Labor Day weekend has just passed and I have returned home again from the cabin. I was planning on staying in the city for the weekend to rest and get ready for our next trip, but my daughter talked me into going to the cabin instead. I rode up with Nora and her family in their car. Bill had driven up on Thursday and Kevin was also up there with his friends. The weather was perfect--sunny and warm.
On Sunday, everyone, but my husband, decided to go to the river. I didn't ask which river, so I was surprised to find we were driving in the opposite direction I had anticipated. We drove down Middle Camp and then turned off going down, down in a river canyon. We passed a bridge and then I realized the place looked familiar. This was the Stanislaus River and many years before I took the kids down there in our Chevy van to pick blackberries. The same road-dusty blackberry bushes were growing near the river. We drove on for a few hundred feet and John found a parking spot. The other car with Kevin and his friends arrived shortly thereafter.
We all got out of our cars and followed John down the road. Nora carried Caitlin and the lunch. I had my water bottle and a towel. I had no idea where we were headed, but after a quarter of a mile or so, we turned off the road and headed down to the water. We then started crossing the river at a shallow spot that was covered with large rocks and pepples. I didn't trust the rocks, so I just walked in the water with my sandals. On the other side Nora and I avoided the rocks and walked through the forested area arriving at a beautiful pool of water. It was a fairly large pool for a river and it looked like it was man-made. At the lower end there were boulders in place that held back the water. There was also a rope over the pool with a trolly for jumping into the water. At the upper end of the pool was a tree with a ladder placed against the tree where the rope was tied. This is where we decided to sit.
Everyone found a comfortable spot and some of the group tried getting into the water, gasping and shivering when submerged--it was very cold. I decided to try it--after all I went swimming in Lake Tahoe the week after it snowed there. Well, when I got in, it was cold, but I decided to stay and swam around for a half an hour or so finally sitting in a little pool of churning water--just like a hot tub only cold. It was very beautiful there, although shady. After a couple of hours, we started back.
I followed everyone, walking very gingerly over the rocks in my water sandals. I was looking where I was stepping, but suddenly my left foot slipped. I tried to get my balance but I felt I was falling in slow motion. I landed on my left side--my hip hit the rocks first, then my left arm, and lastly my head jolted onto a rock in a little crevice.
Nora was right behind me and came to my rescue. I didn't want people to worry so I tried to get up. My head was spinning, so Nora told me to sit on a rock and rest. I got up after a couple of minutes, because I just wanted to move on. Then Kevin came and guided me through the rest of the river. When we got to the road, I felt okay--I could just walk normally.
The next day I was bruised on my arm and hip, but my head felt okay. When I thought about what had happened, I realized that every time we went to that river, there was a mishap. The first time, years ago, the van got stuck in a ditch when I tried to back up. A kind, dusty, woodsman, with a very dusty truck with a winch on it, pulled the van out. Then, two years ago, when John went down there with Brendan, John lost his shoe and sprained or broke his ankle. Then, this time, both Nora and I fell and I injured myself. It's a beautiful river, but I'd better think twice about going again.
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