Surf Boise

Now it is November and the water is cold.  The Gutter kids of the Payette seem to have temporarily lost their passion for the paddle.  Now they are looking to the hills for the first snows and dreaming of floating through the powder on skis.  We booked a ski vacation and the biggest question of the day was, ” dad can we bring the Star so we can practice our rolls in the pool after skiing?”.  So it shall be.  Water dominates the fun….Ski on it in the winter (then roll in the pool) only to see snow melt in the spring and float with it once again in the river.  I have reviewed a few of the photos I took of the kids from the fall and here is a little sample.  It is so fun to see kids out there working on their skills, working on their courage, pushing the limits, learning to trust and test their personal resolve and dreaming of being like EJ one day.  Well thanks for the inspiration EJ.  To these kids you are a real hero and a fantastic role model as an athlete, as an entrepreneur and because you and those in your world reach out to them and make them feel they are part of something important.  I can’t wait to see them paddle the Side Kick next year!  And I can’t wait to see where this sport takes them all.  Wherever that is, they can count on dear old dad to provide boats, transportation, gear, shuttles and raft support.  It is so nice to be needed!  And I hope for better and better subjects for the camera as events unfold.

My kids have both discovered kayaking.  Re-discovered may be a better description.  They have done trips with me in IK’s down the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Grand Ronde, the Owyhee and others beginning at age 9.  But this year, mid summer after a trip down the Middle Fork, the bug hit them for the hard boat experience.  Now it is all my son Conner Jackson (CJ - age 14) can talk about….think about….dream about.  He writes about it.  His English Teacher is a Kayak instructor with Cascade Kayak and a class V boater.  And now he is devoting himself to furthering the cause of the Boise Whitewater Park.  He wrote the mayor.  He is pushing buttons to get answers.  He tells me he will retro-fit a bike trailer to carry his kayak down to the white water park in the summer mornings to paddle all day.  He wants it done before he goes to college.  I love the passion.  He went from a kid that was scared to be in a hard kayak early this summer to being a full on surfing machine with a bullet proof roll now.  I thank the Cascade Kayak operation for providing the instruction and the venue for his advancement.  Soon he will have his own published piece on the Jackson Kayak web site as he was invited to write a piece by Devon Barker.  Here he and his friends are…..Surfing Boise

      CJ’s Fist big hole ride                                                                     Now he has the hang of it….

      The Master…65lbs. of Kayaking fury…Troy Wilson                     Conner McLoed….Mr. Happy on the surf

  CJ in big water, Staircase on the S. Fk. Payette                                    CJ Surfing the Hero

     The Daredevil…..Ethan McLeod                                                   Lauren McLeod and Brindi Jackson-IK Surf