Middle Fork American River Trip Dates 2015

MIDDLE FORK AMERICAN UPDATE via CA State Parks

Here are the rest of this season's Middle Fork American trip dates:

UPDATES (see below) as of 081115 / CA State Parks

AUG: sat, sun, tues, thurs, frid + 8/24 through 8/30th

SEPT: Labor Day weekend; sat, sun +  sept 1/tues, 9/6sun, 9/7mon, 9/12sat, 9/19sat, 9/26sat::

Call to reserve: 888.723.8938

DIY Reservations:
SFCB : http://raftwet-store.com/onedaysofoam2.html
SFG : http://raftwet-store.com/onedaysofoam3.html
MFTC : http://raftwet-store.com/onedaymifoam.html
MFCD : http://raftwet-store.com/onedaymifoam1.html


You know the drill.
Signing off until the next post...


Written by: Elizabeth Lopez
For W.E.T. River Trips 




Check our photos: flickr.com/photos/wetrivertrips
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/wetrivertrips
Tweet us: twitter.com/wetrivertrips
More pics: pinterest.com/wetrivertrips  

Talk About the Weather!

Holy smokes! We just had the hottest weather evah! 106 degrees in Sacramento and everyone in the valley just melted into oblivion; enjoying the heat and the rivers nearby. Summer has arrived with the hint of more heat blasts to come as the sun slipped behind clouds this morning and presented a lovely cooler day for all of us.

South Fork American River in June 2014

Whitewater rafting is now. We have regular summer flows everyday on the South Fork American except on Tues, Wed. And on Middle Fork American River, we have flows every single day through September.

Don't believe me? Well, check out the all the WET photos on WET Facebook facebook.com/wetrivertrips or on our photo site with Flickr at flickr.com/photos/wetrivertrips. All great shots of whitewater madness and happy faces in 2014. Oh, yes, we have been on the rivers since early March 2014.

Part of our crew is on the Klamath River and just ended a 4-day camping and rafting trip up in the Great North. We can't wait to see the photos of those Scouts on that trip. Klamath River multiple day trips are our crew's favorite! 4-6 days on the river... vacation! Wildlife, wilderness and plenty of water, Klamath River trips have the most bang for the buck.

A LIST of RIVERS to RAFT in 2014:

South Fork American runs everyday except Tues, Wed for Class 3-3+ (novice, min age 8yrs)
Middle Fork American runs everyday for Class 3-4+ (athletic novice, experienced, min age 12yrs).
Klamath River runs now through September everyday for Class 2-3+ (novice, min age 8yrs).

Three of the best rivers in California are still operating.
Where are you gonna be this summer?


Written: ~ EL
Photos: W.E.T. River Trips

Memorial Day Weekend

In just a few more days, California will be celebrating Memorial Day weekend. Weather has been beautiful, cool and inviting for those of us who love the outdoors. With the crazy weather we have experienced lately, it's a miracle that we have whitewater this season.

California Whitewater Rafting with W.E.T. River Trips

Rivers are in our veins. Pulses through the arteries and strips clean our souls. We love rivers. We love them so much that since 1978, W.E.T. River Trips has rafted the entire Western United States on every river out there. But, we speak of now. And, now, the rivers are mostly lower due to a lack of snowfall. Only a few chosen rivers are running this year.

A LIST of RIVERS:

South Fork American: class 3-3+, ideal for novice, families, youth groups and events
Middle Fork American: class 3-4+, ideal for athletic novice or experienced paddler, older youth groups, bachelor groups, team-building
Klamath River: class 2-3, ideal for beginners, novice, families, youth groups and events
Call: 888.723.8938 for reservations


The rivers will have good flows; remarkable as most other rivers will not. If anything changes, there will be some clues to look for based on past year's experiences.

Check the flows daily. Look for patterns in the release schedule and compare with historical data. If you get a series of drastic highs and lows outside of the realm of release schedules, then you might hesitate until you have a dialogue with the rafting company. Call them and ask questions. Email them and ask questions. Have the dialogue and really listen to their responses.

Whitewater rafting is a complex sport. The requirements can be minimal or a mind-boggling litany of lists for group trips. In spring, you have to wear gear. Colder weather means whitewater gear which includes a wetsuit or a dry suit. Warmer weather means bathing suits, shorts and tennis shoes. And, that is where we are today. Memorial Day weekend coming up next in Sacramento! Only 45 minutes to the whitewater!

As the rest of you take part in the hilarity of partying, I will personally be thanking and sending prayers to my dad for his military service for our nation. Thank you, Dad, for giving me the life I have now. And as I enjoy rafting on the river this year, I will be blessed with friends, great food, and the our beautiful community, planet earth. 

Call 888.723.8938 for reservations.
Visit our online store raftwet-store.com to purchase rafting trips.
Have a great summer!

W.E.T. River Trips since 1978 "We Got Whitewater!"

Written: ~ EL
Photos by: W.E.T. River Trips
WET River Trips was founded in 1978 in California

Spring Rafting Trips and Diablo Shuttles

Spring rafting has started with hundreds of people flocking to their computers, iphones, ipads and android devices all texting, calling, messaging, and throwing rocks at us. Yes, someone actually did after they saw the company vehicle go by them. "Damn rafters," they shouted. A sentiment so removed from the reality of today.

Rafting Fun! Smiling, Paddling!

About 20 years ago, when I was shuttling trucks for W.E.T. River Trips on the Merced near Yosemite, my fellow shuttle mate and I were moving a van and a truck to the take-out or egress point. Movement was slow as we had gear in the vehicles, and we were trudging along coaxing our tires to remain full over sharp debris.

So many rocks along the narrow, winding road, prevented us from traveling more than 15 mph. The heat was stifling as we drove, and I could see the water vapor evaporating above the heated rocks near the river, turning into a ghostly mist.

March Fun on South Fork American River!

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the road. Just stepping from behind a boulder, a grizzly older man in non-hipster torn-up jeans, a wife-beater and a rifle in his hand. He raised the barrel and pointed it directly into the front of the window. He said, "What are you doing?"

My heart started pounding. Is this where I am going to meet my maker? What the hell...

He asked both of us to get out of our vehicles. At that point, my anger took over and I told him, "No." I said we were in a hurry to make the egress point. We told him that a large group was about to get off the river, and they were to meet us at the take-out point. I also told him that they would be floating by shortly.

He lowered his rifle and started laughing. "Ohhhhh, you are rafters." And, then he started talking about his mining activity. I let out an audible sigh, and knew we had to do a bit of community conversation that all of us rafters do when we meet the locals near the river.

We chatted for a few more minutes and then we were back on the journey. As we arrived to the egress point, we found a semi-shady spot to wait. I got out of the truck and set up my Therm-A-Rest pad, the self inflating pad that always brought comfort to anyplace that I laid my head down. My shuttle mate did the same, and we proceeded to relax by the river.

"Crack! Boom!, " a very large bang exploded the silence in that rocky canyon. I jumped up and, both of us turned to each other and said, "What was that?"

Then something whizzed passed above my head. OMG! Someone is shooting at us. We quickly hid behind boulders, heart exploding in unison with the whitewater rapids hitting the rocks, and at that moment, I went into survival mode.

Forget the cell phones. This canyon prevents them from working well. I grabbed a large boulder and hung onto to it as the only weapon available.

Then the noise stopped. I could hear someone's laughter echoing in the canyon. Very funny. I suppose. To scare a couple of girls in this lost canyon. I swear, if I had a gun or rifle, I think I might have re-enacted all those silly westerns. Bang, bang, bang...

We got Whitewater!

The majority of communities in California are used to rafters floating past their homes, businesses or driving populations into their communities to spend hard cash at their restaurants, bars and lodging accommodations.

We are finally welcome in most communities. Our whitewater rafting industry is a clean one. We shuttle our guests in vans or buses. We recycle the majority of our waste products such as plastics, paper, aluminum and garbage. Our community leaders fight for our planet to save rivers and the riparian life.

We believe in water. The act of paddling on the river is so primitive to our human species, that we can witness the impact when we take our guests down the river on multiple-day trips. After a couple of days, most are on "river time." The guests slow down, they relax and the type-A personality turns into a type-B very quickly as each of us become tuned to the flow of the river.

For those of you who are ready to release from your hectic lives, call us (888.723.8938 yes, we are plugging it)  and we will help you to create that magical sense of flow on our rivers. We are now an oldster company, founded in 1978 and still helmed by the original owner, is ready to embrace the challenges of business, community and river life itself.

Spring rafting is here!


Written by: ~ EL
All photos: W.E.T. River Trips flickr

Spring Break, You'll Need It!

It's time for spring break and all I want to do is sit on this couch and watch Hulu. Finals will be brutal and working and going to school is not much fun. Who has a social life? Not me! All I seem to do is work, go to school, study, work some more, study some more and sleep. Eating has become a chore and I don't even know what I am eating anymore except that I have gained 20 lbs in two years of college. I need mom's good home cooked meals again...

I feel wasted all the time. Partying is kept to a minimum, but I can't sleep with all the noise around me at night. Honking horns, people yelling, music on too loud and the intense thoughts in my head at night as I pour through a litany of to-do lists. It's never ending!

The guys next door asked me if I wanted to go rafting last year. I guess. They said it was a cool thing to do. I guess. But, it kinda looks scary. And, I'm kinda not too much of an outdoor person... ya know? But, they said everyone was going, so I signed up since it's something different to do here at the school.

So I went. And, I survived. And, the weird thing is I really enjoyed it. I mean I freaking loved it! Who would have thought? that I could do such a thing? I was scared. I was exhilarated. I was like a little kid jumping off the jungle gym at the playground. Whooopie! More more more, I kept yelling each time the rapids hit me in the face. I know I was silly and giggly and being totally a kook, but I didn't care. Everyone else was silly, too! LOL!

All I know is that I wanna go again... and again... and again. Who wants to go with me? Let's get our friends together and go again! I want MORE! ... and don't be scared; I'll hold your hand.

Tales from the Crypt... this post belongs to WET River Trips blog.
Belushi pic from Google images
WET pic from WET River Trips Flickr

WET 2014 Rafting Trips

One of the long term goals for W.E.T. River Trips has been to introduce the beginner or novice towards whitewater rafting and the great outdoors. Doing this has been difficult as the river rafting public has many outdoor adventures enticing their every want. From skiing, snowboarding to surfing, paddling to hiking, climbing; there are a lot of activities that have traditionally fed our public's imagination.

"I can totally do this black diamond run..." or "Dude, let's hit this gnarly surf..." or "Bang! I almost lost my toe-hold... or "Class 5! Extreme drop..."

There is a lot to do. A lot of stuff in our lives that take us away from our daily chores and work. There is a lot of things that occupy our mind. Do we really have time for fun?

Well... I say we have to make time for fun. We have to make the effort to include the outdoors into our lives. We can not allow our guests to sit in front of a desk, a tv, a computer, a cell phone or whatever interface they invent for us all... we can not do that day-in and day-out.

We risk our health. We risk our well-being. We risk our mental health, too. Our bodies need to exercise. We need to feel that warm sunshine or drizzly rain on our bodies, and we need to feel that we can conquer those nasty fears that plague each and every one of us.

This year, we want to encourage those of you who need an outside break. Yes, we know many of you do the one-day trip with us on our rivers. But, is one-day enough? You drive up from Bay Area or Southern California; then you meet us in a rush; then you go rafting; and at the end, you go home. Great day? N'est-ce pas?

Ok. Now, imagine this. Take your time and choose a date. Organize a 2 or 3-day rafting trip. The American River whitewater has many options for 2-day, 3-day or 4-day trips. And, American River is ideal for beginners to novice whitewater rafters.  You will achieve "River Time." That's when 'time' disappears and that watch becomes totally unneccessary.

Or, choose a longer trip on the Klamath River. Go north! Klamath is one of the longest undammed rivers in the West. Also ideal for families, family reunions, and youth groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and more. Klamath is a very popular river run for youth groups. We have (2) programs that highlight this special river. Boy Scouts and our 'The Long Strange Trip' have given us many new paddlers!

All I am lamenting about is the lack of committment from so many people towards nature, outdoors and rivers, oceans, lakes, etc. These are precious gifts. Let's enjoy them!

See you on the river,
W.E.T. River Trips
Our entire staff!


Written by: W.E.T. River Trips
All photos belong to WET River Trips
Photos in Flickr, Google+ and Facebook
Buy now!

100 Degrees? This Weekend!

Middle Fork American Tunnel Chute run

Ok, Mother Nature. Your fun-filled silliness about your weather has been enough.

First we have snow and rain and then nothing for months and months. Then you fool us with 90 degrees in early May and then you surprise us with 70 degrees in late May that puts everyone back in a wetsuit or crawling under the bed covers to sleep the day away.

And now, this weekend. 100 degrees? Possibly, as the weather people predict a very hot weekend for June 1st.

I checked the weather.com channel and saw 97 degrees in Lotus, California on Saturday, June 1st. Wow. And, this past week's cloudy, Arizona-like sky cooling down the air temperature until I had to put on a sweater, was just a tease.

Will California remain hot? Who knows? But, what I do know is it is definitely time, puppies, to get your tweets going, your instagram snapping, your fab facebook posting and your bloggys rolling.Time to go rafting. Drive and dive into the mix of the river and socialize with your friends and colleagues. Bring your families together and go rafting with us, too.

This year, the two rivers to navigate this 2013 season are the following:

• South Fork American River: 21 miles into 2 sections; Chili Bar and/or Gorge run; class 3-3+, 1-day or 2-day trips available; camping, meals, etc; novice
• Middle Fork American River: 18 miles; Tunnel Chute run; class 3-4+, 1-day, 2-day, 3-day trips available; camping, meals, etc; experienced, or atheletic novices
• Middle Fork American Lower River: 6 miles; Kid River; class 2-2+, 1-day available; introduction to rafting, kid snacks, beverages; 1pm-5pm (approx); children 3+yrs
• South Fork American Coloma run: 5 miles; Family River; class 2-2+, 1-day available; river rafting, beverages; noon-3pm (approx); children 3+yrs

As always... See you on the river,
W.E.T. River Trips staff post
~ EL

Writing, again

Phone is ringing. Again. And, the rings are blurring into a musical cacophony of tunes echoing a distant song. Turn your computer down, please. The sounds are confusing and filling my head with a noise that is distracting for my work. I am writing again.

I've always written. I love words. The sounds of the words and the rhythm of their music have always filled me with a joy that is hard to describe unless you have a soulful presence in perhaps, art? All who write know what I mean. I dream and then I write.

Just me

Why have I not written in so many months? What has stopped me? Blogs are quick and dirty writing. Perhaps the pressure of this whitewater business and the job it unfolds was too daunting for the artful words to flow. I don't know why a writer stops writing, or why we write at all. Something compels us to write the words from our head and heart. Something mysterious and profoundly unjust at times. Forcing me to write is like having a chef cook with spoiled ingredients and tainted meat. The end result is always bad, no matter how finely tuned the knife is executed or how creative the chef. Bad is bad, always.

The minutea of every part of my life comes in clear focus. I haven't felt like writing for a long time. And, every time the urge starts, I wonder why, but then I write... and write... about nothing. Just thoughts that drift aimlessly in my mind producing words on the screen forever more in the digital expanse.

I look outside my window this morning to a clear blue sky. The cool breeze drifts in making the curtain shimmer with the same rhythm of the music of words that I type. Life is very good. Perhaps, I will sit here all day just writing.

~ EL aka RJ
This blog belongs to California Whitewater Rafting W.E.T. River Trips blog and all the contents and images and my heart, too.

Magnificent Wolffe

"Geezus Christ!, " he screamed as he poured over the whitewater photos online this morning.

"I'm going to kill him... I swear to god, I'm going to kill him."

I went back into my thoughts while wondering why Big Poppah was yelling. What made him so mad? I kept working as I could feel and hear something in the background of this morning's river drama. Sigh... back to work.

First day of August and the living ain't easy. Discounting and dealing with the public has worn us all out. The reservation staff is waning as many of us get ready to go back to school. Whitewater trips are happening everywhere in the west from California to Arizona and also, West Virginia and all the way over to Pennsylvania. Whitewater outfitters provide dreams. A solitary river dream that flows inside all of our heads. We dream of rafting and kayaking. It's in our blood. Our life source flows on this planet much like it does in our bodies... the river of life.

Ok. It's hokey, I know that... but what made Big Poppah so mad?

I got up from my chair and walked into the other room. Peering over Big Poppah's shoulder, I could see the photos of yesterday's Middle Fork American river trip in front of me. Big Poppah was hunched over the computer and typing furiously. Tap tap tap clicky tap tap tap... like tiny soldiers marching on the hardened ground.

I saw Wolffe jumping from the cliff into the bottom of Tunnel Chute rapid. OMG! What was he doing? At least, no one else was in that gear raft in the ugly maw of Tunnel Chute.

Wolffe is a senior headguide for W.E.T. River Trips. He was manuevering the fully-loaded gear raft on the river that day with a large group on our 2-day wilderness trip. Why did he do that? What was he thinking?

Big Poppah was yelling and talking about company liability and why was Wolffe doing that and what was he thinking and how do we get it through his head that he can not do that? I listened to him ranting about Wolffe for quite a bit as I stood there nodding. My thoughts were drifting as Big Poppah's words were just a lacey decoration of a million times I had heard this similar rant about another guide, another river, another place in time.

This company is old. Really old. And what we do now is just survive the vagaries of life and all the bullshit that comes with it. WET has survived drought, economic downfall, guide revolts, back stabbing within our own industry, and sometimes even our friends!

August is coming up next... and then finally September. I am counting the days when the phone is quiet and the trips are only good memories on someone's facebook page...

The river. What more is there to say?

RESOURCES for Whitewater Photos:
Sierra Nevada Photos: 530.295.1873
Hotshot Imaging: http://hotshotimaging.com
Vita-B: http://www.whitewaterphotosonline.com/



This blog was written by staff member EL who has been writing here since forever.
California Whitewater Rafting W.E.T. River Trips blog is the oldest freakin' rafting blog in the world!
yah...

MEMORIAL Day Weekend! 2012

Memorial Day weekend is finally here. May 26th is looming on the horizon. W.E.T. River Trips has been on the river since 1978 and every single year, we start early. Most years, we are the first whitewater rafting company on the river, and this year, we started in March.



We ratcheted back a bit this year due to personal issues at home. Ie, we needed a bit of a break from the intense reservations that fly in every year. How do we all do this? Every company wants to take everyone down the river. And yet, government regulations that oversee our industry does not allow this. So, many of our guests will call, and we have to turn them away! Sob!



This weekend should be hot, hot, hot! With a great whitewater rafting season ahead, all guests should be happy this year on our rivers. And, now we start Summer Rafting!



RIVERS:

South Fork American - class 3-3+, ideal for novices, intermediates, most popular river in the west

Middle Fork American - class 3-4+, ideal for intermediates or athletic novices, equally popular

North Fork American - class 4-4+, ideal for advanced paddlers, season ended early this year (last week)

California Salmon - class 5, ideal for advanced, athletic, aggressive paddlers, spring

Klamath River - class 2-3, ideal for youth groups or novices, throughout summer months to early fall

Call us and reserve your trip today!
W.E.T. River Trips
RAFTWET.com
raftwet-store.com
http://facebook.com/wetrivertrips

WET Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

December sneaked in with hardly any storms blanketing the Sierras with a promise of a another great whitewater season. California is blessed with a supply of snow and water from last year for all of our needs: water, agriculture, energy and recreation. Good clean water. We are very lucky. And, we still have the wettest months still to come!

Holidays are here and every morning, I receive an overwhelming amount of catalogues, discount coupons and special offers in my email and mailbox. It's hard to know what my family and friends want this year. We all have so much already. Do we really need another toy or tie or bath soaps? I want to give my loved ones something special... something that counts in their memories.

Last year, money was tight, so most of us settled in on quick trips and excursions in our local area. In California, our local areas are where most tourists go for major vacations. California has everything; mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans and adventure.

North Fork American Class 4+ w/ WET River Trips

Team Building trips on American River in Northern California

We have skiing, Disneyland, hiking, climbing, rafting, sailing, surfing, Los Angeles, clubbing, wineries, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, California State Capitol, American River, Coloma, Sacramento, restaurants, gardens, art galleries and music. There is no other place like this state. NONE.

So, I will be giving gift certificates to my friends for my favorite destinations so that they can share the real California experience with me. My plans this year are to do a rafting trip, go to Tahoe, hit Disneyland, hang out in San Francisco, visit the newly designed Crocker Art Gallery and chill at the beach in SoCal. The gift certificates are inexpensive and my friends can use them the way they want and when they want.

This year, our holiday will be spent rather quietly with very few friends since so many of our friends and family are scattered across the world and can't make it home for Christmas. The family unit that will be here is one of good friends who really matter to me. And, that is the best gift of all.

Merry Christmas video from youtube.com

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays...

Drive safe!

This blog belongs to W.E.T. River Trips along with all content included.

Thanks to youtube for the Christmas video!

California Skiing and Snowboarding

Rain came like a silent warrior in the night. Just enough rain to wash the house, sidewalks and streets clean. But, then the next day... brilliant blue skies torturing all of us who love to go skiing! Fresh powder! Where is it?

Sugar Bowl in Northern California w/ GoPro

Ski resorts are best bets for friends and families this holiday season!

Here are the California ski resorts that are open now and those who will be opening next week:

Snow Country Info: http://www.snocountry.com/index.php/ski-reports/california

Associated Press just released a news report about more scattered showers are coming to California, "...Meanwhile out West, a low pressure system moves down the coast of California and will produce a few more scattered showers across southern California and northwestern Mexico. Snow may develop at high elevations of the southern Sierras..."

The site is a clean, no-nonsense list of open ski resorts, resorts that are opening within days, and more info about the resorts; including trail maps.

Take the family, your friends and enjoy the snow! Have that snowy, white Christmas! This holiday season, remember who you love, who loves you and what is most important to you and your life. Your family, your friends are the most important people in your life! Cherish them!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

WET River Trips

RAFTWET.com

raftwet-store.com

South Fork American for 2011

2011 South Fork American River, a photo by W.E.T. River Trips on Flickr.

Summer rafting and now into fall... South Fork American is a standard whitewater trip out here in the western United States. From early March through October, the whitewater rafting season continues out here in California through October...

or until demand wains!

Buy it Now!
Online rafting store
Like us!
WET Facebook
Visit us!
WET website

California COMBO River Trips!

2011 has been an incredible year for California whitewater rafting... true; but, did you get on a river? If you did, are you ready to get back out there?



Summer is winding down and soon the rivers will too. Don't be caught with "rapid-remorse"....AKA: "I should have gone rafting!"



The South Fork American River will flow through October and the Middle Fork of the American will flow through the first weekend in October with the good flows that we are used to seeing in July!



Late summer and early Fall is the prime-time 'shoulder-season" of California whitewater and W.E.T. River Trips is ready with 1-2 day trips on the South Fork and Middle Fork American River as well as the mighty "American River Combination" 2-day trip: both the South and Middle Fork rivers in 2 days while based in our camp at Camp Lotus.



Don't be caught with rapid remorse and get out there while you can!



da Boss : Steve Liles

NOTES from the office staff:
American River Combo is South Fork American the first day; Middle Fork American the next day! $269/person Buy it here http://raftwet-store.com/sofoamcotr.html Place the date of your trip in the comment box at the bottom of the billing page. We will confirm you within 24 hours! Also, note; we wear helmets on every rafting trip!

Like us here : http://facebook.com/wetrivertrips
Follow us here : http://twitter.com/raftwet



Our California Whitewater Rafting blog was uploaded by WET River Trips office Staff using da Boss, Steve's photos.
All content was created for W.E.T. River Trips blogs and other content related sites.

Music, Rafting and More! James Israel Band Releases New CD!

Good friends over at "James Israel Band" just finished their latest CD. A lot of work went into the project and WET River Trips would like to share their tunes with you. Check them out!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The James Israel Band releases new CD, "Good Enough"

Hello music lovers! We finally finished our CD, which is available for streaming on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/JamesIsraelBand. (Please "like" us there, if you haven't already.)

If you like what you hear, individual songs (just 99 cents) and/or the whole CD are available on our CD Baby page at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jamesisraelband.

A few of the songs featured on the album are:

• Codependent Blues: A raucous and fun romp, about a subject most -- if not all -- of us are quite familiar with!
• Good Enough: Ok, it's only "white man's" reggae, but still a fun song!
• Just a Little (Can Do a Lot): A yin-yang kind of tune, all about love.
• Sweet Dark Princess: This tune features a beautiful piano opening by our wonderful Carrie McNabb and a very tasty guitar solo by our other wonderful lead instrumentalist, Sue Kasper. A love song many tell us is their favorite tune on the album.
• Deal With It: You know you must.
• The Kin of Ata: A spiritual tune inspired by the book The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant.
• Aliens On Ice: Tongue-in-cheek song about the Roswell Incident.

Thank you!

James

(Sonicbids EPK: http://www.sonicbids.com/JamesIsraelBand)

Notes from WET River Trips: August is rolling in along with many musical festivals throughout California and the entire West coast. River rafting, whitewater rafting and more on the American River coming up next!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More music on the West Coast:

AUGUST 2011
July 31-Aug 7 Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation - Seattle, WA; http://www.sfadi.org
July 31- Aug. 7 Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival - Port Townsend, WA; http://www.centrum.org/blues/bl-festival.html
Aug. 5-7 The Gaia Festival - Laytonville, CA;http://www.thegaiafestival.com
Aug. 5-7 Reggae Rising - Garberville, CA; http://www.facebook.com/ReggaeRisingFestival
Aug. 5-7 Pickathon - Happy Valley, OR; http://www.pickathon.com
Aug. 6 - Petaluma Music Festival - Petaluma, CA; http://www.petalumamusicfestival.org/
Aug. 11-15 Beloved Festival - Tidewater Falls, OR; http://www.belovedfestival.com
Aug. 12-14 Northwest World Reggae Festival - Marcola, OR; http://www.nwworldreggae.com
Aug. 12-14 Indijinus - west of Eugene, OR; http://bhumsiva.com/indidjinus-gathering
Aug. 12-14 Summer Meltdown - Darrington, WA; http://www.summermeltdown.com
Aug. 12-14 San Jose Jazz Festival - San Jose, CA; http://jazzfest.sanjosejazz.org/
Aug. 12-14 Outside Lands - San Francisco, CA; http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/
Aug. 17-21 Sierra Contact Festival - Sierraville, CA; http://www.bodyresearch.org/contactfestival
Aug. 19-21 Northwest Herbal Fair - Mt. Vernon, WA; http://www.nwherbalfair.com/
Aug. 20-21 Art and Soul - Oakland, CA; http://www.artandsouloakland.com/
Aug. 26-28 The Eugene Celebration - Eugene, OR; http://www.eugenecelebration.com
Aug 29- - Sept. 5 Burning Man - Black Rock Desert, NV; http://www.burningman.com

SEPTEMBER 2011
Sept. 2-5 Singing Alive - Cosmopolis, WA; http://www.tribesofcreation.com/events.html
Sept. 2-5 Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium - Laytonville, CA; http://www.womensherbalsymposium.org/pages/symposium.html
Sept.3-6 Strawberry Fall Music Festival - Yosemite, CA; http://www.strawberrymusic.com
Sept. 3-5 Bumbershoot - Seattle, WA; http://bumbershoot.org/
Sept. 4-5 Scottish Highland Games - Pleasanton, CA; http://www.caledonian.org/games.html
Sept. 8-11 Bhakti Fest - Joshua Tree, CA; http://www.bhaktifest.com/
Sept. 9-11 Newport Music Festival - Newport, WA; http://www.pvbluegrass.com/
Sept. 9-11 Sisters Folk Festival - Sisters, OR; http://www.sistersfolkfestival.org/sff.php
Sept. 13-18 Somafest Somatic Movement Arts Festival - LA, CA; http://www.somafest.org
Sept. 16-18 Monterey Jazz Festival - Monterey, CA; http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org
Sept 16-18 American River Music Festival - Coloma, CA; http://www.americanrivermusic.org/musicians.php
Sept. 17-18 Mendocino Rejuvenation Festival - Mendocino, CA; www.RejuvenationFestival.com
Sept. 23-25 Earthdance - Vallejo, CA; http://earthdancelive.com/
Sept. 23-25 Art of Community - Occidental, CA; http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2011/03/18/art-of-community-pr-jan-2011.pdf
Sept. 24-25 Adams Ave. Street Fair - San Diego, CA; http://adamsaveonline.com/StreetFair/


Content created by James Israel, W.E.T. River Trips, and WestCoastFest.com for this rafting blog.
Photos by : WET River Trips on Flickr

SOUTH Fork American River Latest News!

Our old friend, Bill is a former El Dorado County supervisor now comfortably running the show at his campground on the shores of the South Fork American River. He was one of the early pioneers on the rivers of California, and his passion for this beloved river, South Fork, is unprecedented in the history of conservation in Northern California.



Bill gives us the latest on the flow regime of the South Fork American River near Sacramento, California.

SOUTH FORK FLOW PROJECTIONS JUNE 14 2011

By Bill Center

"It looks like we may avoid any significant periods of flows above 7000 cfs, and possibly even much time above 6000 cfs. The flow pattern we have seen over the past week or so could well hold through June and as long as mid July. At the current melt rate Union Valley will not fill to 260,500 AF until the last week of June. This is the volume (elevation 4868) where they open their spillway gates, putting somewhere between 1000 and 2000 additional cfs down the river. It appears unlikely that Ice House will spill. In the meantime the South Fork at Kyburz appears close to peaking, and flows on it over the next week to ten days will likely drop below 2000cfs. By late June the area of melting snow will have significantly reduced, though there will still be substantial volume above 8000 feet. What all this means is that we are in the middle of a prolonged non-peaky flow regime, and if/when Union Valley spills the South Fork natural flows will have dropped enough to keep the Chili Bar flow from getting much higher than it's been.

What could change this is a couple of things. If we get a week of hot - close to 100 degree - weather, stuff will go off faster and we could get a couple of thousand cfs surge. Also, on a day to day period, SMUD is still peaking White Rock, and will likely continue to, resulting in a spiky Slab Creek reach flow and about a 1500 cfs variation in Chili Bar flows. So we could see flows occasionally jump above 6000 or even approach 7000 if the average flow reaches 5500. Right now the average flow is around 4500. These spikes can be avoided - or selected - by watching the flows and adjusting what time and section you are on the river. They tend to last only a couple of hours at most, and tend to be in the early morning right now, caused by both the diurnal melt pattern and low power demand in the very early morning hours.

We will likely see periodic flows of 3500 cfs well into and possibly even through August, especially on warm week-day afternoons. On the low end, sometime in mid to late July, we will likely see our first drops to around 500 cfs, probably on weekend nights."

This is indeed good news for the general public who loves the South Fork American with the same passion as we do. WET River Trips will pull the plug on any river that is running at dangerous level. But, this news is welcoming as we usually cancel trips above 10,000 cfs on this river.

The weather is hot. The flows are awesome. Come on out for a ride like no other... whitewater rafting in California is the best NOW!

RESERVATIONS: raftwet-store.com

Toll Free: 1.888.723.8938

News & Review Story this week!: GET WET News & Review

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/travel-recreation-get-wet/content?oid=2333595

All photos by WET River Trips in Flickr and uploaded by WET River Trips blogging staff. Letter and information by Bill Center and offered for public use for the whitewater rafting industry on South Fork American River in California.

Excuses, Excuses... Poor Grandma!

Whitewater rafting trips are happening all over California and the western USA. W.E.T. is booking many paddling enthusiasts as this is shaping up to be a historical year for water and rafting in California.

A big snow pack and late storms are proving to be godsend for Northern California's spring rivers. A long season of spring flows until probably end of June? For real!

But, I digress, as I usually do when writing about the insignificant minutiae of the reservation office as we all sit here talking to guests, booking reservations and overseeing the online store for rafting trips.

What I do know is that guests are reserving later and waiting until the last minute to book a trip. We know one of the reasons is because of cancellation policies. It's a dilemma for both the company and the guest.

We have to have a cancellation policy or people won't show up. Any excuse could prevent

them from showing up! So the guests wait... until the last minute to book.

The entertainment for those of us in the office this month has been the excuses for canceling trips. You would think it would be about the weather which is a reasonable excuse given that May's weather was quite unpredictable. Some people do not like to do anything outdoors in the rain. Ok. That's cool, we understand.

Some of the best reasons for the dreaded "no-shows" have been unreal. We hope you understand, if your reason was real and it is listed here... it was just hard for us to believe!

TOP 10 REASONS (Excuses) for Canceling a Rafting Trip

10) I lost my driving directions, so I missed the trip.

uuuhhh... driving directions were sent w/ confirmation... they even called the day before to confirm directions again...

9) My boyfriend made dinner last night and it made me sick.

hmmm... we all wondered what he made...

8) We followed a truck with a raft on it and ended up in Tahoe.

we had a serious good laugh over this one... giggling still... lemmings are alive in California!

7) My friend organized this trip w/ my credit card, but he didn't give me any info.

right. someone uses your credit card & you don't have any info over a thousand dollar charge... sure.

6) I put the wrong date on my calendar.

this is actually a common error... double check peeps!

5) I got up too late, realized it was too late; so I went back to sleep.

WHA? this one was amazingly arrogant... couldn't they at least call us...

4) We got drunk last night and we were hung-over.

our fav excuse of all time! so honest and candid... we rescheduled them.

3) My grandmother is dying in the hospital.

this same guest used this excuse 4 years in a row... hmmm...

2) My grandmother died.

and the same guest used this excuse in between those years... 2nd or 3rd year...

and... TA DA-A-A-A... the top #1 excuse in the last few years...

1) I have to go to my grandmother's funeral.

and finally, the same guest used this one for a reschedule in another year... when we could not reschedule him due to a sold out date; he kept his original date and told us his grandmother was dead anyway and probably would not want him to miss his trip... hmmm... she probably would also wish he didn't use her as an excuse! Poor grandma...

Ok. For those who really did have the grandmother excuse, our prayers are with you. For those who used their grandparent for an excuse... well, I hope nothing ever happens to grandma. She deserves better respect than that!

We discussed this phenomenon and we all agree. The best excuse is this, "We have to cancel due to personal/work reasons." It really is none of our business why you didn't show up. It is only our business if you demand a reschedule.

Memorial Day weekend is coming up next. Saturday is packed and there is still some room on Sunday. Do us a favor and try... oh please, try... to book your reservations early next week. We want to make sure everyone is reserved in a timely fashion!

See you on the river,

WET Reservations

W.E.T. River Trips

RAFTWET.com

raftwet-store.com

Note from the editor: ...sounds like the office staff needs to go on a whitewater rafting trip...

All blog content including photos are the property of W.E.T. River Trips and related sites and networks.

Spring Break - The Empty Nest - I Miss Them!

Spring break. The heart aches in the silence of the house. The kids have all moved away now. One is in college and the other just left to room with his buddies. The silence is deafening.

Those big feet that belonged to the male eating machine would constantly pound down the stairs in the morning yelling, "What's for breakfast?"

And, the sound of that incessant blow dryer as she would fuss over her hair for hours each morning, whining loudly, "I hate my hair!"

I miss it very much. The problems of teenagers, with their ever present drama and bad decisions taking a toll on the entire family, seem to be a distant insignificant blip. That entire episode of the teen years seem so harrowing... so incredibly important, then.

I miss them in the house. I miss their friends. I miss the mess strewn throughout the house of misplaced clothing, school books and spilt sticky juice on the counter. I miss it all.

We are an empty nest. A nice tidy home now with everything in its place. It's maddening. I hate this quiet place. The only sound now is our voices and the tv. Every little musical ding in the background, and I am checking my cell phone for their text messages. I seem to wait for their contact everyday.

We are connected by our cell phones and computers. We share our family pictures in the social networking sites like FaceBook. We text each other. Though I would prefer to talk in voice, they both claim that I am old-fashion and no one calls anymore. I miss their voices very much.

What I have done is plan a trip for our family this spring. We are going rafting and camping together. Amazingly, they both agreed and they were both excited. We used to take them when they were adolescents. The wide-eyed amazement on their faces made the rafting trips worth every minute of the hassle of packing them up in the car to drive the miles cooped-up together in the noisy metal box.

I told them to bring a friend with them. That's always fun as I love to watch them interact with their peers. The insights in their conversations tell me so much about their life now. I stopped interrogating them long ago as I discovered that teens and young adults really don't tell you what you really want to know. I know I never told my parents much... only what they wanted to hear.

Soon, they will be arriving only during special occasions with their own children. Soon, they will look at us fondly, and believe that we are wise beyond our years. That day is not here, yet. So, we grab each other on these special whitewater trips to bond and tease each other lovingly. 2011 Spring Break brings us all together again for a family outing...

I miss them so much.

Notes: W.E.T. River Trips honors our families. We now have multiple generations on our whitewater rafting trips. Some have been with us since the late 70's and bring their own children and grandchildren now. Bless all of you and may we enhance your family experience in the best possible way.

All photos by W.E.T. River Trips except for the Family pic at the top. Thanks to Google images for that one and thanks to youtube for the video parody of teens tolerating their parents.

All About the Attitude - WET River Trips

WET River Trips March 19 - 20, 2011 a photo by W.E.T. River Trips on Flickr.



No matter what you do in life, it all boils down to your attitude. A sour attitude with a big fat chip on the shoulder is a proven ground for a sad life of bitterness and dour relationships. An attitude born in enthusiasm, wide-eyed thirst for the unknown and a smile from ear to ear is proven to be a recipe for a happy life and fulfilling life.



Last weekend, we had those guests that come into life's hardships with a smile and a reverence for all things good. The flows were high... beyond 5,000 cfs. The rain came pouring down and the wind blew hard. But, the entire crew and the guests were pumped up and paid their dues to Mother Nature. And, Mom rewarded them all with an incredible day of whitewater rafting in the solitude of the river canyon.



Together, they were celebrating their best buddy's upcoming wedding nuptials. A group of old friends getting together for a memorable time on the river while challenging themselves to a taste of adventure in the outdoors. They were celebrating life and all the good things that go with a good life... friends, food, nature and adventure. A whitewater rafting trip to remember their last bachelor days together.



The accolades came in on Monday from the bachelor group. They had great things to say...

"Just wanted to send a follow up email to our trip this past weekend... We spent 2 nights and 2 days, surviving the elements of wind and rain, and conquering the high water... We all had an awesome time and will have plenty of memories to share for a long time. Our bachelor, J., especially had a good time. I wanted to give a special thanks to our guides Justin and Steve... We could not have asked for better guides to introduce us to whitewater rapids. These guys are the best and deserve some recognition! From cooking up our meals, to guiding us on the river, and just plain showing us a good time, Steve and Justin did a fantastic job. We hope to organize another trip during the summer, and will definitely recommend WET to all our friends. Many thanks again!

Joel B., trip organizer"



And this is why we do what we do... whitewater trips for our guests!



It's all about the attitude.



All photos and content belong to WET River Trips. Blog and pictures uploaded by WET blogging staff. All photos also uploaded to WET Flickr site. Visit W.E.T. on Facebook.

North Fork American - March 4, 2011

Well, W.E.T. started with quite a bang last weekend. The day was sunny, blue skies and the people were great. A couple from the local area, some trainee guides and guests from past trips were all there to start the official first day on the river.

There was a relaxed feeling about that day, too. No stressful late arrivals or surprise add-ons at the last minute. Everyone was prepared and ready to roll onto the Class 4+ whitewater on the North Fork American. Chamberlain Falls is the big rapid there and most had seen it before, so the day was like a reunion of W.E.T., the guides and the guest all paying homage to this most wonderful river trip.

Big Poppah was there, too with a big smile as he waved off the crew as they snaked down the river bobbing and drifting into the big rapids ahead. 2011 rafting season is here, and it seems we just put the last river season to sleep in a blanket of paperwork and file folders.

Flowers are blooming, red bud is starting it's color change to magenta and chrome yellow daffodils are starting to poke their heads out of the ground. Spring in California! Nothing is better than that... absolutely nothing!

Video slide show by: Big Poppah

Blog written and upload by: WET River Trips blogging staff

More videos: http://youtube.com/wetrivertrips

Check WET Flickr photos