James River Expeditions: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - Making our way to civilization with a few bumps in the river

4^th Day of the Expedition

We started off the morning early and rushed into the day, so sadly, we didn’t get to use all of the pancake mix. The owner – Mr. John Seible – and his family of Oxbow Farm arrived bright and early. We then circled up and shared our thoughts on preservation and conservation. We took a hayride to tour the farm and learned about the many sustainable techniques that Mr. Seible uses to manage his farm with explanations also provided by the Mountain Castle Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Virginia Natural Resource Conservation Service. After the tour, we loaded up the canoes, added Rob Campbell (JRA’s Upper James Outreach Coordinator) to the group, and began our journey to Buchanan.

Shortly after lunch, we approached many rapids. Eventually, Claire and Autumn found themselves stuck between two rocks within a rapid. After about 40 minutes, the girls freed themselves from the bed of rocks only to find they were heading towards another rapid not two minutes after. Once Claire and Autumn had entered the rapid, they had gotten trapped between two rocks once again. After another 20 minutes, the canoe began to tip and it eventually rolled over. Claire and Autumn had gotten back onto the boat, escaping with only minor injuries, and continued their journey to Buchanan with the help of the rest of the group.

Once we had finally reached Buchanan, we met up with Mr. Jimmy Lewis and set up camp in his backyard. Shortly after pitching tents, the group met up with Twin River Outfitters to go tubing on the river. Harrison, Claire, Mason, Connor, Autumn, Nick, Hugo and Parker linked their inner tubes in a circle and headed downriver. Unfortunately in the process, Parker fell in the water and lost his sunglasses. Sonja spun her way down the river and bobbed in and out of the tube and Alex had created his own pool in his (not having a hole in the center like most of the other tubes). All in all, it was a peaceful ride. We ended the day with pesto pasta, showers, and a team talk by one of Jimmy’s infamous bonfires.