Songs that were written about the Nantahala River,
Paddle Inn Rafting Company, and the Camp Inn Campground.
And a little info on the owners of Paddle Inn.
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Yes, we've been accused of having a little fun around
here. We love what we do, and we love where we do it. Sometimes we sit
around the fire and just pick and sing, and just generally fool around. Sometimes
we make up a song or two. It's a bit funny what runs through your
mind when you wake up early in the morning, looking out over the
campground. A good cup of coffee in hand, sitting on the front porch
watching the early birds stirring. Getting their fires going, cranking
up the coffee, some grilling eggs and bacon over the open fire. And next
time we get around the fire, the verses start flowing. Some cute, some
funny, and some just down right good! The Call
of the Nantahala River (3.8Mb mp3)was recorded in Nashville, TN in a
professional recording studio, along with another touching song written
about our parents. His other two songs about this area are Lets
Go Rafting with Paddle Inn (2.9Mb mp3) and when the time is right, a crazy
little song called We're Strokin'
(1.9Mb mp3) for a line dance that is done with our rafters. Click here
for the words to the songs: Call
of the Nantahala River, Lets
Go Rafting with Paddle Inn, We're
Strokin'. These songs and more along with loads of technical stuff
can be found on his massive website: www.Michael-Thomas.com Michael Thomas, my older brother is a Software Developer who lives near Atlanta, Ga., and works for IBM. His love is his music, and he loves to enjoy the river. Mom and Dad (Dempsey and Ardis Thomas) are both retired professionals, Masters Degrees and Doctorates, who later retired from the ministry. Dad requires a bit more care these days because of the fight with Alzheimer's, but he still loves the river, and still enjoys seeing everyone having fun on the river. He really enjoys the ride to the top, so you might see him making the runs with us. We are a family still connected, and committed to helping each other. Mom is a real trooper. I think if she slows down a bit, I'll be able to keep up with her. Michael wrote another song or two about Mom and Dad that really tell the story. Amazing Love (4.0Mb mp3) was the other song that was recorded in Nashville. Just Wondering Why (3.6Mb mp3) was another song that was written after Dad began his fight, reminiscing on previous traumatic events in Michaels life. |
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| I am Mark Thomas, and I purchased the Paddle Inn Rafting
Company at the age of 42, in March of 2005. Our first season was great,
and we all had a ball! I want to personally thank everyone for their
help, and their business. I met some really wonderful people this year,
and made some really great friends. I can't begin to thank everyone
enough. Paddle Inn was once the number two rafting Company in the gorge. The last four years prior to my purchase, Paddle Inn saw a steady decline in business. It lost 40% of its business between 2001 and end of 2004. Now, we are back up and running. In 2005 due to a large volume of referrals and repeat business, we are back to 2001 numbers and continuing to climb. We have upgraded our fleet of boats, added new life jackets, paddles, two Busses, and made quite a few changes to the internals of the business. Everything that is not new is being tweaked, and we are hoping to clean up the image a bit again this season. Paddle Inn's prices have always been the best value on the river, but I suspect the customer service was not there over the last four years. We are here to change that! And that's a promise to all! It will take a few years to get this place like we want it, but each year we will definitely make progress. One of the biggest hurdles to cross is not being familiar with the area, and all of the factors that can foul up good plans if you don't calculate properly. Three of my largest projects had to be put on hold this year, but another good season, and I'll be ready to catch that window of opportunity that I missed this year due to conditions I was unaware of moving into the winter. It is quite amazing how much water our trees can suck up out of the water and ground during the regular season. Anyway, it is to live and to learn. I'm an ex computer junkie, who has been involved in just about
everything. Don't believe me, just ask. I'll bet I'll try fooling you
anyway. And no, Web Design was not my forte! I worked for several
Fortune 500 and 1000 companies while maintaining my certification as a
Master Certified Netware Engineer. Software support was the beginning of
it all, then Hardware, then Network, then Servers, Routers, and anything
else you would need to build an Enterprise Network Infrastructure.
Later, I ran my own Consulting Firm while I still lived in Baton Rouge,
La. Before that, I commercial fished, trapped and hunted, did
construction, welding and a bunch of other things for a living. |
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This photo is from 1998 when we all got together for
Christmas. |
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I'll have a few river photos after this year.
I was a bit pre-occupied during this first business year. I hope to see everyone again this year! |
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Paddle Inn Rafting Company
14611 Highway 19 West Bryson City, NC. Zip 28713 800-711-RAFT or 828-488-9651 Info@PaddleInnRafting.com |