Right after Gauley Fest a lot of people headed down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center for their annual Guest Appreciation Festival — now being referred to as Nanty Fest.  It’s a huge sale of all of NOC’s gear from kayaks, kayaking gear to rafts and rafting gear.  It’s the best place to find deals on gear.  Every year I set up a table in front of the store to talk to people about Girls at Play programs and help the store promote the Girls at Play DVDs.  We weren’t sure how the weekend would go with the shortage of gas here in Western North Carolina, the bleak economic news and the fact that they moved the event up a whole month this year.  None of those things seemed to deter anyone as it was packed on both Friday and Saturday.  I love the NOC because there’s so much to do there — paddling, rafting, biking, hiking and people are always enjoying themselves doing something fun.

Andrew, Adam Motes and I hosted a river run from Surfer’s Rapid down to the Boater take-out.  We had lots of kayakers, including Trevor, an 11 yr old boy who styled his first run ever through the falls!  There was an open boater and a ducky who joined in the fun as well.

Thanks to all of you who stopped by my table to chat with me.  I always enjoy catching up with students and meeting new paddlers.

Enjoy the photos…