WHY THE NAME: BLUE HERON WHITEWATER
It's a fairly common question we get: How did you come up with "Blue Heron Whitewater"? It took us a while to settle on a name, and there was much consultation and many many meetings before we settled on Blue Heron Whitewater. There was one particularly memorable meeting that took place in a freezing cold motel room somewhere in Missouri.
We were on our way to paddle the Current River, a beautiful river and a fun paddle, by the way, and it was like, February. Very cold, and little did we know that the motel room only had a small wall heater, and it was a room big enough for like 3 or 4 beds. So we huddled around on the floor, wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags, throwing around ideas and discussing options. Don't remember if this is when someone came up with the name, but it was a memorable evening, and an icy, beautiful paddle on the Current.
We were looking for a name that somehow reflects how we felt about rivers in general, and the kind of trips we wanted to offer. Something that encompassed more then the thrill of running the rapids. Fun as that is, and it's very fun, there's more to being on a river then that to us, and we wanted to share that vision/philosophy of river running with the folks who went rafting with us.
We see Blue Herons often on the French Broad. They are a beautiful, majestic bird. They've been around a long time and have a wide range. We've seen them from Florida to the Pacific Northwest. From the Grand Canyon to the Galapagos. Even in the Amazon. They are an integral part of the river world and we want to share that legacy.