Recently we were visited by a women's book club who had been inspired to try river rafting by their most recent read: "River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey". This book has a gripping account of whitewater rapids encountered on Teddy's legendary trip on the Amazon River. What better way to enhance their enjoyment of this harrowing account than to test their own limits on an exciting day of whitewater rafting with Mother Lode! They chose the Chili Bar Run on the American River which features such exciting rapids as Meatgrinder, Triple Threat and Troublemaker.

Unlike Teddy Roosevelt though, these folks had a great time and went home healthy. Rumor has it Roosevelt was not so lucky. Nevertheless, this is a great idea: "read about it , experience it, live to tell the tale." We look forward to hosting other such groups seeking to enhance their reading adventures with real ones. Imagine the "Leap of Faith" on our Challenge Ropes Course as an apperatif to reading Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air".