From Russia to River

My river moment was seeing the delight and awe on my sons’ faces when they went through their first set of rapids ever. My husband and I adopted our sons from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. When they were 4 and 6, we flew from Michigan to Oregon to visit family. Having rafted many, many times all over the world, I couldn’t wait to introduce them to whitewater. We prepared them with a year of swim lessons because they had never seen a body of water larger than a bathtub. The OARS trip we chose on the Lower Klamath couldn’t have been better. The weather cooperated, the other guests were great, the river was fun, and, of course, the guides were outstanding. But nothing was more memorable than the look of pure joy on their faces in the first set of rapids. Admittedly, we were a little nervous because if they didn’t like rafting, a 3 day trip could be very long. Luckily, our gut feelings were correct and that trip was only the first of many we have done as a family.