The long way home . . .
This year, for Thanksgiving, we took the long, windy way home. By “home” I mean Aaron’s home town, Twain Harte, where his family mostly lives. I have been doing the drive between Tahoe and Twain Harte for almost 30 years now. Sometimes to visit Aaron’s family, other times to go whitewater rafting on various High […]
Weekend Trip to the Coloma Lotus Valley
October 30, 2022 By Wendy Tippett I love get-away weekends, especially fall weekends at my brother’s property in Lotus, CA. For me, it’s an easy drive – it takes less than two hours and I always enjoy the scenery, the farms, and the history along Highway 49. And once I arrive I feel like I […]
California Raft Racing Championships
October 30, 2022 by Valerie Burman Last weekend the USRA hosted the California Raft Racing Championships at the Nugget on the South Fork American River. It was scheduled to give local teams an opportunity to race after the USRA National Raft Racing Championships in September were canceled due to smoke from the Mosquito Fire. Raft […]
Fall on the South Fork American River!
I know I’m supposed to say that every season is the perfect season in the Coloma Lotus Valley. Truth is as much as I love the lush green of spring, the buzzing energy of summer, and the stillness of winter, fall really is my favorite time of year. Fall on the South Fork American River […]
“Fire on the Mountain”
Our community is, once again, under siege. The Mosquito Fire started on Tuesday evening in the Middle Fork of the American River drainage (at the Oxbow Reservoir) and has grown exponentially in a very short period of time. Massive wildfires have certainly become more frequent and more explosive over the years, but for as long […]
Commercial Trips that feel just like Private Trips
We launched Coloma Lotus Whitewater to share our love of the river. Our goal is to run commercial trips that feel just like private trips – not just to clients, but to our family and staff too. We suspected there would be interest, especially since the rafting industry has gone the opposite direction becoming […]
Mountain Biking in the Coloma Lotus Valley
Our son Alex is in 8th Grade so this is his last year at the independent study charter school in Tahoe. For the past 8 years he has had Friday’s “off” for enrichment activities. In the winter, this means ski team. In the fall and spring, this has meant a lot of things over the […]
“Give More Than You Take”
Ever since I was little my parents have supported my summer Keener trip partly because they believe that river skills taught at Keeners are life skills. This includes everything from blog writing, to public speaking, to packing and planning, to on-river risk mitigation, to traveling in the midst of pandemics, airline debacles, and most recently […]
International Raft Racing is so much fun!
A Few Photos: Opening Ceremonies in Banja Luka The California Poppies representing Team USA Sprint Training on the Vrbas Head2Head Training on the Vrbas USA Youth Women and USA Open Womenboth win Sprint Gold Safety kayaking on the Tara River Closing Ceremonies in Foca More Photos – My Family’s Photo Book https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/blank-canvas-27740008?vk=b9NWdwXWvwub9OO7BlVk Moonshine Ink […]
Growing up on whitewater
I’ve grown up on the river. And though some things have changed, many things have stayed the same – like my gear color choices. Me at 3 years oldInsisting on paddling my own IK Me at 10 years oldYouth Ambassador for Rivers for Change Me at 15 years oldTeam USA World Championships