The Raft

"On your left you will see a lovely panoramic view of the river valley. We will be winding down along this stretch of river past some truly awesome views. Please keep your cameras close to you as there is no doubt that we will be visiting with many different wildlife who come down to drink of the river's cool water and perhaps rest in the shade of an aspen tree.

"Oh, look there, a North American elk, from the wapiti species of animals. Quite lovely.

"Well now, here's on our left is an interesting fellow! Let's all be very quiet as we pass Mr. Moose. Moose are widely found in the forests of North America as well as Europe. These are the largest members of the deer family.

"The large snow melt this year has swollen the river a bit and, as you can see, this part of the river narrows. Okay, everybody we're moving a tad faster now.

"There on the right is a white-tailed deer, very common, watch that rock! Watch that rock! Okay, the white tailed deer is-- paddle on the left-side, stroke, stroke, stroke! Now when I say paddle on the left, for Christ sake, paddle on the left! There's another moose. There's some more deer, couldn't quite see what that was. Okay big rock! Big rock! Paddle on the right! Jesus! Martha, put some elbow grease into it would you? That goes for the rest of you mamby-pamby green horns! Oh look, there's a wild boar, a big-horn sheep, another moose, an elk, couple rabbits, a raccoon-- On the left! Paddle on the left! For the love of God, dig, dig, dig! You people paddle like a bunch of old ladies! I never saw a weaker bunch of sissies in my life. Don't eyeball me mister!

"Okay, we can all take a deep breath. Oh, yes, now where was I?

"You might be interested to know some of the flora we will be encountering. Flora and fauna refer to plant and wildlife, respectively. The bloodtwig dogwood is a shrub and it is also known as dogwood, pegwood...