“Seein’ things that I may never see again…”
There are plenty of things one associates with the Fourth of July in Jackson Hole: hot dogs, fireworks, missing fingers, that Proud to be an American song… After going several years without celebrating the Fourth of July (naturally the 4th doesn’t hold the same weight in Scotland as in does in the USA) I was excited to see what this year’s celebration of American Independence at Dave Hansen Whitewater in Jackson would bring.
Celebration Item # 1: Leo Bridges (our fierce kickball pitcher and beloved bus driver) arrives on the scene bright and early wearing a blue t-shirt and a giant Dr. Seuss like hat bedazzled with the stars and the stripes. He eagerly greets each guest with a robust “Happy Fourth of July!”
Celebration Item #2: Liz walks into the office with hot dogs and corn for the staff and river guests, Alyssa brings over a grill, and Kyle and Will spend a good half hour trying to get the propane tank to fit on the grill properly.
Celebration Item #3: Guests arrive back from the whitewater trips with enormous grins on their faces. A big group of them gather around, thrust their hands into the air, and yell “Paddles up!”…the mantra of one of our river guides, Will “the thrill” Pasquill. Another group of them gather around our computers wanting to look at their Floatograph pictures, claiming that they swear Willie Nelson guides for Dave Hansen.
After pulling up the pictures from the 11:15 trip this is what we saw:
Fourth of July with Dave Hansen Whitewater
Apparently in addition to the flag rigged to the stern of his boat, Tyler “T-Bone” Babcock played several patriotic tunes on his harmonica. Too bad he didn’t have a rendition of “On the Road Again” ready for guests.
Check out this pic and more of Tyler and the other guides Fourth of July fun at Floatographs!
Raft on guys – Em
