Water's high!

As is often the case in these parts, the floodgates are opened, and the water in the Boise River is running high to make room for the spring snow melt.

On Thursday, I rode a stretch of the Greenbelt that was officially closed with a barricade at either end, but the water was only an inch or so deep.



As I rode through, I thought my granddaugter Mackie would enjoy the adventure of riding through it. And Saturday (yesterday) was unseasonably gorgeous, so the two of us headed for the Greenbelt.

Mackie has graduated to the 20-inch bike! She needs a little practice with starting and stopping on the seat that's a couple inches higher than the 16-inch bike, but once she's underway she's smooth, steady, and smiling!



The Greenbelt was crowded, but she handled the crowds like a champ. Joy was in the air. Everything went flawlessly... until we got to the spot with an inch or so of water. We rode around the barricade.

Lo and behold - the water was a good 4 or 5 inches higher than 2 days earlier! We were suddenly riding through 5-6 inches of water that was running fairly swiftly in the opposite direction. Poor Mackie! She slowed to a stop and tipped sideways. We were both standing shin-deep in cold water!

We made our way to higher ground. I ended up riding my bike and dragging hers to the end of the water obstacle, then going back for her.



Thankfully it was sunny and warm (75+ degrees - very unusual for so early in the year), and wet shoes and britches didn't put a permanent damper on the adventure. We completed our loop in style, and look forward to the next ride.