"Running the canal" is high on our list of favorite Idaho activities.
The water is numbingly cold, but with the hot sunshine--after the initial shock as you sit in your tube--it becomes a very refreshing ride. The body parts in the water stay cool for an hour or so after the 45-minute float is over. Participants like to show how their hands are almost too numb to tighten into a fist.
That's because the hands are in the water. A lot. For steering.
You see, this canal isn't a tame one.
The current is fast.
With curves to negotiate.
Low branches that can flip a tube and trap the floater.
Low bridges.
And, best of all, a monster-sized "check"--a semi-dam that causes huge rapids.
This year, the check dumped several of us out of our tubes. Kind of scary!
We are so grateful to Grandpa for providing the inner tubes and giving us a ride up to the head of the canal. There are people stashed in every possible spot in the pickup for the ride.
One day, this was the group that went. I had offered to stay with the little kids so their moms could go. A few minutes after the group left, the sky suddenly darkened.
Then we heard thunder. Close by. The temperature dropped from 88 degrees to the 70's. And rain began. Those poor canal-runners!
What would they do?
On the canal at the first check, two of them were flipped and lost their tubes. After finally getting them and mounting again, the rain began pelting. Hard. Was there hail mixed in with it? And they began seeing the lightning, with the thunder coming less than 5 seconds later. The moms worried about not being there to raise their kids.
Everyone was SCARED! And COLD!
They got out at one point, said a prayer, and then figured the fastest way home was on the canal. Afterall, its level is lower than the surrounding land. The lightning SHOULD hit some tall point, like a tree or a building. But everyone paddled like crazy to make the trip as short as possible. Everyone had a warm shower and hot chocolate to warm up. With a few prayers of gratitude for making it safely.
Extreme water sports: Kids' style:
Future canal-runners!
One day, this was the group that went. I had offered to stay with the little kids so their moms could go. A few minutes after the group left, the sky suddenly darkened.
Then we heard thunder. Close by. The temperature dropped from 88 degrees to the 70's. And rain began. Those poor canal-runners! What would they do?
On the canal at the first check, two of them were flipped and lost their tubes. After finally getting them and mounting again, the rain began pelting. Hard. Was there hail mixed in with it? And they began seeing the lightning, with the thunder coming less than 5 seconds later. The moms worried about not being there to raise their kids.
Everyone was SCARED! And COLD!
They got out at one point, said a prayer, and then figured the fastest way home was on the canal. Afterall, its level is lower than the surrounding land. The lightning SHOULD hit some tall point, like a tree or a building. But everyone paddled like crazy to make the trip as short as possible. Everyone had a warm shower and hot chocolate to warm up. With a few prayers of gratitude for making it safely.
Extreme water sports: Kids' style:
Future canal-runners!
Well, for not being there, you sure had all the story! Great job!
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