Canoe Adventure of 2016

Despite everyone telling them that canoes are not the best vehicle for tackling class 3 white water rapids, a large group of our men and boys, most somehow related to one another, set out with their canoes to tackle the class 2, 3 (and 4) white water rapids of the Chattooga River.

 Highlights included camping along the river wherever they could find spots, making pancake after pancake, and eating freeze-dried entrees like lasagna.  The kids said the beef stroganoff was the best!

 They also enjoyed jumping off rocks, doing flips off a rope swing into the water (so glad I wasn't there), and killing and eating a snake (so very, VERY glad I wasn't there.)

The low moments came when they got thrown from their canoes occasionally... and one particularly scary part with the Clarks' canoe in a bad rapid.  The guys survived, but the canoe did not.  Even after an hour of trying to get it unwedged from the rocks, they were unsuccessful.  

The boys said the other low moments came each day around the last 10 minutes on the river.  Everything was soaked, they were freezing, and trying to find places to stop.

But in the end, it was a mighty adventure and they came home all excited (the boys did anyway.  Pete's a little more creaky and sore.)  Early bedtime tonight for everyone!

Meanwhile, I learned that it turns out I'm actually a pretty good homemaker when I only have one or two kids home, we're not doing school AND I pay someone to come clean my house!  Everything was nice and orderly....until the weary, muddy men traipsed in with all their smelly, damp stuff.