Ocoee Whitewater Rafting and Camping 2009

Whitewater Rafting

5am rolls around pretty quickly especially after a long night battling rain on your face inside a tent. We all rolled out of bed and got dressed pretty quickly. It was a little early but the excitement was starting to build up. The adrenaline was a little slow catching up but nothing a few cups of coffee and caffeine can't fix. we secured our luggage and brought a change of clothes with us. We piled back into the car and started our journey to the Ocoee site. We arrived at our rafting site in about 1.5 hours. We go into this log cabin and announce that our group has arrived. There many groups there as well. everybody had that same nervous but excited smile on their faces. We soon were corralled down to a supply room where we received our life vest, helmet, and paddle. Then corralled onto an old school bus that was still wet inside from where it rained the night before. Everybody is now ready to have some fun. It's about a 20 min ride to the actual launch site. There, we were assigned our rafts and guides. We learned the basics of staying in the boat and when to paddle. It's now all just building up to the moment we hit the water. After several minutes of instruction, we carry the raft down to the water. The adventure begins. I'll let the pictures tell the story from here.

Ocoee Whitewater Rafting and Camping 2009

Camping

It's that time of the year to air out the tents and sit around a camp fire. A group of us from work decided to take a huge whitewater rafting trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. While we were getting all rugged, might as well camp out somewhere in tents. Our friend P. Evan found a nice little mom and pop campground in North Carolina about 1-2 hours from the rafting site. It was cheap, and provided and small cabin for some the ladies that preferred indoor living. We drove out in the morning getting us to the campgrounds about 5pm. The drive there was long but fun. We sang and played games all the way up there. We even had walkie talkies to communicate between cars. We stopped only several times for bathroom breaks and food. We were very anxious to get there. We finally reached the campgrounds. It was nothing more than a big circular drive in someone's back yard lined with tents and RVs. We located our friend P who had arrived the night before. We wasted no time getting tents set up and having a drink. The sun was starting to set so we didn't want to lose any light. Dinner for tonight was pond raised trout that the ladies so nicely went and caught for us, vegeatble kabobs, and corn niblets. I'm drooling just thinking about this. We fire up the grill and toss on the grub. The fish turned out amazing, the vegetable kabobs were outstanding, and nothing could ever top corn. After dinner, we built a camp fire and proceeded to celebrate by having just a few drinks. We did have to get up really early the next morning. As we were drinking and having a good time, the rain began to fall. It was just a drizzle at first that turned into a pretty heavy rain later into the night. We all tucked ourselves in to our sleeping bags and tents. I could not believe how quiet and peaceful it was there. Plus the rain beating down on the tent, there's no way I wouldn't sleep like a baby. That was until I discovered my tent had a small leak. Of course, it was right where my head was. It trickled on my face all night. No matter where I moved in the tent, it would find me. I finally gave in and fell asleep. It was a great day.