Anders - "My Rafting Trip"

My Rafting Trip


The water was the Devil, haunting me every second I was on the river. Fear shook my entire body as the Devil pulled me into the untamed waters.

We went white water rafting while I was at Wind River Ranch in Estes Park, Colorado. It was a Christian Ranch that my family stayed at for a week. I can remember my grandma sending an email inviting us to go. My dad checks email every night and told us one night at bedtime. “We are going on a trip with your cousins.”
My sister freaked out! “I can’t believe we get to go! When are we leaving?”
Dad laughed and said, “We are going in a week!” I couldn’t sleep that night due to the excitement of what was to come.

Whitewater rafting in class four rapids was more exciting than I could have ever dreamed. After three hours, Ben, the guide, said, “We are getting to the end! Here comes the last big rapid!” I was prepared and ready to go. Then it happened. The raft spun. We were coming in backwards. A huge rock rose out of the river, standing as tall as a giant. It was called Highside Rock, and rafters had to push off of it to continue down the river. It was there that Jake and I fell out into the water.
The water was cold. I couldn’t breathe. There was so much water. Then, I hit the rock. Blackness took over my body and shut down my senses. I was knocked out in the water.

My mom roared, “WHERE is ANDERS?? WHERE is ANDERS???” Panic took over. Her voice was showing her fear.
“There he is. He is over there,” my dad said pointing at me floating unconscious in the water. I was getting tossed around in the water. I looked like a rag doll.
Mom relaxed a bit at the site of me. “Get him in the boat!” she pleaded to the guide. He jumped into the water and grabbed me. He put me up onto the other raft and instructed them to pull me in before the next set of rapids.
That’s when I regained consciousness. I felt a big tug and realized Ben, was pulling me up into the raft. I was dizzy and really scared. I was relieved to be out of the water. Awestruck, my cousins said, “Are you OK? That was awesome!”
The best part of the day was that photographers covered every inch of the bank. The flashes almost blinded me. It felt like I was famous. Picture after picture after picture showed my experience. Pictures showed me falling into the water, getting tossed around, and finally getting rescued.
When we finally finished the ride, my mom hugged me really tightly. My dad patted me on the back; he thought it was really cool. While my cousins continued to play in the water, I watched from the safety of land. Even though it was a trip I will never remember, I plan to stay on the safer side until the memory fades!

By Anders Olson