Wildman

Last weekend Ella headed to Chicago with her Dad to be a flower girl in her Aunt Kay Kay's (Katie) wedding. Pics to come on that later. With a kid-free weekend on my hands, I joined Guy on his weekly trip (a 6-hour drive) to the Wildman Ranch in Athelstane, Wisconsin. To say Rusty is addicted to kayaking and any other extreme sport imaginable is an understatement. It's what he lives for. He spends every weekend in the Spring as a raft guide for the Ranch, where he gets paid to do something he loves. To each his own, right?

We lucked out with an 80 degree Friday afternoon/evening but got dumped on with rain all night, and the rest of the weekend hovered around a drizzly and wet 50 degrees. This was all just fine since we were provided with a comfy, cozy little cabin well-equipped with heat, shower, and a toilet. It just so happened that the resident photographer for the Ranch couldn't be there this weekend so they asked me to fill in. Ha! I got paid to go on vacation! :)

I gathered up all of my belongings, threw on the TNF rain jacket Guy gave me for Christmas, and headed for the river. Luckily, the rain stopped just in time for my little outing. I found a perfect rock at the base of the last rapid (dubbed "Horse Race") and dunked half my leg in the river on the way to my seat. No big deal, I can handle a wet foot. Well, an hour and a half later the men decided to grace me with their presence. I snapped pictures of all of them in their glory. It was unbelievable to me that ANYone could have a smile on their face after spending 2 hours in 28 degree water, but they were as happy as pigs in shit. I, on the other hand, was borderline hypothermic. I raced back to the cabin, threw on both heaters, crawled into my sleeping bag and read my book. Aaaahhh. No sooner than I had warmed up, it was time for my next round of picture-taking. This trip was less eventful and even enjoyable. By the end of my day's excitement, I was ready for a glass of wine. But, it was 3:30. So, I refrained and waited until 5:00, which seemed like a more suitable time of day to begin cocktailing. Rusty and I took a hike along the river, went out to dinner, and sat around the campfire for the rest of the evening.

On Sunday, we headed over to the Menominee River so Rusty could meet up with a kayaking buddy and run the rapids a few times. I instantly took to his friend's wife (I'll refrain from mentioning names until I get their permission) who was just as sweet as ever. Come to find out, she roomed in college with a friend of mine from high school. Very small world. And, not only do they have a little girl who is a ball of energy just like Ella, but she has the exact same birthday as Ella, just hours apart! We hope to introduce the girls to each other soon and spend more time with them this summer.

Here are some pictures I took with my camera. I will post the pics I took on the Ranch's camera when Guy gets them to me.