Set yourself on fire

Hey, I totally forgot -- we went camping and rafting last weekend down on the Cumberland River. By "we" I mean me, Paul, and Ashley; the trip was sponsored by the Biology Graduate Student Association, and there were about 27 of us in total. Overall, we had a lot of fun, but man...

See, due to repair work being conducted on the Cumberland Dam, the river's at its lowest point in years. This meant more rapids, but it also meant that after we'd run the river, instead of being picked up by a boat and served lunch, we were towed and/or had to paddle for several more miles. That took an additional two-and-a-half hours or so (more than twice as long as we'd been led to expect). End result: some serious freaking sunburns, a touch of dehydration, a good deal of muscle and butt pain, and a general sense of crankiness. And we were about three hours late for Father's Day dinner back at my parents' house. But yeah, other than that, it was a blast. The highlights for me were going under Cumberland Falls, jumping off boulders, and Jay recovering Paul's wedding ring.

Oh wait, I didn't mention that, did I? Paul's ring fell off (!) while we were swimming in a rapid and Jay (another student in my department) somehow managed to retrieve it. Jay is our hero. I think Paul's still pretty freaked out about it, but all's well that ends well.

I didn't have a camera while we were on the river, but here are a few shots from the Falls and from camp: