OT: On the grid & out of water

"We're going to paddle three times and then we'll have one shot to pull him in!"

That was our guide, Dak of the Payette River Company, yelling at five paddlers rafting the Payette River. Of course, I didn't actually hear him because I was the one in the river.

I wouldn't say I panicked when I went over and got a fresh gulp of water down my gullet, but I was definitely a touch beyond scared. The currents were strong, but I remembered that if I just went with the flow then the boat would too. I was more worried about the shallow nature of the water and unseen rocks within reach of my feet/shins than I was its fast-moving nature.

I thought I was in the water for about a minute; Matt said it was only about 10 seconds; and John said that the entire time between up-and-out of the boat, down the river, and up-and-back-in the boat was probably only about 30 seconds max. Regardless, it was plenty of time to get the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping. It definitely shook me up a bit, but unless I wanted to take up mountain climbing to end the expedition, I didn't really have a choice but to keep paddling.

Back in the boat & gasping for air!

Not that I wanted to stop. It was definitely a wonderful adventure that already has sent me to the intratubes to research the rafting in West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, an area much closer to my home base (Lexington) than Boise, Idaho.

Not that I wouldn't go back to Boise because I would because it was awesome.

Part of what made this trip come together was we wanted to do whitewater rafting, and we wanted to be tourists in a random part of the country that we'd otherwise likely never visit. Boise fit the bill, and we were lucky enough to visit during the Jaialdi Festival, which brought lots of great people and food to the area.

Downtown Boise is pretty much bars, hotels, and banks, and the area was overflowing with people on Saturday night. One of my friends compared the people spilling out of taverns, pubs, and honky tonks to the scene on High Street in Columbus during OSU-Michigan weekend. I definitely couldn't compare it to anything I've seen in Lexington, and it sort of had a Derby-week-on-Bardstown-Road vibe but with more bars in a bigger area.

The food in Boise was fun with an emphasis on local ingredients across all courses and dishes. The highlight was a pork chop in camp during our overnight rafting trip. The proprietor, a sprite named Ginger (on right), described it as "stupid good," and she wasn't lying.

"stupid good" pork chops at camp on the Payette

The beer scene was tremendous. All bars—from the clubby/trendy types to the holes in the wall—represented the region's microbrews, and I got to try all the recommendations people sent my way with Deschutes being my favorite.

It was a great vacation, but it was definitely hard to be off the grid for as long as I was, and I'm glad to be back just as things are getting interesting with Quality Road versus Blame and Zenyatta running all coming up this weekend.