White Water Rafting

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We started the day off really early yesterday. Dan was already in the shower when the alarm went off at 7, and I was in and out by a quarter after. We didn't unpack much the night before, so repacking was easy and we were on the road just before 8.

Getting to Ohiopyle, PA took about an hour. That gave us an hour to check out the central square of town (more like a village). We walked across the highway to the overlook for waterfall that carries the name of the town, and we could also see the put-in spot for rafting the lower part of the river. We went back up to town to get something to eat before driving the mile up the road to the check-in area for the guided tours.

We still had the pressing issue of getting Leche a place to stay while we were out. The last resort would have been set up a tent and put her in it with her leash on tethered outside so she could sit inside or out. Dan went up to the girl working at the booth to see if she would watch her, she was a little hesitant until she saw Leche. She agreed with a smile and put my mind at ease.

We were part of a pretty large group, which consisted mostly of a group of U of Pitt students that came down for the day. We rode with a dad and his two sons from Florida. They were pretty cool. We would suggest going down the category 3 rapids backwards for a little fun, and he was cool with it. then on a class 2 we all stood up. When we went down the first category 3 a girl from the raft behind us got tossed out of her raft and we took her in for almost an hour before she could get back in her own. That same raft tipped going down the later category 4-HAHA!The whole trip took almost 5 hours and didn't get us back to Leche until 4:30.

We were kind of hungry when we left, so we went to a pub in Union City, PA. Leche sat on my seat while we ate. She was comfortable lying in the shade and was ready to go when we came out. We rode into Wheeling, WV where we took a stroll up Main Street to check out the town a bit. From what this chick there told us Wheeling is the place to be if you are down and out. you can get three hot meals a day if you go to the right churches and Salvation army.

We crossed into Ohio and immediately took a wrong turn. we didn't go far before realizing it, and got back to the right road from a few instructions from a rather large lady on a Harley with her granddaughter on the back (helmet-less too). We rode up rte. 250 through East-central Ohio to the city of New Philadelphia. We stopped off for gas and were befriended by a drunk ex-con named Brent (made obvious by his prison tats, including his lightning bolts). Went out of his way to try to help us out, gave us some free food coupons in the effort to have done something for us. He told us the easiest way to get back to the highway, and it took us about an hour to ride through Canton and Akron to Bill's house. We got in near midnight and chewed the fat for about an hour before sacking out.

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Photos

Dan walking
Walking through the little park by the waterfall in Ohiopyle

Youghiogheny River
This is where we put in for the rafting trip.