River Shuttling

This was my 3rd summer driving for River Shuttles. Most weeks, I drove for 2 or 3 days. They're long days, but they help me pay for extra things like vacations and home renovations. The days are pretty mundane, but there was always something different, and I liked looking for the beauty in the job.  

I drove a lot of different vehicles, but my favorites, surprisingly,
were the trucks: especially the newer Ford trucks! 

This Tonka special edition Ford was a super fun one!

I love all the wildlife along the drive. There's a lot of 
deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and this year I saw a mountain goat
on the drive for the first time, which was SO awesome!
There's also the usual eagles, hawks, & chukars, and this year
I also spotted a bunch of wild turkeys one day which was cool.

One day, I got to wait on Island Bar while I waited for the rest of
the crew to deliver their vehicles to Carey Creek. I got to sit on
the beach for 3 hours, and it was SO relaxing! I really loved it!

There was a bunch of little toads on that beach, and they were
SO cute! I loved watching them while I waited for
the other drivers to return in the van to pick me up. 

Sometimes, there's some interesting sights from the vehicle...
I can't figure out how this rafting company gets the rafts that high up 
on the trailer behind their bus. Also, one day, I got to see a 
jet boat heading up the Salmon River for the first time ever!

There was a blow-out on the Middle Fork this summer, and 
it was SO visible where it converges with the Salmon River. 
I'd never seen anything like it before--what a cool sight!

A few weeks later, a mudslide caused the Salmon River
to become muddy and murky, and once again, it was such
a cool sight at the convergence of the two rivers!

It was a rough year for the river industry: it was the lowest
levels of the river I've ever seen, there were mudslides that made
it dirty, and there were several forest fires in the wilderness that
produced a lot of smoke, and fires got too close to the water, too.
All of these factors meant cancellations, rescheduling, & altered trips.  

Another first this year:
 I was the first on the scene of accidents TWICE. I don't do
well with stress, and it made me really made me frantic. 
Thankfully, the people from both scenes ended up okay:
one was from a 3-car accident and one was a car on fire.

Josh drove river bus a few times this summer as well,
contracting for 3 different companies.