When out of town guests come to visit, I often draw a blank for things to do in Sacramento.  Not that there’s nothingto do in town, but it always seems easier to suggest a day in San Francisco or a weekend at Lake Tahoe.

But, Sac does have the American River which is great for a leisurely float or a day of navigating the rapids further upstream.

I decided that a little family white water rafting was a great alternative to a day in SF when Court came to visit (she’s been to the States four times now and has been to the city on every trip).  Unfortunately, I forgot that Court is not a fan of… heights, rides, roller coasters, big hills – basically anything fast and fun – so it took some convincing for her to go along with it.

The South Fork of the American River offers nearly continuous class II & III rapids and seemed a perfect compromise for those who love big rapids and Court’s more timid tastes.  (My first white water trip was on the Colorado River at age 6, so you know I was in the former group).

Our guide through Gold Rush Tours was great and seemed to put Court at ease.  Sure, she was scared, but she was having fun and paddling like a maniac.

And then we got to the Trouble Maker rapid, a class III+ (not sure why they don’t just call it a IV then).  It was the largest rapid of the day and was a notorious spot for flipping rafts.

Everything started out well; we positioned the raft to approach the rapid at just the right angle, but as we entered the shoot, the back of the raft caught a sudden up-current which sent the front left side diving into the water.

Out fell Mom…

And then Dad…

But the raft didn’t flip.  While we tried to hold oars out to pull them back in the boat it became clear that the water was simply moving too fast.

They would have to just ride this one out on their own.

When we finally got through Trouble Maker and found calm water we collected the spilled cargo who were exhausted and a bit shaken.  Though she said nothing at the time (to not freak Court out) Mom thought she was going to drown.

When all was said and done everyone had a good time (sans the near-death experience) and we were proud of Court for getting out her comfort zone and trying something new.

*About two weeks after our trip down the river, a boat of Raft Guide trainees capsized on the Trouble Maker rapid.  One trainee got caught in the rocks under the surface and drowned.  Needless to say Mom will probably not be white water rafting any time soon.

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