Story

William Buehler

Mr.Neuburger

January 28, 2013

Comp 101-104

Float Trip to the

Middle of Nowhere

            A few years back in high school my friends and I wanted to go on a float trip. We called around to all the canoe rentals in the area to see if there was enough water in the river to have a float trip. We called the places on different rivers but all of them said that the water was low and maybe a mile of the river is floatable. We finally called a place down near Ava Missouri it was called Twin Bridges Canoe Rental they said that we could float two miles and camp for free. So we when to our local price cutter and got hot dogs, water, and a lot of other snacks. Then we packed up our tents, sleeping bags, flashlights and other stuff. The next day we loaded the stuff into my truck and my friend’s car. Then we set off to the middle of nowhere.

After we set off to Twin Bridges it was all we saw was trees fields and cows. The roads were very up very steep and had very sharp turns it made me very nervous being a beginning driver only being sixteen and all. We finally go there and they asked if we were eighteen we said no. so they said we could not camp on the river on an overnight float, which was extremely upsetting to us. We agreed and loaded up on an old dirty van the head lining was falling down there was beverage cans everywhere on the floor. It looked like it hadn’t been clean in at least 20 years. Then after, waiting 20 minutes of waiting on the driver in the nasty van the driver finally showed up. He looked like a guy that had been drinking last night. Finally he started the van up it backfire several times. Then we when thought more farms, trees, and other country junk.

After the long country drive we with the driver speeding probably going fifteen over we finally got to the river. It was a slow moving but clear as just cleaned glass. We finally made it to the river after four o’clock of driving were finally at the river. So the five of us got into the canoes except Nick he got kayak because one canoes only fit two people. We pushed off and off we went down the river. It felt like freedom no cell phones no buildings everywhere just the river and the woods that surrounded it. Everyone had floated a good ways and then we probably went the wrong way and rain into some major rapids. There was a forty foot tree that had been downed recently, we thought about getting out but did not. There was maybe half foot water so as normal Sixteen year olds would do we tried to go over it. The first canoe to try was my friend Josh and Brandon they went half way over and all of the sudden they were stuck on the log. Then abruptly my friend Nick came flying in on his kayak and slammed into their canoe. Thus they all splashed in to the water along with the snacks for the day. Subsequently, after all of us went through the food then determined that the soggy Oreos and Pringles were not edible, we took off again.

After floating down the river a little bit more, we came up on some faster moving rapids. My canoe went through first we made it through on fazed. Then Brandon’s and josh's canoe went through, but they hit a rock and flipped again. The two of them took off down the river then a few seconds later I found my friend Brandon hanging in the water on a branch of a thorn tree. I quickly reacted and pulled him out of the tree by pulling the thorns out of his shirt and shorts. Everyone felt much better after that indent was over.

After the tree situation we floated the rest of the way down the river and got back on the nasty old van and headed back to the camp ground. Once we got there we drove over to our camping spot. There was a bunch of rednecks playing their music load as possible right by our camp site this was really annoying. Josh decided to follow a tail that when towards the river, he found a large gravel bar. The next thing we knew josh came up and said “why don't we camp on the gravel bar? We wouldn’t have to deal with the rednecks and their noise. So we grabbed all hour stuff and the firewood.

Thus everyone was setting up the two tents therefore, Nick and I decided to make the fire so we could make some dinner. I proceeded to light the fire; nick pulled out a bottle of lighter fluid along with a lighter and said “step back.” I stepped back really quick and he sprayed the lighter fluid on the pill of sticks then he lighted the sticks then poof the fire was roaring. We added the logs after a while. Then we proceeded and stated cooking our hot dogs over the fire. A lot of them were burned but we didn’t care at all it was food.

Finally, we were finished with dinner and decided to hit the sack. We slept a few hours and someone woke up yelling. I woke up as well and looked out my tent window and noticed three lights south of us there were green, red, and white light. We started to yell at them and they just disappeared immediately. To this day we have no clue what it was. The next day we got packed up and proceeded home. Everyone was really confused about what the lights were. It was made clear that we were tired because my friend fell asleep on the way home. I think it was just a normal day for being in the middle of nowhere.