Dog Days equals Fun!
August 02, 2007
It's August, the water is plentiful, the skies are moody and the river is fun! We are about a month away from Gauley Season and amazing whitewater rafting. August through Labor Day is sure to be a great time. We will be hosting Curious Strange, a jam band out of Blacksburg, VA on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We are also looking to host an open mic event one weeknight this August as well.
Once Labor Day is gone, we'll be pedal to the metal for our rafting trips on the Upper Gauley and Lower Gauley. There is nothing quite like the Gauley River with the 23 scheduled whitewater releases and consistently excellent caliber of rafting fun.
Don't forget, however, that the New River is runnable all fall long and will be much less crowded than it is in the summer. We've also got Bridge Day to look forward to the 3rd Saturday in October.
Wildwater Expeditions has plenty of camping available as well as our bunk cabins (the cabins are booking up fast, so make sure you get your reservations squared away as soon as possible).
Give us a call @ 1.800.WVA.RAFT (982.7238) to set up your trip today. We will also be rolling out our online reservation system here in the next week.
I look forward to seeing you on the river!
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Still Recovering
July 17, 2007
Man, oh man! The Hackensaw Boys have come and gone, but there is a feel-good glow about the greater Fayetteville area from their having been here. We had a blast as they ripped it up on the inaugural show on the new Wildwater Stage. People were dancing, whooping and a-hollering - and that was just when they heard the Hackensaw Boys were going to be coming to play.
The Wild Rumpus kicked things off with some homegrown Fayetteville music. Andrew Adkins and the gang warmed the crowd up nicely. When he's not on stage, you can check out Andrew's luthier work at in Fayetteville at Leland Guitars.
Once the Hackensaw Boys took the stage and got some sound stuff squared away, they were off and running. Judging by the smiles and the dancing, I would hazard a guess that everyone had a blast. The highlight of the evening was when the boys unplugged, took their instruments and made their way into the crowd to throw down some good ol' fashioned tunes while surrounded by the crowd.
With a little luck, we hope to have the Hackensaw Boys visit us next season some time. They seemed to enjoy themselves and the venue just fine.
Our next schedule event at Wildwater is the Blacksburg based jam band Curious Strange, who'll be joining us on September 2 (that's a Sunday on Labor Day weekend!).
We are also planning the first Wildwater Hootenanny for sometime this August to provide an opportunity for those folks out there who would like to play on a stage in front of some folks. We'll have the concessions rolling along with the good times. Stay tuned as to when that will be.
Lastly, thanks to all who helped with the Hackensaw Boys show. I'll list who I can remember and hope not to offend anyone who is omitted: Andrew Adkins & the Wild Rumpus, Monty Price, Fred Perry, Crosier's, New River Foodland, Corley's Distributing, Christopher, Stephanie, Bobby, Steve, Billy, Hank, Matt, Eric, Bodie, Julia, Sid, Bill, Alex, Rich, Reg, and a special thanks to Bill Sheppell for his vast knowledge of all things sound.
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Hackety Hack, Don't be Slack!
June 27, 2007
July 4th is coming up next week and we are looking forward to celebrating our great nation's birthday in style! Our celebration will be a few days later on the 7th of July. The Hackensaw Boys will be rolling their brand of Americana & Bluegrass here at Wildwater Expeditions. This band has a huge following in West Virginia as well as surrounding states and we can't wait to have them help christen our new stage. Needless to say, we are on a tight deadline to complete the stage, but I know we'll make it. This show also features The Wild Rumpus, a local band fronted by Andrew Adkins of Leland Guitars.
Needless to say (or maybe it needs to be said!) we will be whitewater rafting on the refreshing waters of the New River before the show and are offering a package of two nights camping, breakfast, lunch and dinner the day of the trip and the concert all for $119! If I were a used car salesman I would say something like, "I'd give these trips away but my manager won't let me!!!" Whitewater rafting in the great state of West Virginia is unlike any other activity that you can do in the Eastern U.S. If you can't join us on the 7th, you can always drop us a line on our 800 number and we'll work with your schedule to get you down here to see why we've been at it for 39+ years.
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Jon Dragan Road
June 17, 2007
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a road renaming. The road in question takes visitors into Hawk's Nest State Park through Ansted, WV. The road was renamed Jon Dragan Road in honor of the late Jon Dragan, founder of Wildwater Expeditions and whitewater rafting in West Virginia. It was a quiet affair that included Jon's wife Melanie, his children Melissa and Josh, and his brothers Tom and Dave. The Mayor of Ansted, West Virginia delivered a brief, poignant speech and was followed by WV Delegate John Pino who asserted that if Christopher Columbus hadn't discovered the New World, Jon Dragan surely would have.
Hyperbole aside, I think Pino's statement embodied what Jon Dragan meant to West Virginia whitewater and tourism. I'm pretty sure that whitewater would've have taken root here in WV at some point, but it is no accident that Jon had the vision to begin Wildwater when he did. That five years passed between the start of Wildwater and the establishment of any other company speaks volumes. Jon, Tom and Chris are legacies in the industry and I am proud to be part of the continuation of that story. I hope that when you visit Wildwater you get a bit of Jon's down to earth approach, gleam in the eye treatment. We love what we do and hope that you do as well.
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Looking Back at Memorial Day
June 12, 2007
Well that was fun! Another month and more happy whitewater rafters have graced our black boats. Although the season got off to a bit of a slow start with near freezing temperatures, we are in full on summer time mode here in southern West Virginia. The days have been sunny and warm and the water has been fun and cool. A perfect combination for whitewater rafting in wild, wonderful West Virginia.
Memorial Day turned out to be as much fun as we hoped. We had many folks join us for our Memorial Day Special which included live music from Patrick Sweany. Pat rocked the house on our makeshift outdoor stage. He was a true professional and nice as can be. I don't think anyone who took in the show left disappointed. If we can swing it, we'd like to have Pat join us next year as well.
We're currenly building a permanent stage to accomodate future music acts. Nestled at the bottom of a gently sloping natural amphitheater, it will be an ideal venue for guests and artists alike. Our first show on the new stage is July 7 and features the Hackensaw Boys and local band The Wild Rumpus. Both are fully worth seeing. If you take advantage of our raft & camp special that weekend, you get the show for free. If you are just interested in the show, tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Call 800.982.7238 for more information!
I hope to provide more frequent postings, but I won't make any promises. You all be good and we'll see you on the water!
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Great People & Awesome Musicians
May 16, 2007
May is flying by and we are staring right in the face of Memorial Day, which is good, but not without its challenges. We are also in the middle of training new whitewater rafting guides for the 2007 season. It looks like we've got a solid hard working crew that will mesh nicely with our existing staff. Ideally these are people cut from the same cloth as those folks who've kept people like you returning year after year. We could have the slickest amenities and glitziest presentation of our company, but it wouldn't mean a thing without quality people to back it up.
I can't say enough about Patrick Sweany coming to visit us on May 26. He's looking forward to getting down here and getting folks dancing and having a great time. I just got a copy of his new CD, Every Hour is a Dollar Gone, and it is quite possibly his best effort yet. When I first saw him at MerleFest about 6 or 7 years ago, he was full on acoustic blues (which I love). When he went with a more diverse sound I was a little skeptical. After listening to his new CD, I am a full-on convert. Check out Patrick Sweany at www.patricksweany.com.
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Uno de Mayo!
May 01, 2007
Happy May Day! It looks like the near freezing temps of April are now behind us. I look back at the last post and figure that talking about the incredible weather of late March/very early April provoked ol' Jack Frost into making a statement that he wasn't quite done. With that in mind I won't tell you that it's going to be 82 degrees F here today and that the water is holding quite nicely on the New River (5 feet on the Fayette Station gauge or about 10,000 cfs).
We're gearing up for a busy May, which will be culminating in our Memorial Day Bash, featuring Patrick Sweany on Saturday Night. For 119 clams a person you can camp for two nights, raft for one day, and eat a continental breakfast, deli-style lunch and steak dinner. Throw in The Patrick Sweany Band and you've got an awesome weekend.
The Patrick Sweany Band marks the beginning of our mission to bring awesome music to the New River area. We've got the Hackensaw Boys visiting us on July 7. That show will be a ticketed event ($10 in advance, $12 at the door), but our Memorial Day event with the PSB is free. If you like great music, especially blues, mark Memorial Day on your calender and join us! Food and drink will be available at reasonable prices during the event.
We'll see you here!
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I turned around and there we were, staring the season in the face
April 04, 2007
This last month has been a whirlwind of amazing spring whitewater, basecamp work, and ringing telephones. We've had incredible weather (70's!) and wonderful people have been visiting to join us this spring. The 2007 New River rafting season is underway and we are getting in there!
Our Annual Meet & Greet Weekend was a blast! With the New River pushing 8 feet on the Fayette Station Gauge, we were taking on high water stalwarts such as the Keeneys, Sunset, the Bonsai Wave at Undercut, and Fayette Station. Frankly, I'm surprised there was anything left to run on Sunday because we hit everything on Saturday! There are some new folks in the mix for training this year. After training finishes up and they check out, you'll be seeing these guys and gals at the helm, taking on the river with you, Wildwater style.
As we get deeper into the season, keep your eyes peeled for our musical offerings. We have Patrick Sweany lined up for Memorial Day Saturday and the Hackensaw Boys for July 7. Stay tuned for Labor Day and Bridge Day events.
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