Floating the Little Spokane

Here's the photo link for today:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kyotesue/LittleSpokaneRiverAndBBQle.com/kyotesue/LittleSpokaneRiverAndBBQ

We hauled our kayaks along on this trip just for this day. The kayaks ride on top the baby car, and usually Mo and I get them loaded and unloaded fairly easily, but with Mo’s owies its good that brother Dan is around to help get them unloaded. Brother Don lives here in Spokane, and kayaking is his major hobby so he is familiar with most all the good recreational runs around here. In addition, nephew Lanson is a whitewater kayaker and does that amazing thing in what looks exactly like a shoe to me. I still can’t figure out how those things stay on top of the water the way they do, and even more I can’t imagine stuffing my body into one.
Here's a link to information about the river.

http://www.wildernesstrip.com/Trips/default.asp?id=410&category=4&offset=3

So the family flotilla consisted of Mo and I in our lake kayaks, Lanson and Mandi in their “shoes” with an additional little whitewater kayak for Don, a sweet canvas kayak that Don has rebuilt that Mo used in the Sierra’s 3 decades ago, and a flotsam and jetsam of floatable rafts for the rest of the family. It was a feat of cooperation getting everyone loaded with something that floats, with the required lifejackets, and food and drink onto the river, all at the same time. That was about the last time we were there all at the same time, because the kayaks floated much faster than the rafts and with Mo’s injuries, we just had to let the water take us at the speed of the current, which was a nice 5 mph or so.

I actually mapped this area as well, back in the early 2000’s, but had never actually had a boat on the Little Spokane. What a lovely little river, on the way to the big river, it winds and curves through overhanging trees and between tree covered hills and pastures, with just a few of the huge houses along the bluffs visible above the trees. It took us about 3 hours to do the complete run, but it would have been quite a bit faster if we hadn’t been trying to slow down and wait in the sandbars for the rest of the group. Check out the website and don’t miss this lovely little river if you are anywhere near Spokane with a boat. I lived in the area for 3 decades and never discovered it before this day.

After the float trip we all gathered at Don’s place for another family bbq, with great food provided by Wynn and others, and all was wonderful except for the yellow jackets. To add insult to injury, Mo was standing innocently on the deck when an angry bee hit her hand and it swelled up twice its normal size. Not fair at all! We enjoyed the evening, but also enjoyed leaving and going home to cozy camp and settled Mo into her sofa pillow again while we slept through a lovely cool evening and night.