legacy, little 12' bucket boat... I miss it.:( But yeah, AIRE's:bgbounce I Love AIRE's. They are defonitly my favorite boats! There is a 13.5 old school purlpe AIRE on our fleet that I WILL buy someday. I Love that boat!
When I pulled out my PFD this spring, I found a baggie of crystalized ginger in the pocket!:lol
Anyways, we didn't get our float in today, but we did have lot's of fun tootling arround our tiny swimming hole in my tiny kids dory. Jeremy's 3yo was Loveing it! She was pattling & ferrying like a champ! Not quite a float trip, but fun nonetheless.

I'd take a bucket boat. I'll take any boat at this point. Ummm...did I mention I need, desperately need/want/desire/dream about my own boat. It's coming. Sometime before I die. I know it. And maybe it'll be the Avon of my dreams. And maybe it'll be a 20 year old Ryken. Don't even care. I'm manifesting a boat that holds air and floats.
The baggie of ginger made me giggle :love.
And thanks for bringing the dory! So much fun at the swimming hole!
...feeling like something has been missing-um hello RAFTING.
yes. ITA.
River running is in my blood. The Tatshenshini River flows into the Alsek, then into Dry Bay where my great grandmother was born. The Tlingit people used to pole upriver for subsistence fishing. My grandparents are linguists and anthropologists, their friend owns a company that used to employ them to provide the cultural aspect of the Tatshenshini on trips. They aren't as young as they used to be so they don't go anymore but they used to do several trips a summer and take one or two of us grandkids with them. I really want to do that one again someday. It would be awesome to take the kids.
So glad to see some other mamas that raft. DH is afraid of taking the kids on a raft for fear of them drowning. Honestly, I can see his point but I still want to go. It's not like there wouldn't be PFDs. I remember my old boss bringing his two year old down the river, but then again his wife was a kayaker.
Your grandparents sound like they'd be amazing to talk to, and even more fun to get on the water with!
DH and I went round and round about when I could take the kids boating. As Elisha mentioned, our dhs' are not boaters. Finally we compromised that our dds could go whitewater rafting as soon as they know how to swim. What motivation! Dd1 has been on the Truckee river and loved it. I can't wait to get her, and dd2 on a family float next year.
You gotta ride the water when it's frozen and when it's flowin.

That was what I lived by for years :love .
BTY, are you going to post your river history for the other lovely ladies here?

Was just about to do this, and now I hear the lovely Faith Ann calling for her mama...
We're gonna go take a walk to the creek...
Bye mamas :treehugger:
More river later...

[onetruething]

Hi everyone,

Hold tight! You're going for a ride back to FYT. :D

[riverundine]

thank you thank you!!!

[andisunshine]

[QUOTE=RiverMamma;12187697]


What happened? where you trying for a home birth? did you know you were going to have a c/s ahead of time? I was going for a home birth, so was totally unprepared for a c/s. Sure glad to be allive though!!! & DD too!!!:joy: (cord arround neck up near the placenta... she was on a leash. I pushed so hard the cord began to detatch from the placenta!:bigeyes)


QUOTE]
Gosh, that's so scary! I'm glad you all made it through safely. That is exactly the reason why I'm glad c-sections exist. When there is a medical emergency and it is necessary to save mama and baby.

I was planning for a home waterbirth. Midwife was not able to confidently tell the position of baby for a few months before I went into labor, but she suspected breech. We decided that if he was breech we could try to do the homebirth and then transfer if there was a complication. She said if anyone could do it, I could. I was her model client, LOL! Well, long story short she backed out when I was 8 cm dilated, no complications, and called the hospital. I basically had no choice but to go get the section. I was supremely disappointed because I myself was a breech baby, footling, delivered naturally. On top of that I was really looking forward to a waterbirth and my labor was going soooo well. It was cake compared to the back labor I had with my first. The doctor at the hospital was older and he made the offhand comment that I could probably deliver naturally since I seemed to be doing so well but that it is against hospital policy to do anything but a c-section for breeches these days. That sure didn't help me any. So basically I had a c-section because everyone was afraid of a lawsuit and didn't want to help me other than to slice me. Vaginal breech delivery and VBACs are illegal here in Alaska.

I am totally not against c-sections. I think that when they are necessary they are an awesome tool to save babies and mamas. I feel like mine was totally unnecessary. It wasn't a medical emergency. It was just the only solution because medical professionals don't have the training anymore to deal with breeches any other way. In another country I probably would have not gotten a c-section.

All right, I'd better quit typing about it. It still makes me so mad.

[riverundine]

okie dokey...
so i was living happily (as can be in a concrete jungle) in pittsburgh with my future husband and going to the university of pgh. in the pitt news was an ad...something to the effect of "wanna be a river guide for the summer?". i had never even thought of it. but i've always always been a water bug. i also had never been on a rafting trip. nor did i know at the time that my natural father had been a river guide on the colorado for awhile. what i knew about rafting was that we were supposed to go on a rafting trip (most likely a float trip) when i was in kindergarden and we lived in northern washington (marblemount). my mom was scared and denied me. i never forgot. so i thought, "why yes i do want to be a river guide!" and that was the beginning of the end. no...that was the beginning of the realization that i have rivers running through my blood.
i trained on the cheat in wv - old school east coast style sink or swim style training in the snow in march. gotta love it. i did. then was a total weekend warrior on the youghiogheny for the next two summers. it was so absolutely the best feeling, boating, that i decided i had to move to california and raft full time. i gave my husband 9 months notice. i had to go raft more and live on the river. he could come or not come, up to him. he decided to wait, make more money, finish remodelling our 1950 bus... he couldn't believe i went. i couldn't believe he was shocked. i obviously went back to get him at the end of the summer and drug him out west. that first summer i worked the american. i was also able to get on all the forks of the american including giant gap, all the sections of the yuba (so sick), the merced, tuolumne, cherry creek, kaweah...that might be it, i think. the next summer we ended up on the kern. oh how my heart and soul loves that river. just a little bit of everything, something for everyone, differect sections to run all the time and multi-days all summer long. and dh loved the little italian restaurant he cooked at, and living for free at the guide house! we spent 5 summers there, until we started reproducing. i was also able to drag him back east for 2 falls of gauley season. and he supported me splitting in the middle of summer to do an epic grand trip. and now it's my turn to support him in his dreams. we've ended up in a very dry town, but with the ark not too very far away at all. he's opened a restaurant and we're raising the littles. it's a wonderful town that i'm super grateful to live in...and will hopefully be back to my weekend warrrioring roots by next summer (hopefully with the lovely and talented miss lish!)! and exploring the new-found interest in family floats :love
goddess i love rivers :joy:
so that's my story...so happy to have found a tribe at mdc :love

[RiverMamma]

[. She said if anyone could do it, I could. I was her model client, LOL! Well, long story short she backed out when I was 8 cm dilated, no complications, and called the hospital. I basically had no choice but to go get the section. I was supremely disappointed because I myself was a breech baby, footling, delivered naturally. On top of that I was really looking forward to a waterbirth and my labor was going soooo well. It was cake compared to the back labor I had with my first. The doctor at the hospital was older and he made the offhand comment that I could probably deliver naturally since I seemed to be doing so well but that it is against hospital policy to do anything but a c-section for breeches these days. That sure didn't help me any. So basically I had a c-section because everyone was afraid of a lawsuit and didn't want to help me other than to slice me. Vaginal breech delivery and VBACs are illegal here in Alaska.


I'm so sorry:hug I understand... I'm still angry about mine & it saved my life. But yeah, me too, my MW thought I was the most capable woman she had ever worked with & that I would birth like a pro!:laugh: I was her first ever hospital transfer:( I'm sorry your MW bailed on you, that's pretty crummy. My MW just attended a workshop by Ina May Gaskin on delivering breech babies, it is almost a lost art now because of those stupid breech & VBAC laws!!!:angry Yeah, they are illegal here too.:( Well, on a lighter note, I have herd that c/s babies are more connected to their higher selves (something about not having all of their Earthly energy squashed into them properly.) I also understand that Buddha was a c/s.:wink

Anyways... Man I LOVE the RIVER!!!!! Any River... All Rivers!!!
Yesterday I got a Shiva Lingum!!! It's this really neat type of sacred Hindu Stone that are tumbled into an oval shape from the Narmada River in India, aparently it is the most sacred River in India, and is now damned:eyesroll go figgure! But cool rock! I was really excited! Aparently the shape is symbolic of the masculine & the markings symbolic of the feminine. Here is a link about the stones & the River http://www.mukti4u2.dk/Narmada_river.htm

[RiverMamma]

i have rivers running through my blood.
:love

Yeah... me too:love I spose I should give a little more of my background. My dad's best friend was a guide, my dad was a private boater. He paddled a canoe, my mom paddled a kayak. (she claims she was just following my dad arround & didn't really like it, but I know she did. She has a "Knarly Rafter Dudet" metal that she earned in the Grand after my Dad broke his ribs in Crystal & she had to row his ass out, having never rowed before, only kayaked!:lol) Anyways, we were all rafters, I spent every summer of my childhood on the River. Then, we had a permit to put on the Grand on my 12th b-day! (I wasn't on the broken ribs trip, too little.) I was beside myself w/ excitement! Then.... my parent marage was on the rocks, a fiew people bailed... and... my dad gave up his permit... and hung up his oars & paddle.:( I was devistated.:bawl Then a year later, I met my good friend Elena, her dad owns Far Flung Adventures. So I said "bugger these guys, I'm going rafting w/out them!" And so I did! (Oh, BTY, I was suppose to get my own kayak that b-day too. I was going to get one at 10 but my brother threw a fit cuz he had to wait 'till he was 12. I still don't own a kayak & never will, but let me know if anyone comes across a good used WW canoe!) Anyways "Uncle" Steve Harris (as he's known,) owner of FFA & Elenas dad, pretty much took me under his wing as his personal trainee when I was 15. when I turned 18, he payed for my certs & told me to guide. And so I have ever since!!!

The Rio Grande is my home River, but I have also worked the Chamma in NM, The Snake in WY, all 4 raftable Rivers in Scotland, The Arkansas of course, and the Salt in AZ every spring it runs!!!!! And have played on many, many more!!!

Anyways, so DH... well, that's a different story. He grew up on the Arkansas, like at the Brown's put in. So growing up he watched his favorite fishing holes turn into the most heavily rafted river in the world! He's a bit bitter. (I don't know why, but I'v never dated boaters, I'v always dated musicians. & so yeah, I married a musician.) Anyways, he accepted the fact I was a boater from the begining, though he still doesn't like it:eyesroll But I think that it never really botherd him untill I worked the Ark. He wanted me to for years & I said I never would (not fond of bumper boats,) However, when my AZ company was bought out by a friend w/ a company on the Ark, (yes, the beer monger fruit cake :lol) and he begged me to work the Ark, & we were living just as close to it as the Rio Grande, I gave in. It's a great River, I can see why Alex is bummed about the comercial moron traffic. Anyways, he had a hard time that season. The ironic part is though, that the culmination of my River Self with his Home River, resulted in conception.:love Yup, right there on the banks of the Ark, we invited that little spirit that we had been saying "no" to for years, to finally join our family.:love

[Norasmomma]

I'm lucky I married a musician and a boater:joy:. Last night we were playing in our yard after dinner, and dinking around with our new to us boat. DH and DD were the cutest thing I have ever seen, he was showing her how to paddle the raft and she was LOVING it. My little water baby. Now were thinking of trying to figure out how to get a SB floor in it and not buy a new raft because this one is nice the floor is just a bucket boat, but the rest of that raft is awesome. IDk we'll see.

Rivermamma- I so get what your DH is bugged by, that's part of the reason we no longer have our company, but it the exact opposite-our river is over-run by dumb a** fishermen-Eddie Bauer catalog, fly fishing yuppies-ugh. There are way too many of them all over our river, plus almost every beach now has a big huge house and people yelling at us to get off their beach, it really sucks. My biggest problem with the fishermen is so many come here and act like they are far superior to the locals and that we are just a bunch of dumb hicks who know nothing, I have a little bitterness because I have been treated like I'm stupid by a bunch of them because I am a woman sunning herself at the beach, so obviously I must have no idea about anything important.

We also had a couple guys almost drown a few years ago that didn't listen to close friends of mine about our river, our river has a section that has a huge log jam that has to be portaged and in high water this is impossible, well these people didn't listen and go to the safe water below this area and well they almost died. Total ignorance and stupidity-the guy was like well I'm a guide from Montana-any real guide would have listened to the locals about where to go-dumb a**.

Sorry for the vent-it's just gotten bad here, so I can relate to where your DH is coming from.

[RiverMamma]

WOW!!!! How did you get so lucky!?! What do you guys play? I play fiddle & DH plays guitar & bodhran (the Irish drum.) Hey Cheers to your new boat! As far as the floor is concerned, I would just leave it & get another boat. Bucket boats really arn't all that bad & on some rivers are even better. I think the Grand is better suited to a bucket boat, hugs the water better, makes for a better ride on things like Hermit waves. How big is it? Probly not an 18ft'r is it? Anyways, it's always good to have a spare rig arround. NRS Otters are a very diecent boat for a very diecent price, you can get a brand new 12' otter for about 2 grand retail price. I'm sure if you ask they would work with you on a pro deal, or at least a discount of some kind. I really like them, they are light, track well & turn on a dime. Almost like a hybrid between a Sotar & a Hyside, only 10x better than both, & 10x cheaper than both! Oh, & it will probly cost you just about as much to put in a SB floor, & it's a pain in the butt. (I'v changed out floors before, it's not fun.) Anyways, that's just my :2cents:
That is so neat about your DD playing in the raft & paddling, I was totaly blown away by Jeremy's 3yo DD paddling that little dory arround! Naturals, of course!

Anyways, yeah, the fisher / boater thing is a pretty touchy subject in Scotland too, the Tay is the main comercial river, & it is world class salmon fishing. So yeah, you get the yupies out there with their 500 pounds for one fish fishing permits glairing at you the whole way. (they are convinced that you are ruining their hole) The river is off limits to boating of any kind on tuesdays & thursdays, & there are always quiet zones & eddies that you can't enter & have to give a wide girth to. Oh well, I like fish... but I LOVE to raft!!!

[Norasmomma]

Oh one of the stipulations when we sold was we kept our pro deal with NRS-they are only like 3 hours from us so we could have a boat here in a day. We're looking at an Aire Tributary-they are a less expensive version of an Aire, they cost about 1800 pro price-they are great little boats-our boat we got is little 12ft, uh don't think I'd take that down the Grand-unless I want to swim it, LOL.

[RiverMamma]

My Boss (the fruit cake) OK, his name is Wylie, has run the Grand 3x in one of those little 10ft Aire Super Duper Pumas, R2ing w/ an ex. He said he just flips left & right. I think he's just a glutton for punishment, the handles of Jack suggest the same.:drink:lol Yeah, Tributaries are fine! No complaints there! I really think that replacing a floor would cost you about the same once you factor in labor & frustration. What kind of boats did your company run?

[Norasmomma]

Well we had some Hysides and then before we cold bought 2 Tributaries so we know abit about them, they are light, they have the same outer layer/inner layer design as a regular Aire. We would get the floor done professionally we wouldn't be doing it, IDK-my Dh is always making some kind of plan that I know nothing about:lol, that's just his personality.

BTW-he is an amazing drummer, plus he can pretty much play anything-drums, piano, guitar-he's very musical as is his whole family-he and his brothers used to have a band. When I met him I had a fantasy of meeting a guy with long hair who could play piano, then I met him and he had a piano at his house. I was like who's piano? and he said mine, plus he had long hair and was a cutie. no more long hair though-than goodness-he has the most tangly hair ever and DD inherited that, ugh.

[Lissybug]

Hi river mamas! I haven't been on a river trip in a few yeas, but grew up boating. I live in Flagstaff so tons of river runners around here. I really have been wanting to get a trip together for the Spring or next summer. I'm thinking San Juan or the Green maybe- something nice and easy ;) Anywho- just saw the threD AND THOUGHT i'D SAY HI! OOPs sorry caps. nak.

[riverundine]

welcome to the river mamas thread, alissa!
your kids are adorable! and it looks like you have a sweet westie, too :wink.
i love flag...pretty, very friendly town...close to the grand :thumb!
have your kids been on the river yet?

[RiverMamma]

Welcome Alissa! My Brother lives in Flag! My Dad is in Munds Park, & I'v spent a good bit of time in the Sedona area. I like that neck of the woods! Have you run the Salt much? I LOVE the Salt, it has to be one of my all time favorite Rivers ever!!!:love I usually get down there every season, but this year only for a visit. I got to get on the water, for just the morning, but I wasn't alloud to touch a paddle, (I was only 7wks post partum.)
Anyways, do you happen to know Aaron McArthur? (my brother.) or John Wise? (a good friend, used to work for ARR.)

[Desert Jen]

Hi fellow river lovers,
I'm a kayaker (ducking my head in case anyone is throwing something)!:p But I'm a GOOD kayaker, on multi-day trips I help whoever is carrying my stuff load and unload their raft every day! And I cook! And don't drink more than my fair share of the beer!!

Kidding aside, I'd love to buy a raft in the next few years so DH, DD, DS and I can start boating as a family. I didn't get on the water this year at all and feel kind of lost without it.

I've got a 2y.o. pulling on my leg. It's good to now there are other river runners out there on MDC.

Later,
Jen

[RiverMamma]

Welcome Desert Jen! Hey, we all Love the River & we all Love our baby's! Besides, it's your knees not mine. So as Long as your comfertable, have fun!!! (I'll carry your beer for you.:wink) Anyways, yeah... I get to feeling kinda lost without the River. I remember one year DH & I were on tour with our music, & I didn't get to go boating at all,:( so we floated a fiew miles down the Blackfoot (MT) on an air mattress! It was pretty absurd... but I had to do something!:lol Anyways, what are your home Rivers?

[Norasmomma]

Welcome desertJen. I am probably doing a family float on Saturday as long as the weather is nice.:D

Lots of my friends are kayakers, I just don't like being confined in such a small space it freaks me out. I like my big boat thank you.

I hope DD likes going out in the boat, I'm sure she will she loves an adventure. Whoo-hoo!

[RiverMamma]

Wow, lucky you! Have Fun!!! And tell us all about it when you get back!

[riverundine]

remember those little inflatable hyside raft toys? i want one for the bathtub, but can't find them...

[Norasmomma]

Well we took out our little raft, and it worked beautifully, so well in fact I doubt we will be doing anything with the floor except calling NRS to get some urethane coating for the bottom. We floated a little 2.5 mile stretch from the swimming hole by our house. We used to take elderly tour bus riders on that stretch so we figured DD would like it and she did. Of course she LOVED it:joy:. We had so much fun. We tried to take both our dogs, but alas our one dog is just getting too old:(, she didn't even want to come and went and laid down when DH was getting ready. It's sad because that used to be her favorite thing to do even though she hates swimming she always loved rafting. It's kinda depressing having a geriatric dog.

Anyway-we had fun, DH and our other dog Kona had to jump out at one point because it was too shallow and DH had to drag DD and my butt across the shallows. It was a gorgeous warm afternoon, had a couple beers and realized that we are going to have to get a back up carseat for DD and shuttles, that's something I never had to think about before:shrug. So we may just have to get one for back up, we put her in her old on for the 2 mile ride home. Now I am on the search for another one.

It was so fun and she loved it, it made the child sleep so hard when we got home, but it was 4 pm, so she decided at midnight it was time to wake up for the day:irked:, luckily she fell back asleep. It was a great day.:thumb

[riverundine]

that sounds like soo much fun :joy:...i can't wait til my girls are floating downstream with me :love...
and bucket boats do give the kids something to splash around in and water fight with, too - for what it's worth. depends on if you're one of those "dry" river folks or not, i guess :p

[Norasmomma]

Well I have to say yesterday I didn't really want to get splashed, the air temp was warm, but the water was frickin cold. So for me it was a dry day. I did get splashed. the bucket boat didn't really get that much water in it except from the dog and DH guiding from the back with his kayak paddle, which worked extremely well, I paddled in the front some of the time. I had to hold on to DD, it's so low we were playing pinball and didn't want her plopping out on to the rocks. It was so nice and I'm glad she loved it. Now for her next adventure-skiing. Whoo-hoo, she'll love that too.

[RiverMamma]

Wow that sounds awesome!!!! Hey, thanks for the heads up on the spare car seat... I hadn't thought of that. Wow... I want to go drag a boat over cobble bars with my DD! (sad isn't it, I feel like I belong in a 12 step program or something, I think I'm having withdraws.) lol!

Yeah, somedays I'm running everything backwards & swimming the flat stretches... other days I'm taking all dry lines & squirming out of the way of little splashes!!!

[RiverMamma]

Well, I guess now that River season is over, this thread will quiet to a trickle, like the River. I look foreward to next spring when the runoff gushes & we ride the waves again. Untill then...

River Dreams
Sweet Baby
Chama Dreams
Little Buddha
Flowiing Freely
Dreaming Gleefully
Soul to Flesh
Maiden to Mother
Transitions
Pasture to Canyons
Pools to Rapids
Rapidly Aproaching
Transitions
Manouver Smoothly
Flowing Freely
River Dreams
Sweet Baby
Sweet Dreams
River Child
Safe Passage Thee...

[riverundine]

beautiful, mama...and now we're just waiting for the snow to fall, to cover us all :joy:

[RiverMamma]

March... I know it is a little early for most river rats to start itching, but for me, this is Salt season! Oh how I long for that desert canyon... the mexican poppies start to bloom first, then the owl clover & lupines, as the rain lets up & the canyon warms the prickley pear start to bloom, followed by the magenta colored choilla, pink & red hedgehogs, & red tufts of regal ocatillo flames tower above the bumpy dirt road Apachi highway one. Then, as the surge subsides & the canyon walls begin to bake in the relentles Arizona sun... the giant white moon flowers show their faces high upon the saguoros, and that is when the rest of the river world begins to wake, as I pack my camp at the end of a beautifull season, primed & ready for cold Colorado waters. Skin already leathered, hair almost white... callendula has been my season long friend, healing finger cracks & salty feet. Sacred Cibique Canyon flowing into the current, draws my heart up into it's chasms... pounding waterfalls & emrald green pools... Oh.. Rio Salido, I shall see you soon! Though half the season & peak flows are behind us now, I will make my apearance... I have to. The rythmic chant of Gregs Apachi song echoes in my mind... I can see the fire tonight, what has been my hearth this night so many years... I don't know how much I will be able to work this season, but I will be there. I trust in the universe to provide the most pirfect care taker for Charlotte... to sit at camp with her & wait for mommy's boat to roll in for lunch, maby take her up to the can in the mornings to watch while we all rig for the day, & to the take out in the afternoons... to have a bumpy buss ride home with mommy, & milkies on the way! Can I do this? Can I really stay true to all elements of my nature? Can I ride the waves & touch lives, & still be the best mother I can be? Will life allow me to stay the woman I was while beeing the woman I am? Does motherhood flow in confluence with Rivers? My mom was a private boater... & not untill I was old enough to come allong anyways. How many more Grand Canyon trips do I have to turn down before I can say yes? How many untill she can come with me? I cannot seem to see around the island in my view... which channel does the current flow with? What is my line? Where do I go from here? I am trying to scout my life from my pearch at my own mothers home... but I cannot seem to see my line... Salt... that is as far as I see, & even that line is not clear. I am going to the Salt, I do not know how I will juggle motherhood & guyding, but somehow I will. After April though... where too? Will my husband have made decisions? Will he still be drinking? My lease is up in June... where will I camp next? Oh mighty River, help me to find my path again... help me to follow my heart & provide for my daughter in the best way I possibly can. I need to find my feet again, & my feet seem most sturdy in the bottom of a raft... so rafting I will go... somehow.

[riverundine]

I'm so stoked you're going to the Salt :joy:. Maybe next season I'll get to join you...but in the meantime I'm sooo happy for you.
Are you thinking about IW? I am. Who should I contact and by when? Any insider thoughts, tips, etc.?
I was just writing out my "why" statement for my Stayin Home and Loving It team and am actively manifesting my 14' Avon and 2 person IK. I will also be on a 20 day Canyon trip next March. I have no idea who will be watching the girls, but it will happen and I will definitely be a better mom for it. Doesn't every child deserve a mama who is vibrant, joyful and living their dreams? All in balance ~ all in balance ~ but when you live so tied to the elements, then this is a true reality. Does motherhood flow in confluence with the river? Life is how you create it. It sure can ~ just gotta get creative and stay in tune and in balance :stillheart:. It's definitely going to be different than the river reality we once knew. Now it's about creating a new river reality - and the time is here :wink. Just like you said - milkies on the take-out bus ride home! It's hard to see the balance, to figure it out when they're so little. I feel ya! I feel ya! I feel ya!
Stay in the flow ~ and *keep your guide stick in the water*.
Stay true to your Self ~ listen to your Soul's voice (the one that speaks in whispers) ~ and come from a place of Love :love
Love ya, RiverMamma :hug

[RiverMamma]

800-425-5253 Mike should be answering the phones right now, at least he did the other day... Yeah, I'll be working. Just tell him who you are. CO guide laws are wierd, they will want a written account of every river mile you have ever run This was quite the project for me! but came up with a grand total of just under 9,000mi :thumb & that was 3yrs ago!
so... um... that canyon trip next spring need anymore boatmen? (um, er, boatwomen?) Not sure where I will be on the child led weaning decision next spring...

So, I was browsing around the SRR site the other day... & nearly jumped out of my chair for joy when I saw this (http://raftthesalt.com/photosguides.html) (scroll down a bit.) Boss man (one of em anyway,) gave me their contact info. I sent her an email.. haven't herd back yet, they are no doubt in the canyon. But wow... talk about the beauty & perfection of life!!! The River wants me there!!!:joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy: yeah... we need a River smilie...

Stay in the flow ~ and *keep your guide stick in the water*.
Thanks for that :hug

Stay true to your Self ~ listen to your Soul's voice (the one that speaks in whispers) ~ and come from a place of Love
& that. :hug

:stillheart:U2

[riverundine]

i'll give mike a call ~ thanks!
so nice to see you all up in the guide mix on the website :thumb!
2 of the guides, aaron root and simon saichek, were voyages guides with me. i'm not sure if i did any "work" with aaron, as we were on different rivers, but i worked at the same company for years. simon and i have rafted together a bunch! he's a great friend ~ and can give your company a real live reference. he's actually a manager for whitewater voyages and has been for a few years, so he can probably be the managerial reference if getting a hold of my direct manager proves tricky. as you mentioned, there's a good chance they're on the water. anyway, simon is great! i love him! stoked to see him working the salt for srr! and aaron's dad owns a rafting company on the kaweah river. he grew up going huge on one of the most beautiful rivers in the states. what a life! sound like something you'd wanna create for charlotte?!
ugh! figuring out river miles...blech! sounds very time-consuming at a time when time is so very very precious. do they want to know how many river miles guided or total? or both, separately?

[RiverMamma]

yeah... last year I was at the top of the page, I guess a year of maternity leave knocked me back down the totem pole:eyesroll

So ahhhhh... that's the Aaron you were talking about! Like I said, just tell em who you are. I'll be sure & tell those boys "Hi" for you. Isn't that just too cool about the mamma & LO though? (looks to be about Charlottes age, still haven't heard back from them.)

yeah... time consuming. They want a total, I kinda catogorized. I just put each river, how many average guestamated miles & wether it was mostly comercial, all private, etc... oh, & class. hold on, maby I can c & p into the post here. There, this is what I did, I don't know if it's normal, but they accepted it just fine.

Elisha McArthur, River miles May of 1985- May of 2007

Rio Grande, NM class II-IV mostly commercial, some private 2,700 miles

Snake River, WY class II-III mostly commercial, some private 1,900 miles

Salt River, AZ class III-IV mostly commercial, some private 1,550 miles

Scotland, UK class II-V+ mostly commercial, some private 700 miles
(Four different Rivers, The Tay, The Tummel, The Orchy, and The Awe.)
Rio Chamma, NM class II-III mostly private, some commercial 300 miles

Arkansas River, CO class III-IV+ mostly commercial, some private 52 miles

Grand Canyon, AZ class 1-10 private only 210 miles

Rio Dolores, CO class II private only 50 miles

Salmon River, ID class III private only 760 miles
(Main Fork)
Salmon River, ID class III-IV private only 315 miles
(Middle Fork)
Gila River, NM class II private only 50 miles

Blackfoot River, MT class II-III private only 50 miles

San Juan River, UT class II private only 30 miles

Bitterroot River, MT class II private only 20 miles

Clark Fork River, MT class II-III private only 20 miles

Verde River, AZ class II private only 20 miles

8,742 total miles



2007 Arkansas season average guess
Arkansas River 864mi mostly commercial
Clear Creek 7mi private
Chamma River 35mi commercial

[RiverMamma]

Oh, & I supose I can just talk to Wylie while I'm down there & half your refrences (Siamon, Ian, Justin, BobbyJo, etc...) are right there too... duh.

[RiverMamma]

03/29/09
Moon Tide Lament

Yesterday, my body took initiative to flow…
Dark, like the Desert Earth
my feet soon shall trod upon,
wiggling toes in the dusty red clay…

Sorrow, my first response…
For What?
for life that does not Grow at each & every opportunity?
a Universal, Timeless episode of feeling?

for Time perhaps…
Not lost, just Flying.
One year… has it been a year?
She is one year old!

for Infancy…
slipping through my fingers,
something One can never hold,
but Tried to make it Linger…

Toddler.
My Daughter is a toddler!

Yesterday, my body took initiative to flow…
Dark like the Desert earth,

as though I were a maid again…
Flowing, Flowing, rowing,
down Desert Canyons.
the womb of Mother Earth,
her Child safe inside,
Flowing, Flowing, rowing,
riding My crimson Moon Tide.

But Mothers Must Flow Too!
& so My body Rhythms
send me packing to My Desert Rivers…
Flowing, Flowing, rowing,
taking Initiative for my burdened mind.
Flowing… Flow… Let Go…

[RiverMamma]

Milkies on the bus ride home!:joy:

& Charlotte took her first raft ride (in an Avon,:wink) allong with 8mo old baby Bella Rio.:love (photo comming soon!)

(she also had her first bootie washing session:rolleyes)

My Salt season was short (waaaay too short) but sweet (super sweet) not allot of work, but just what I needed (I think...)

Yes, Rivers do flow in confluence with motherhood. And Thank You to each & every one of you Mammas who forge that path with me. :stillheart:

[RiverMamma]

Here it is!!! (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30132788&id=1291416856#/photo.php?pid=30132787&id=1291416856) Picture of Baby Charlotte & Baby Bella's first faft ride!!! Salt River, AZ 4/15/09 (I think you can view more if you scroll...)

Damn... that link isn't gonna do it, is it... I'll see what I can do, sorry.

[RiverMamma]

Charlotte took her first down stream raft trip today!!!!!!!:joy::joy::joy:
We floated just a few miles of the senic stretch of the Rio Grande near Taos, NM today with mommy, Lala (our dog Alaska,) & Uncle Steve Harris (owner of Far falung Adventures & mommy's suroget dad... I guess that would make him Uncle Grandpa Steve Harris.) Anyways, it was Great!!! Charlotte had a blast!!! (& so did mommy!) Anyways, I probly need to chill out & let someone else post... I'v been a bit of a cerial poster latley. But I will soon post pictures of Charlottes first raft trip (& nursing while rafting!:thumb)

[RiverMamma]

Can I really stay true to all elements of my nature? Can I ride the waves & touch lives, & still be the best mother I can be? Will life allow me to stay the woman I was while beeing the woman I am? Does motherhood flow in confluence with Rivers?

I do not know how I will juggle motherhood & guyding, but somehow I will. After April though... where too? Will my husband have made decisions? Will he still be drinking? My lease is up in June... where will I camp next?

How many more Grand Canyon trips do I have to turn down before I can say yes?

Oh mighty River, help me to find my path again... help me to follow my heart & provide for my daughter in the best way I possibly can. I need to find my feet again, & my feet seem most sturdy in the bottom of a raft... so rafting I will go... somehow.

Wow... re-reading this post near the end of an eppic season on the Rio Grande spurrs my heart & tears... Life has been Good to me! Yes, Rivers do flow in confluence with motherhood!:love Life has restored me to my true self through both Motherhood & Rivers! my daughter held a mirror to my face to remind me of who I truly am... which has in turn, has returned me to my first true Love... the Rio Grande. (A much better consort than a drunk DH... I'll tell you that much!) Wow Life has been Good!!! I have been working on the Rio Grande for Kokopelli rafting in Santa Fe, NM & they have been soooo good to me! We had an amazing season in the Toas Box (our class IV section,) that was indescribibly healing for me (I really can't even begin to come close to describing the relationship that I have with this river & particularly that stretch of it... really, very intimate.) I feel better now than I have in YEARS! Literally. I AM ME AGAIN!!!!!:joy:

& ahhh Grand... deep canyon of transition... this time I said YES! March 27-April 14 2010. Charlotte will stay w/ grandma & we will wean. Yes Jerm, it is happening, (we both sent in our deposits anyways!) & we will be better moms for it. without a doubt!:love

So, my feet have found the bottom of my raft & are anchored securely in my heart, mind, emotions, identity, Joy, & yup... finances too. Thank you River, for everything, thank you. And thank you Charlotte... :stillheart:

:heartbeat Rio Grande de mi corazon!:heartbeat

[jtbuko]

Kayaking mom here!

I worked as a sea kayaking instructor on the SF Bay until kid #2 was born, and credit my vision of my happy place on the bay for getting me through natural childbirth (x2). Now I am on the east coast and paddle mainly flat water on the Potomac River with and without the kids. I did do a rafting guide school on the American River, but they refused to let me wrap a boat just so I could learn from the experience... and I was already in love with sea kayaking :) These days I paddle for fun rather than work, but hope to incorporate getting new moms and their little ones into nature (via facilitated hikes and paddles) into the little business I am forever putting off in favor of hanging with my own kids.

Life makes more sense on the water and I absolutely NEED to paddle to stay happy and sane. I am guessing folks in this tribe understand that need more than most so I am happy to have found you.

[RiverMamma]

Yay! Welcome to the tribe jtbuko! :joy: As small as our tribe is... us boating mammas are out there! Who did you train with on the American? riverundine worked for Voyagers for many years... That seems strange that they wouldn't let you wrap, did they at least have you guys flipping? I hope... maby they were just concerned about wear & tear on the boat & equipment... oh well, not like it's the kind of situation you have to deal with very often. Anyways, yeah! I think it's totally important to get mammas & kiddo's outside! My friend Claire actually started a nonproffit organisation for the sole purpose of getting women & kids outdoors... check out her site! She Jumps (http://shejumps.org/) And yeah... I most certainly understand that NEED... :love

[jtbuko]

Thanks for the welcome!

I did my guide school through Healing Waters (http://www.hwaters.org/) so it was fairly low key...

Stopped by your friend's site briefly. Will come back and take a closer look soon.