Lindsey at the helm British Virgin Islands

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost twenty years running rivers and about 23,000 miles running along, through and with those river currents. The Cache La Poudre River has been home for most of those years and no backyard could be better. We have taken tens of thousands of guests and it always brings pleasure to see so much joy. The Cache La Poudre River as the only Wild and Scenic river in the state offers an unparalleled canyon. Having traveled to over 40 countries as an adventurers and photographers, we can speak easily about beautiful places. The Poudre River is spectacular.  Owning a rafting company, Mountain Whitewater Descents, is a dream occupation.  When our guests ask “what would an adventurer like you do for a vacation?”, we can answer “Sail around the world.”  They usually smile and say they have always wanted to do that.  Well, here’s to celebrating the difference between wanting and doing.

To sum it up, we are water people.  This “water-make-up” started for each of us, separately, about 18 years ago.  Back then it manifested itself as an unquenchable thirst for wild rivers.  Brad learned to be a whitewater rafting guide on the Cache La Poudre River in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I learned to be one on the Klamath River in Happy Camp, California.  We found each other and have been soaking our souls in wild water ever since.

The Crew:

Brad

Brad Modesitt: Age 41, loves water, rafting, hot-tubing, sailing, golfing, skiing, and traveling to remote areas of the globe.

Lindsey

Lindsey Modesitt:  Age 36, loves water, kayaking, rafting, SUPing, mountainbiking, golfing, guitar, tele skiing, languages, cooking Thai food, traveling, and the pitter-patter of little feet.

Ella

Ella Modesitt: Age 6, first-grader, loves swimming, biking, being the big sister, singing, dancing, crafts, music, and monkey bars.

Chase

Chase Modesitt: Age 3, pre-schooler, loves swimming, being the little brother, dancing, stickers, cheerios, organizing the women in his life and monkey bars.

 

 

 

 

Brad has lived on the sea.  He crewed for a couple of different sailboats in the pre-me days.  I’ve been land-locked since I was born, but I have always had a magnetic-like attraction to the sea.  We began the “could we, should we, would we” talk of sailing around the world about 7 years ago.  As the dream ebbed and flowed, one thing remained constant; we must do this.

In the intervening years we busied ourselves with building a land-based life: jobs, mortgages, children and squeezing out little adventures wherever we could.  We took little weekend trips looking to play on water in some form.  Whether that was water was falling in a solid form or flowing in liquid form, both of us have always been in search of water.  Each year we would plan one large trip.  That trip would invariably involve the ocean.

We chartered sailboats in the Caribbean, went on surfing trips in South America and Jamaica, we even packed the kids, dogs, tonka trucks and pack-n-plays and drove to the ocean.  Many, many week-long rafting trips in the Western USA.  Even a couple 21 day trips down the Grand Canyon.  We explored remote Mexican beaches and were awed by ancient Mayan ruins.  We would always hit the sea and stare out into the wild blue yonder and yearn for more.

Road trips since we had kids in 2005

We’ve taken crazy long road trips, to both coasts, to try and satisfy this desire for experiencing the ocean.  We found that if anything, we were getting hungrier.  We decided it was time to shake it up.  In February 2011 we realized our dream and purchased a 41 foot Lagoon Catamaran.  Brad and I flew out on my birthday to get to know her.  Happy birthday to me.  Several years ago, I surprised Brad with a Captains course with his best friend in the Bahamas. Up to this point, I had been winning the “coolest gift” award.  The sailboat will be hard to top.   Since the weekend of my birthday, Brad has been back several times to take “shakedown cruises” with friends in an effort to get the boat ready for our family to go on an extended cruise.  We can’t wait.  We begin our new adventure in 38 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes and 55.6 seconds.  Hopefully we will see you when sand shifts beneath our feet on a different shore……

In the beginning. . .

In 1993, Brad Modesitt and his brother Kent canoed down the Poudre, Platte,

Brad and Kent canoeing from Fort Collins CO to New Orleans

Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers to end up 2400 miles later in New Orleans. This experience left both of them with a deep respect for our nation’s rivers. Kent started law school and is now an attorney in Denver. Brad continued his journey and the traveling lifestyle bicycling 10,000 miles and sailing 3000 miles to southern Chile. When he returned a friend told him he should become a rafting guide. It was good advice. Brad still guides rafts down the river he loves enjoying the people, the scenery, and of course the rapids. Brad and Lindsey own Mountain Whitewater Descents which runs white water rafting trips on Colorado’s only Wild & Scenic river.