Rafting the Nenana River 7/7 Sunday

Along and beside our resort runs the Nenana River. After our wilderness tour we have just enough time to go to the bar and drink some courage in the form of Alaskan Amber beer. We look at the river from the big bar windows with a new attitude. View of the landscaping is nice, too, but we are all about the white river rapids.

Having read the description earlier of a certain rafting excursion, we accepted our destiny and booked the trip.

At the headquarters, we listen to safety instructions and meet our guide Matt. We pick up a dry suit, boots, gloves, and cap. Workers help us to dress, certainly aware we are not able to do so on our own. Once we are all zipped and gasketed inside, they tell us to bend over to expel excess air through the neck hole, and I realize how a ziplock bag feels to be burped before the seal.

Down to the river we go, the water milky gray from glacier melt and runoff, a comfy 38 degrees. Pawpaw and I volunteer to take the front positions in the raft. Another couple from our tour group goes in the boat with us.

And we're in our way! Lots of waves and splashes, twists and turns, boulders and swirls! During the calmer sections, Matt gives us history and geology of the Nenana River, stories of rafting adventures, and his personal background. Born in Alaska, he graduated college with a degree in Parks and Wildlife Management, but he plans to raft and ski as long as his body can. Winter goal is to guide helicopter skiers; longer goal is to be a park ranger.

After more than eleven miles on the river, we pull over to a sandy takeout point where a bus for us and a trailer for the boat and gear waits. On the river I was warm and dry enough, but in the bus, brrrrr.

Back at headquarters, I find a shirt that shows our trip, and I add it to my souvenir collection. By now the clock shows after 9:30, but we go back to the bar for a celebratory Alaskan Amber and a bowl of chowder. What a memorable day!