-Gramps-

The Black Ribbon part 2 The French Broad River is a very beautiful, naturally flowing river, meaning that it is not dam controlled by the TVA like so many others are in western North Carolina. It flows north easterly through the mountains which includes Asheville and there it connects with the Swannanoa River. From there it continues through the county seat of Marshall, our destination. Eventually the French Broad flows into the Holston River in Tennessee and on into the Tennessee River near Knoxville. It is called the French Broad because it was one of two broad rivers in the area and it was the one that flowed through land claimed over two centuries ago by France. The other river was called the English Broad River, which later became known simply as “The Broad River”. The Cherokee had their own names for the river depending on what area it was in. The French Broad River is 213 miles long. We would be getting a very close view of about six of those miles. The Blue Heron Whitewater center is located about twenty-two miles from downtown Asheville, and about forty five miles from the Agricultural Center. The Ag center is right across the street so to speak from the Asheville Airport. We crossed the river three times on our way to Marshall. I saw it as a preview of what was to come. Being that it was not Diane’s and my first trip down the river, we had some idea of what to expect. I didn’t expect us to get fogged in on our way there, but it almost happened. It was pretty thick in places along I-26 just about where we passed under that great black ribbon of road known as the Blue Ridge Parkway. I must have called the Blue Heron office three or four times along the way to make sure we knew where we were going and to assure them we would be there ASAP. Sandy, who would become our guide, and Wags told us not to hurry, stay safe, they would wait, and if we drove past Grandma’s General Store we had gone too far and to turn around. We didn’t go too far. We made it just in time for the start of training for our half day trip down the river with lunch included. There was a couple from London along with one other rafter who would be in Wag’s large raft. Diane, Gary and Janis were assigned to Sandy’s raft. Jerry and I choose to go it alone in a Ducky. A Ducky is an inflatable one person Kayak with a double paddle. They are a bit more challenging and a heck of a lot of fun. We received some very precise training instructions both from Wags live and Wags on video. Basically the instructions were what to do if you fell out of the raft or off your duck, which could happen whether you wanted it to or not, and believe me, you don’t want it happen. We were issued spray jackets to keep us warm, helmets to keep our brains in place, and paddles that we were instructed not to lose. We boarded a used to be school bus, rafts and ducks lashed on top, for the trip up the mountain to the launch point. Once there we and our rafts were off loaded and we carried them down to the river. Sandy gave Jerry and myself a bit more instructions on how to paddle a duck. She also explained how to get off a rock if you become a pinned duck. If you don’t like getting wet, don’t white water in a duck. Like rafts they are self-bailing, water that comes in goes out, but the opposite is true and so you find yourself basically sitting in a rubber bowl of water. It wasn't all that bad even at fifty four degree water and just about the same air temperature. After about twenty minutes of paddling hard in order to miss a lot of rocks, one starts to warm up. The trip was a blast. Time flew really fast, lots of laughs and screams when the river threw cold stuff on everybody. It wasn't long at all before we arrived at a large rock on the left bank reserved for dare devils. If you were brave enough to take a jump you were invited to do so. Some did, including the couple from London and Gary. I declined, the duck provided plenty of excitement and water for me. We stopped for a good lunch of ham sandwiches, chips, pickles, cookies and soft drinks.Lunch provided a great place and time to take group photos. After lunch we had about another half hours trip down river. Jerry and Gary switched positions, which put Gary in the duck. He took to it…well, like a duck to water. This leg of our six hour trip was really short and over much too quick. We reached our take out spot. We washed the sand off the ducks and rafts and hauled them up to our bus. Once they were loaded we took off our vests and helmets, picked a seat and the bus took us back up the mountain to the center. Once there we changed, looked at our photos, which Jerry purchased for us, Janis, Gary and I bought a t-shirt, we loaded up and drove home with great big smiles on our faces. We all agreed that this Tuesday had been a great big blast! What do we do tomorrow and the day after? Take a Hike? Visit the farmer’s market? Take the Asheville Trolley Tour? How about all the above !