Looking through old photos my mom has of me I find one that makes me grin. I am currently paddling on my kayak as the picture is being taken and am wearing old gym shorts, a t-shirt, and a cap. I have a smile on my face as my little chihuahua is in front of me admiring the view. Trees are seen towering over me on each side of the clear river as I am getting ready to embark on a mini journey. It was spring break, my family and I were spending the week at our vacation home in Leakey, Texas. As usual, one of the days we decided to go kayaking, on the “Frio River” less than five minutes away from the house. We prepared the two kayaks and floating tubes on the back of the car, then we headed to the river. When we got there, one by one we set the
As a barrel racer, I have gone to a lot of shows and rodeos with my pony. My pony was diagnosed with moon blindness, caused from a bacteria called, leptospirosis, that got into his eyes. As he starts going blind he relies more on me, especially with barrel racing because he has to watch out for the barrels so he can turn tighter and not tip them over, but he can not do that because it is very hard for him to see.
There is no all-embracing definition of what is known as intense kayaking. This is because every definition will be on the experiences experienced by every kayaker. However, a closer look at intense kayaking will reveal that intense kayaking is generally considered by those kayakers who find a lot of fun kayaking is bustling waters. Keep in mind that intense kayaking will also warrant the need of very special kayaking skills.
I woke up at 4:38 a.m. to a call from my buddy Whit, and he said he was on his way to pick me up so we can go duck hunting. The dark morning sky was cold and wet. Fighting to get out of my bed, I finally had the courage to get ready after sitting there for ten minutes. I woke up too tired because of my stupid mistake of staying up too late the night before. Awakened now and ready to go, I looked at my weather app to look at the specific temperature, and it appeared to be 21 degrees with a light breeze. I knew it would be colder on the water, so I dressed properly covered in camouflage, warm gear. I grabbed my gun and bullets, and the day was on as I shut the door quietly, not wanting to wake my sleeping mom.
Me, my Mom, Dad, Graycie, and Will (Graycie’s boyfriend) decided to take a little trip to the Guadalupe River! I was excited, because I’ve never floated through the river before. Although I wasn’t excited about being in the car with Will for several hours. He’s kind of a handful.
It was a warm and windy day in Colorado to go river rafting in duckies. There I was standing nervously at the launching area to go into a river in a small, flimsy, and an inflatable kayak into a windy rough river with massive boulder right in front of me. Before we launched our instructor gave told us how to navigate and what to do if we fell out and lost our boat.
No one else except for my friend sitting next to me seemed to notice that the raft in front of us was stopped. As we got closer we heard them shouting something, but no one could understand them over the sound of the water clashing against the rocks. We kept approaching, getting closer and closer, and out of nowhere we saw something bobbing up and down in the water – all I could tell was that it was bright orange. It only took a few seconds to realize that it was someone holding onto their life jacket was latched on a rock, and right behind him was a small waterfall that was trying to suck him in. We got closer and I realized that I would be closest to him as we passed, but I would not be able to reach him with my arms. I reached out as far as I could with my paddle, yelling at him to grab it. I was not even the one in the water, and yet it was still one of the scariest moments of my life when he let go of the life jack in order to reach for my paddle. He grabbed it as tightly as he could and my friend next to me helped me pull him in. Everyone else was trying to slow down the raft so that he could get pulled in before we went down the waterfall, and thankfully, due to everyone’s straining effort, we were able to accomplish just that. The look of relief on his face said it all,
Traveling is an obsession of mine, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to see the world. I have been to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Dominican Republic, and many places in the states. Of all of those exotic and memorable places, my favorite place on earth is Steamboat Colorado. This may not seem like a very exciting place, but it has played a huge roll in my life. Steamboat has taught me how beautiful the world is how even the most insignificant thing can have a greater meaning.
This was BAD!!! I’m Toni Drumwright, a prized member of the San Francisco Coast Guard. Today started with a bang when I was eating lunch and my crew got called in for a rescue in the bay where a raft had turned over. The crew loaded up in the helicopter and we zoomed down to Fernandez Bay. As we got closer, we began to see the victim of the raft crash.
Even though we were in Florida, the sunshine state, it was still March and wearing two wetsuits didn’t keep my teeth from chattering. So we went back to the boat. After ten minutes the others in my group came back. Which meant the young couple with us came back. A date with manatees, why not? I would love that. During the time it took for them to get back I had watched a manatee go under one of the other boats resting in the lagoon. I was thankful all the boats were required to have covers over the propellers. Capt. Stacey started the motor, and the boat puttered out. Once we were back at the docks by our hotel, we walked to our rooms and I promptly fell on my bed, exhausted like I had just ran a mile
It was a breezy and cloudy June morning as I made my way through Door County traffic. My best memory was driving up here was when I was about 10 head dangling out the window as the wind blew in my face. As I drove through the small towns I saw the rustic houses, cute cafes, and pedestrians enjoying their day. I drove a little farther and suddenly saw the great and sparkling blue Lake Michigan and the ferry dock where I would soon be boarding. This would be my 100th time on this boat going to Washington Island, but I knew would still get the same sick feeling. I slowly approached the ticket booth, purchased my two-way ticket, and pulled onto the boat. It was a windy day and the waves were splashing high on the side of the ferry. I got out of
No place in my fifth-teen years have compared to it. The wonderful sound of the rippling water that is reflecting sunlight into my eyes on a warm day can’t be beat. Sitting on the deck balcony that could overlook the lake, the cool breeze could always enhance my mood. I could see and hear anything from here like the subtle buzz of the jet ski down in the lake. The jet ski created ripples of water behind it which created a v-shape. Branson, MO is a unique and meaningful place to me and my entire family.
Ships do not sink because they have too many people on them. Anything that floats in or under the water could pop a hole, spring a leak or snap a bolt. What is needed is enough hands on deck to keep up the repairs.
The driver sped off towards Ester Island which is a island where we take oil out of the sea floor. We got to see all of the seals barking and jumping up and down on the island. After we went to Ester Island we went to the North Side of the beach and waved hi to the other Junior Lifeguards who were on their paddle boards. Now it was time to head back to south side jetty and get ready for boat drops. We got as close as it was safe to go to the jetty, then all of us climbed back onto the swim step, hung our heels as far off the edge as we could, and held onto the plastic of the boat or the slippery metal railing. The lifeguards told us we would be going 25 mph and that when we were pointed to we would roll off of the edge like a rolly polly. The engine then started up and we were off. There were four people who went before me then I was pointed to. I quickly took my hands off of the railing and hugged my legs. I rolled off of the swim step into the fluffy wake from the boat. The wake sent me spinning in circles under water and I got some water up my nose, but I loved it! Everyone who was in the water looked at each other with smiles as big as the
Ahead of me in line were two brothers, one 14 years old and the other 17. They were both tall and thin with caramel colored skin. They had wiry black hair and dark brown eyes and continually chattered back and forth to each other and their many other brothers and sisters in Spanish. With an inability to swim, the brothers jumped in with nothing to aid them but faith that the waters would push them out into shallow safety. The two went under and a fanatic frenzy broke out when random bystanders watching on the sides realized that the boys were not coming up. The lifeguards began frantically blowing their whistles and screaming at everyone, "Get out of the water! Everybody! Out! Now!" With no knowledge of the severity of what was going on, I was almost in a state of confusion as I looked to the side and saw my mother screaming at me to get off the rock. Needless to say, I went to my mother and within seconds the water was empty, except for the two boys who lay below the surface.