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The Kern River Rafting Caper

Ten adventurous Villagers piled into three cars on a Tuesday morning at the Pasadena Village parking lot. Destination: Kernville. They were off on a river-rafting adventure, the first Village “caper” in a long time. Sue Kujawa and Jo Yeargin were veteran rafters. For Valerie Jones and Melva Watts, this was going to be a first. Melva, because of back pain and arthritis, was worried she might not have the strength to do it. Val had turned down a chance to river-raft decades ago. Now she was ready. 

The fastest route from Pasadena to the Kernville Inn is less than three hours. Trip leader John Jackson had no intention of taking the fastest route. John didn’t see this as a rafting trip. To him, it was a road trip. The rafting was just the icing on the cake. 

“Some people think a road trip is a beginning and a destination. For me, it’s stopping along the way for history, geology, the manmade and the natural beauty; it’s learning about California human and geographic history,” John said. It was obvious he had put a lot of work into researching, planning and plotting the scheduled stops. “He wanted everything to go perfectly and wanted everyone to have a good time. He was a perfect tour guide,” said Barbara Madden.

The first stop was Vasquez Rocks, which, John explained, has a geological history that goes back 25 million years. Some Villagers were more interested in talking about the filming that was done there: Lone Ranger, Star Trek and many others. Other stops included the Tehachapi Loop, Walker’s Pass, Red Rock Canyon and the infamous St. Francis Dam. John made each historic location come alive as he described the beauty, explained the geology and history, and the specific role of each site in shaping the State of California.

Almost to a person, the most memorable stop was the Cesar Chavez Monument, and not just because it had the best bathrooms. They saw Chavez’s gravesite, walked through beautiful grounds with fountains and foliage, and toured the house where he had lived. “In the museum, you could follow his life,” said one Villager. “I learned a lot.” Melva asked someone in the gift shop about Chavez’s children and grandchildren, only to find out the person she was talking to was one of his grandchildren.

They arrived at the Kernville Inn tired, hungry and happy. After a restful night and breakfast — restful except for those whose air conditioning didn’t work — they walked to the rafting operation, where they met up with Katie Brandon and her family. The guides went over the equipment, safety instructions and told them exactly what to expect. After the guide explained all possible worst-case scenarios, Melva asked him if he thought she could do it. “He said I could and everyone helped me,” she said.

Then they were bused to the drop-in point, with growing anticipation.  “When we got in the boat … you’re sitting on the rim of an innertube … and they had foot holds … but I could only get one foot in…” recalled Melva. “I held onto the rope for all my life when we got to the rapids…” Then she added, “It was so much fun!”

“When you hit those rapids, you just scream and laugh and try to paddle at the same time,” said Jo, who was still laughing days later, as she relived the experience. 

One of John’s goals was to get away from the city and into nature. On the way back, instead of taking the highway, he routed them on the scenic route, a two-lane rural road. For hours, they drove past beautiful woodlands, through deserts and mountains, and around mountain curves. “The natural curves made the drive somewhat challenging, but the natural beauty made it worth it. There was a lot of nothing. No traffic signals. No center line on the road. The biggest town was probably 200 people. When there is nothing, that’s when you see the river, canyons, trees, birds,” said John.

For Sue Kujawa, this trip was reminiscent of the “capers” of the Village’s early days. Founding Villager Jim Goodell had the idea of going to the Grand Canyon on a train. He called it a caper, to make the point they were doing something wild and crazy. Then Sue led a caper to the Manzanar National Historic Site, the scene of a World War II-era Japanese internment camp. And there were others. Now, it seems, “capers” are back. 

“One thing that struck me, we were five African Americans, five white people and one gay couple, and we could all be together, trust each other and share this together. Jim Goodell would be proud,” said Sue.

The 10 adventurers were Wayne April, Jeff Gutstadt, Peggy Henderson, John Jackson, Valerie Jones, Sue Kujawa, BJ Ledyard, Barbara Madden, Melva Watts and Jo Yeargin.

See photos from the Kern caper here.