Jet Boat Ride In Grants Pass

We met Susan of http://roadtraveler.typepad.com/happytrails yesterday afternoon to take the 4 hour Hellsgate Jet Boat tour on the Rogue River. I have to tell you, I was really looking forward to this adventure, but at the same time, I had heard that you get really wet and I wasn't looking forward to that. The driver was very informative and we saw so many different birds, plants, nests and some animals. I was amazed at how much he knew about the plants and trees along the river. I was further amazed at how well he knew the river, which was a good thing as there were a lot of areas that the rock were only inches below the water and as he told us, hit one of those and the aluminum boat would just roll up like the top of a sardine can. Boy that analogy really made me feel safe. We actually travel 16 miles up river to a area called Hell's Gate, then came back down river a short distance to a open air lodge for a wonderful meal that included a relish tray, salad, BBQ ribs and chicken, veggies, potato's, cornbread, biscuts and dessert. It was all served family style and trust me, you had plenty to eat. After dinner, we boarded the boats for the return trip to Grants Pass. On the way back the driver did about four 360 degree spins. Sure was fun until the water came over the side of the boat. Fortunately, I was sitting in the middle so I didn't get real wet, but Susan had her right side dripping. He, the driver, also opened throttle and we were probably hitting close to 50 mph at one point - talk about fun! I would do it again, only on a warmer day.

Here is a picture of the boat arriving from the late morning run.....

Here's Susan, she is sitting on the right side facing front and yes, she did get wet, but this was taken at the dock before we left.......

Some of the ripples on the water - there were area's of more white water, but from where I was sitting it was hard to get a picture of them.....

This was so cute, 6 adult geese with soooo many babies. It was fun watching them keep them all in line.....

This is the Hell's Gate area of the river - narrow and very, very rocky. You really have to know the river to go through.......

This is the open air lodge where we enjoyed a delicious dinner.....

On the way back to town, the driver kept telling us to watch for the goats. We spotted them along the hillside - the brown one is female and the white one is a male........

We had met Susan for a late breakfast at Denny's and that was a treat. I just love when you can put a real person to a name that you know from a blog or email or whatever. It was great meeting her and I'm just sorry that her husband, Jack couldn't be there also. We look forward to meeting up with them again at some time in the future.