Circling under an infinite cerulean sky, osprey peer down at the strange not-quite-prey below. A feast of color darts unpredictably in the water and along the banks of their river. A strange subspecies—surfer dude knock-offs—has invaded, bringing fans, camera’s and a phalanx of support in its wake.
Kelly’s Whitewater Park in mountain town of Cascade, Idaho has been in existence for only four years but has already drawn accolades from the national kayaking community. On this weekend of June 20 – 22, over 500 top-ranked athletes came prepared to duke it out for some pretty heady prizes in a host of river events at the Payette River Games.
Along with river surfing, Stand Up Paddling (SUP) has taken the rowdy whitewater crowd by storm. Initially trivialized as a flat water, urban, snoozer activity, whitewater aficionados have discovered that wet suits and tank tops are a lot sexier than tutu’s gone madly wrong in the form of kayak spray skirts. In between events, competitors and soon-to-be competitors take turns practicing in waves of varying difficulty.
There’s an element of dance to this balancing act.
Things can go well for only so long . . .
The agony of de feet.
The announcer clears the main wave for the coming herd of mens SUP sprinters who are just coming into view after a grueling half mile or more of flat water paddling. Strong leaders are well ahead of the pack, but things go wrong in a hurry as the athletes fight mad currents and riderless boards in the white water.
Approaching in perfect form.
Flawless entry.
But what’s going on back here?
This is not looking good . . .
Survivors duke it out in the final hard sprint to the finish.
All the while, drones compete with osprey for the best views.
Beaming it all back to command and control for live streaming.
Surfer dudes line up for their awards.
Here come the women.
These two are in a league of their own.
She’s down but not out!
Umm, what gives here?
Neck and neck as they approach the finish line.
Meanwhile, there’s still a whole field of competitors.
The winner gets the interview with mom looking on.
Soon these kayaks will devour the lower half of the kayakers’ sexy bodies.
There’s really something for everyone during the Payette River Games. Even river dogs get to compete. Who needs a beach when you’ve got pristine white water corralled by beautiful mountains?
Rangewriter 
Well, you’ve certainly caught the frenetic activity here (and loved the agony of de feet!)
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Thanks Sue! I had a really hard time trying to pick which images to use. I can just feel Otto shaking his head over this too long photo essay. I’m glad you liked it…especially my corny de feet!
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De feet added to da fun!
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This was fun! 🙂 I never heard of this before, but it’s a fine sport in such beautiful country, too. Fantastic photos and entertaining narrative, Linda! Great post!
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Thanks so much, George, I know this was post was a bit too long, but I haven’t quite developed the proper editor’s eye yet for photos. The SUP events really are rather comical. Standing upright and paddling looks pretty awkward at times. But the surf boards really look like heroes…as do the kayakers, only they always look like legless midget heroes! 😉
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Linda, this looks like fun. My niece’s father in law was a lineman for Duke Energy and he said they tried to relocate the osprey nests off their towers, only to have them come back. The dilemma, he said, is the bird droppings can damage the system. So, they would build these canopies over the electrical system, so the birds would create their nests above the risky areas. He just told me this last weekend, so when I saw your first picture, it made me smile. Best regards, BTG
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That’s interesting, btg. I didn’t know that about the droppings.I know the Idaho Power has spent considerable money and engineering on building platforms for bald eagle nests on power poles. Apparently birds that nest w/o the benefit of the raised platform run the risk of touching both wings to the powerlines while landing and taking off from the nest. The power company was getting a bad rap for fried national symbols.
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Fried eagle would not be a great brand image. My daughter is volunteering at a raptor center that rehabs injured birds, including some eagles. She is doing the low person on the totem pole work by cleaning out cages. Have a great summer and look forward to more pix. BTG
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Boise is home to the World Center for Birds of Prey http://www.peregrinefund.org/world-center. A very cool organization and fun place to visit. Plus there’s the Idaho Bird Observatory that is a research project associated with the university.
You too, have a great summer and thanks for reading and commenting so faithfully.
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Linda, what excellent photos. Absolutely puts the viewer right in the center of the action! And the color and definition are wonderful!!
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Thanks, Glenda. I’m still getting used to the new camera. I’m pretty happy with the results, though,despite the low-end lenses.
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Good morning, Linda. Unbelievable! My jaw dropped. “WOW” photos!!!
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Thanks a bunch, Helen.
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Great photos.
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Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate knowing someone cares.
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Looks like fun, am sure that it takes a lot of skill.
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Skill, and courage, if you ask me! I have tried whitewater kayaking and it gives me panic attacks!
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Awesome! Wait…I thought you’re a land lubber?
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I am a land lubber, but a river runs through it… several rivers actually. And at one time I screwed up my courage (or stupidity) enough to attempt to learn white-water kayaking. I tried for a couple of years, but realized I was too tense to ever be any good at it. Like a skier who is afraid of the fall line.
Thanks for stopping by Nel. I always appreciate your comments.
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I tried white water rafting. A whole lot of fun and paddling – still truly enjoyable. I guess I’m more towards the water side of the planet possibly because I grew up surrounded by it. 😉
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Yes, I grew up petrified of having my head under water…a real challenge for someone trying to whitewater kayak in a hard shell!
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You should give flat water kayaking a try. I’m a total wuss and would never do white water. But flat water is is easy and relaxing.
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You know, I’ve got a bunch of friends who can’t understand why I won’t go flatwater kayaking with them. But the only thing that drew me to whitewater boating was the adrenaline. W/o that, I’m just bored. Although, I would love to sea kayak to see some of the really cool marine animals that people interact with in some places.
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Looks fun, but also difficult – particularly on paddle boards. You captured the intensity and high moments of the races with flair and great timing. Good little photo essay.
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You know, I don’t think the paddle boarding is any more difficult than kayaking or surfing, but the awkward positions the boarders get into for leverage and balance makes it look both hard and comical at times. Thanks for being so kind. I know I was way over the limit for a photo essay. This was more like a photo novel. ;-}
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I usually son’t come across such photos often. The photos which tell a long story. And your post is wonderful. Loved the adventure, and yes especially the water and the mountains. 🙂
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Thanks for sticking with me through that long post! Glad you felt it was worthwhile.
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ha.. i first thought this would be about the ocean’s attack on the shoreline! what a great concept and how much furn everyone is having! i loved all of the images, but my favorite is the ground-level shot of the kayaks with eye-popping colors!
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I can see why that shot would grab your interest! You may even have been my muse when I captured that one.
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i’m honored!
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