Kehoe Realty Inc.
P.O. Box 496, 901 N. M-18 Gladwin ,MI 48624
Home Office: 989-426-7112
Main Office: 989-426-0664 or 1-800-426-0664
http://GladwinRealEstateAgent.com
We started our trip with a long drive from Gladwin, all the way down to Summersville West Virginia. It was a good 10 or 11 hour trip. The scenery through lower Ohio and into West Virginia was beautiful. Quite a change from the Michigan landscape. The mountains were just gorgeous!
We finally made it down there around 6:30 pm or so. We stayed at a beautiful resort in the country called the Good Evening Ranch. We stayed in a lodge that slept up to 18 people. It had 9 bedrooms (each with their own bath), full kitchen and living area, large decks and a 16 person outside Jacuzzi. On the grounds, there were some other cottages/cabins, but they were all spread out. The even had their own zoo on the property with many exotic animals, including lions, tigers, zebras, monkeys and many other types of animals. There were also horses that were used for paid trail rides. It was a beautiful place!
That first evening, we all kicked back and relaxed after a very long car ride. Most of us spent a lot of time in the Jacuzzi. We all didn't last very long though. Everyone was pretty tired after getting up at 5 am for the drive down and we all hit the hay well before 10:30pm. (That's unusual for that party crew).
The next morning, we all got up bright and early, grabbed some breakfast at the local Bob Evans and off to the rafting place we went. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I had never been on a rafting trip before. The Adventure Center (they call it) was where the adventure for the day, was to begin. It had it's own store, pub, nice bath houses and Starbuck's coffee place with all sorts of morning snacks and of course, COFFEE! It also had a stunning view of the New River Gorge from it's back deck off of the coffee house.
Soon, we were all packed into a bus, each equipped with a helmet and a life vest.....and off we went!10 minutes later we were at our raft put-in area on the New River. Our group split off into two rafts. Our raft had 8 of our friends (including ourselves....of course) and one guide. It didn't take long before we were in the raft and heading down the river. Our guide started telling us what kinds of commends he would be using when we would be going through the rapids and what to do if we should fall out of the raft at any time through the fast water. (Ok...now I get a little nervous! LOL!)
It started out smoothly enough. The first few rapids that we hit were powerful, but we all safely stayed in the boat. It was a lot of fun. My husband was right in the front of the boat and I was just behind him, so he got the brunt if the water going over the front of the boat. There were some areas that we could jump out of the boat and float down the river. (At the beginning, I was even to chicken to do that).
The sights down the river were spectacular. Mountains towered up on both sides of the river, as far as you could see and around every river bend. There were enormous rocks along and in the river. Many of them were bigger than houses! You could only imagine in your mind how they came to be there the way they were.
Throughout much of our trip down the river, we had no problems. We went through the rapids without losing anyone over the side..... until we got to the lower rapids. We made it through the rapids ok, but then the guides were having everyone follow the current around to go back into the rapids from below. They call it surfing. You go with the current back to were the water is going over the rocks and a paddle up to the water until it fills your raft and pushes you away. It's fun, but a little scary at the same time. On our last try we weren't so lucky. The raft started filling with water and before we realized it, we were all going over. The raft completely flipped!. Nine people and nine paddles flew everywhere! The rapids sucked most of us under, just to pop us up around the boat. I'm happy to say that we all survived and it made for a great video! (There were people on the trip video tapping everyone through the rapids).
After that, I was no longer chicken to get out of the boat and float down the river. We went under the New River Gorge Bridge shortly after that. What a spectacular site! People actually bungee cord and parachute over the side of this bridge. Of course, there were none to witness on this day. It's one of the biggest arch bridges in the world.
Well.... It looks like I am running out of typing space.... Until next month!
Sincerely, Ivie Baker
P.S. If you know of anyone who is looking to buy or sell real estate in the area,
feel free to give me a call.
Your satisfaction and subsequent referrals are the basis for my future business. Thanks!