Photo Credit: Rodney Auth
I rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen in the pre-dawn half-light. I filled the coffee maker—letting it drip while I prepared a big bowl of oatmeal for the twins and me. We had a big day ahead of us—the first day of Kelly’s Academy—a three-day camp at Kelly’s Whitewater Park in Cascade, Idaho, where the girls were going to learn how to run rapids on their stand-up paddleboards.
To prep for the day, they had to pass a swim test and then take and pass a river safety class taught by the local sheriff’s department. But, most important, they had to have the guts to do something new and a little scary.
We filed out the door—smelling of sunscreen—and made the drive to the park. Once there, we were met by cheerful instructors who went to work teaching the girls how to put on their wetsuits, booties, helmets, and life jackets. Then, it was off to the water.