Weekly photo challenge: Down
“To trace the history of a river or a raindrop…is also to trace the history of the soul, the history of the mind descending and arising in the body. In both, we constantly seek and stumble upon divinity, which like feeding the lake, and the spring becoming a waterfall, feeds, spills, falls, and feeds itself all over again.” – – From Islands, The Universe, Home, 1991 Gretel Ehrlich
Headed DOWN the Snake -- Photo by Pat Bean
Down River
White water rafting was how I got my adrenalin rush for 20 years. These days I’m mostly content to sit by a river and watch it flow past on its way to the sea.
Or take a gently canoe ride down a flat section of river and watch the scenery float by.
I like rivers. I live to hear their music, from the tinkling,, bubbling lullaby of a small mountain stream to the the bass roar of the rivers, like the Snake and Colorado, just before you come upon a man-eating white-water rapid.
Hey! Who stole the boat? -- Photo by Pat Bean
“SothisisaRiver”
“THE River,” corrected the Rat.
“And you really live by the river? What a jolly life!”
“By it and with it and on it and in it,” said the Rat. “It’s brother and sister to me, and aunts, and company, and food and drink, and (naturally) washing. It’s my world, and I don’t want any other. What it hasn’t got is not worth having, and what it doesn’t know is not worth knowing. Lord! The times we’ve had together…” –– From the Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahme
Pat Bean's blog 
You are a braver woman than I will ever be. White water rafting looks like so much fun, but I can’t work up the nerve to do it.
Love your photos and interpretation of down. 🙂
Thanks Robin. I miss those days of being an adrenalin junkie. I didn’t began rafting until I was 40, and was hooked from the first rapid. I went down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon twice, and the section of the Snake I used for the photos dozens of times. I sometimes (but not down the mighty Colorado) even captained my own raft until I was about 55, then didn’t want the responsibility of looking out for others. These days I’m not sure I could look out for myself. I miss it.
I love that quote from Rat in The Wind in the Willows. Very nice.
And I really, really enjoyed your writing prompt today, Len
Hahaha, nice images. I’ve never been down this river before, but I’ve been a raft guide in Maine for a couple years now. Whitewater rafting is so much fun, glad you enjoy it as much as I do!
Nate
It’s always great to hear from another river rat Nate. That the rivers came into my life at 40 was like giving me a whole new life. And while I mostly just sit beside them these days, or take photos of my friends going through Lunch Counter, I feel blessed to have had those wild, crazy days. Living out West, I had the Snake, the Colorado, the Green, the Payette and the Salmon rivers close by. I hope your New England rivers provide you with as much enjoyment as these ones did for me. Thanks for commenting Nate, and may there be many more rafting trips in your future
Mr. Grahme is indeed inspiring and so are you Pat. Love the water shots.