Bonnie Villegas: Thankful for all the help after river trip turned frightful

On May 14, my husband and I and another couple ventured out on a kayaking trip on the Stanislaus River out of Oakdale to Riverbank. We had kayaked many times before, while we are not experts we are not newbies and we’re strong people. The water was swift in spots and strongly steered each of us into “strainers,” or low-hanging branches near the edge of the river that let water through but not large objects like kayaks. This caused our kayaks to capsize, but we were able to right our vessels and carry on.

Mine flipped one last time and I lost my crew. They thought I had drowned, so they called for help. Thank you to the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office, Modesto Fire Department, Riverbank Fire Department and Army Corps of Engineers for coming out to save me. (I had scrambled up on some downed logs, through brambles and onto land alongside Highway 108).

Thanks to Susan McGee for helping me up over the barbed wire fence and the encampment people who went up to a store and called for help.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Bonnie Villegas: Thankful for all the help after river trip turned frightful."