Wet n' Wild Babes

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We have left the coast and are now heading toward the interior of Oregon; on our way back up to Portland. During our trip down we travelled only about 30 miles a day, now we will be covering more than 100 miles per day...can we do it?

Today, we went for a JET BOAT RIDE on the Rouge River at Grant’s Pass - through the canyon, around the bends, inside, outside, and almost upside down – we had such a great time.

The captain seemed to take great pleasure in maneuvering the boat so that we got splashed and soaked. We have been dryer after swimming.

Our boat ride began on a calm section of the river. As we floated down stream, the captain pointed out local wildlife: osprey nests, mud swallows, turkey vultures, great blue heron and geese. We even saw several deer cooling off along the shore.

Further downstream, the rapids began. Not exactly white water, but when our captain did a 360 at top speed, quite a LARGE volume of water washed over the boat.

The kids (and Mary) squealed for more!!

Mom thought she was smart and sat in the middle of the boat. Little did she know, that is the wettest spot. There is no escape, you get drenched from both sides, as well as from over the bow!! By the end of the trip, Mom was dripping water from every part of her body (while Mary & I looked refreshed).

The boat ride took us into Hellgate, a narrow canyon where many movies were filmed; most notably The River Runs Wild (with Meryl Streep & Kevin Bacon), Rooster Cogburn (with John Wayne & Katherine Hepburn),and Gunsmoke (with Matt Dillon). The cliffs went straight up and the water churned.

A good time was definitely had by all!

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Photos

Hellsgate Canyon
Going for a wild ride

Rouge River
Calm and serene

Gunsmoke
Matt Dillon jumped off this cliff into the rapids

River Runs Wild
...and so do we!!