CHRIS ARVIDSON

words and art
 

For some unknown reason in 2010, every damn time I got in the river I managed to dump myself and go for a swim. And mind you, that's no mean feat in a kayak. Well, maybe EVERY time is a slight exaggeration, but not much...

But Wednesday, the first day of the National Committee for the New River's first day of the 2011 Expedition, I managed to stay upright the entire float. I almost bagged it on one little rapid/rock, but managed to save myself at the last minute. George was watching me and I think he was disappointed not to have to fish me out. I'm pretty clear that the reason it almost happened was the River Gods were warning me -- right before it happened we were talking about (and making fun of) people who come out on the New River with us and whine the whole time. All whining and bitching was noticeably absent on Wednesday -- keep your fingers crossed that this state of affairs continues throughout the Expedition. Read More 

What happened, you might well ask. There I was, blogging to you on the New River Expedition, it was just the first week, and then POOF - I was gone.  Read More 

In the car on the way back to town, our NCNR intern Jasmene asked me if I would call the first day a "success." I had to think about the answer to that question for a second or two.

I was kind of in a gut-twisting moment when she asked. I had thoughtlessly taken the long way back to where we were dropping off cars and just realized I'd added at least 45 minutes to our time to get home. Following me in another vehicle, my husband had just noted this screw-up via IPhone. Read More 

I can't believe it's almost time. Time for another adventure down the New River -- about 235 miles worth. Holy crap. No matter what little thing I think up at 3 in the morning now, I'm sure to forget something that I needed to do!

It all starts on Saturday, July 24. That's not even a week  Read More 

http://newrivervoice.com/archives/3262

Click on the address above to see my interview with Josh Weil about his new book "The New Valley." I ran across "The New Valley" in the NYT book section, bought it, really liked it, and emailed Josh (there being an obvious connection to my work at National Committee for the New River.)  Read More 

Wa hoo. Just got home and I am pooped. We have all survived the New River Expedition. I will need some time to decompress from all of this for sure. Read More 

I figured out yesterday that today is the first day I've had off since we began the Expedition on July 20. Even when off the River, I've been in the office. So, I'm pretty tired.

I have been amusing myself (and staying sane) by imagining all the things I can do in September to chill  Read More 

Last night we had a wonderful event at Anne Goette's and Rick Claus' house in Eggleston, VA. They call it Bellebend, and boy is it ever. Many clean up volunteers from ReNew the New in Giles County, and other supporters, made it a very homey event.

But the highlight for me came later. We camped down by the river (see the picture at right) and watched the moon come up over the cliffs across the River. Train tracks run along below the cliffs and their whistles were fantastically bounced around during the night. Read More 

Here I sit in the drizzle at the public boat ramp below HWY 21 in Independence, Virginia. It's 68 degrees by my car thermometer. And here comes more rain; it's still falling rather softly, but the volume has picked up. The New River Campground somewhere in the vicinity has an open wireless network, so I've hopped on to take a blog break and do some work. Read More 

It's just a bit past 8 p.m. National Committee for the New River's New River Expedition will be starting in just 12 hours.

I'm the "Advance" person for the trip, which is really just a glorified term for "gopher." I'll be schlepping kayaks and canoes on my trusty Subaru "Snowball," making sure the folks on the water have lunch, get picked up, get to where we're staying at night; I'll take pictures, do video, meet media people, and handle arrangements for the events we're having with our supporters and partners along the way, and hopefully have a chance to take a shower and change my clothes here and there.  Read More