Friend of KRO: Dave Derr

This is a time of transition for Dave. On Monday after 30 years of service he retired from the fire department. Dave is married to Dawn Jordan, KRO’s top notch Office Manager.

Dave was 21 years old and working as a union carpenter in Los Angeles when his family moved to the Kern Valley. He’d come up and visit them on weekends and enjoy the outdoor activities and natural beauty of the area. When the weekends kept getting longer, he realized it was time to get a job in the area and move to the Kern River. Firefighting appealed to him because you have the opportunity on your calls to make a bad situation better for people.

Over the years Dave has boated the different sections of the Kern River many times. His favorite trip is the 2 -Day Lower Kern because it has a little bit of everything. As Dave says "You have your “woohoo time” interspersed with quiet sections. And then of course there is the KRO Lower Camp which is set up with a buffed out river kitchen." And it is tough to keep Dave out of the kitchen.

After seeing him at work in the kitchen and tasting his dishes at a couple of bbq’s he was recruited to make the ribs for our Annual Pub & Grub trip. These mouthwatering morsels have just the right combo of heat and sweet and unbelievably he has offered to share the recipe with us. Of course if you’d like to stay out of the kitchen just sign up for next year’s Pub & Grub on July 8-9, 2010 where Dave’s Ribs are paired with cold steins of frosty brew!

In a recent intra-company Rib Cookoff, Dave’s ribs were the clear winner over Jim Ritter of Rogue River Journeys. While accepting his 1st Place Ribbon, Dave graciously commented “I just want to say that Jim’s recipe was excellent. It’s too bad that his long drive to the cook-off put time constraints on his preparation and he had to use canned sauce.” Dawn, Dave’s assistant rib maker, sighed and added “Jim had to use Larrapins”.

Dave’s summary of life:

Favorite rapid on the Kern River: “Pinball, I enjoy its technical aspects”.
Favorite part of the rafting company: “Socializing and meeting new people”
Dave’s favorite person in the world: “ I am married to her, Dawn Jordan”.
Quote from Dave: “When Dawn is happy, I am happy.”

Everyone at KRO congratulates Dave on his retirement!



Dave's Ribs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash ribs and pat dry. Season well with black pepper and garlic powder. Roast uncovered for 1 hour.
Remove from oven. Mix 2 parts soy to 1 part worcestershire sauce and pour liberally all over ribs, making sure that liquid comes up at least _” on sides of roasting pan. Seal pan with aluminum foil and return to oven for 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and cut into chunks of 2 or 3 ribs. Brush on your favorite sauce and finish on the barbecue.

Lower Kern Whitewater Rafting

Water levels on the Lower Kern are perfect for rafting. On July 25th, we sent a video camera down to Sundown Falls and Powerful Possum to capture some whitewater footage. With warm temperatures and great water flows, a rafting trip on the Lower Kern River is the perfect way to escape the heat. Give us a call at 1-800-323-4234 to book your trip today!

Perfect rafting flows on the Lower Kern River

Southern California's Lower Kern River, which offers-up some of the best whitewater rafting in the west, has been flowing at a perfect level for over a month and continues to release great rafting flows from Lake Isabella. Lake Isabella is the dividing feature between the Kern River's Upper and Lower stretches.

The Lower Kern River is well known for exhilarating rapids ranging from Class II to Class IV, warm water, and a spectacular canyon that twists and turns on its way downstream. Most two-day rafting trips launch near the town of Lake Isabella and rafters are treated to a few warm-up rapids before dropping into the more serious Class III and IV drops.

Teamwork is a key ingredient for success on the Lower Kern River's rapids!

At our camp, which is approximately half-way through the stretch, visitors are treated to spectacular meals prepared by our guides... or should we say chefs? We are the only outfitter that has sleeping decks and thick sleeping pads (commonly referred to as "Paco Pads" - the industry leader in outdoor sleeping pads) for our guest's comfort.

As night falls on the Lower Kern River canyon, our camp comes to life!

The second day of the two-day Lower Kern rafting trip starts with a delicious breakfast and then it's back to the rafts for more Lower Kern whitewater. After five miles of class III and IV rapids, we pull over for lunch to enjoy yet another tasty river-side meal. Upon reaching take-out at Democrat, you'll be thoroughly soaked (and maybe a little tired).

Whitewater, sun, and the fact that you don't have to worry about logistics, meals... or anything. What could make this trip better?

We'll be running the Lower Kern through mid-August and would love to prove to you how wonderful an experience it is. Call us at 1-800-323-4234 to begin planning the most excellent of summer get-aways!

Sundown Falls on the Lower Kern River

The Lower Kern has some great class III and IV rapids. One of the largest drops on the river is a rapid known simply "Sundown" and it is also one of the most photogenic rapids on the entire stretch. Today I hiked down to snap a few photos and test out a new video camera. The photos turned out pretty well and video turned out fairly good as well. Thought I'd share them with you here, enjoy!

Here's the video of Gary, Matt P, and Travis dropping into Sundown:



A few photos:

Powerful Possum on the Lower Kern River

The first day of our two-day rafting trip on the Lower Kern River ends with a bang. Powerful Possum, a class IV rapid approximately 200 yards above our private Kern River Camp, is the largest drop on the Lower Kern. Check out this video of some of our runs today:

Pub and Grubbing on the Lower Kern River

The Pub and Grub was an amazing success last night at our Lower Kern River Camp. We had lots of great brews and piles of food. Thank you to the Kern River Brewing Company and Loadie Brewing for joining us! Here are a few shots from the evening:

Kern River Valley Firework Show

For those of you who missed the Fourth of July fireworks show this last weekend, here are a few shots taken by Mike Spradlin, one of our most senior whitewater rafting guides and local to the Kern Valley.

They shot the fireworks over the lake, which made for some great lighting effects!





Of course, we tend to think that the natural star and moon show above our Lower Kern River camp is a great show as well - so if you missed out on the fireworks you've still got something to look forward to. The night sky is incredible when you escape from the lights of the city and you will see more stars than you ever dreamed existed.

Sixth Annual Kern River Clean-Up Day

Kern River Outfitters is proud to sponsor the sixth annual Kern River Clean-Up Day on July 11th. We will be floating the Kern River, cleaning up litter along the Lower Kern from Keysville to Democrat Take-Out. This is a great opportunity to make the Kern River an even better place to visit, work on, and live near.

Help clean-up the Kern River!

To thank everyone who participates in this event, a tri-tip and chicken dinner will be provided at 6:00 PM at Miracle Hot Springs Camp Ground. There will also be the band "Out of the Blue" to provide live entertainment.

If you would like to participate, please contact Brian Cosgrove at the Kern Valley River Council via phone: (760) 549-3760. Please bring your own leather gloves, drinking water, and sun screen. Trash bags, rafts, and river shuttle are provided.

Return of the Pub and Grub on the Lower Kern River

Most already know that the Kern River offers up some of California's best rafting trips and whitewater, but only recently can the Kern River Valley boast about their beer. The Kern River Brewing Company opened their doors in 2006 and quickly became a favorite after-paddle hangout for guides and customers alike.

The Pub and Grub returns in 2009!

Two years ago we "brewed-up" a grand idea: we took the world-class 2-day rafting trip we offer on the Lower Kern River and paired it up with beer tasting at our private camp along the banks of the river. Of course, the star and feature of this event is the Kern River Brewing Company and their selection of outstanding brews.

Last year's Pub and Grub was an outrageous success!

This week the tradition lives on! We still have space on the first day (our Camp Run trip) that concludes at camp. You can spend the day rafting and the evening and night at our Lower Kern camp tasting beers and enjoying good food.

For additional information on the Pub and Grub, give us a ring at 1-800-323-4234.

Love the idea but can't go on the trip?

You can still experience the magic vicariously (kind of) through our blog. We'll be taking lots of photos and video that will be posted here at the conclusion of the trip. Sure, you won't be able to taste the brews or the food, but we hope to "quench" your interest!

Cheers,
Team KRO