The Loose Cannon

After doing a service project and procuring a mattress to take to the dump, we decided to ride it down the runoff swollen creek in our backyard before we took it to the dump. After getting all dressed up (or down) and putting on our too small life jackets (safety first...) we were ready (ill-prepared) to ride our boat, The Loose Cannon down our creek.

Yeah, we were pretty much legit.

Our first plan was to take it up to the end of the block and ride it down to our house. My dad told us that our mattress would not float and convinced us to start at our neighbor’s house as a trial run.

I thought my brother was right behind me.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t.

At our bridge he rejoined me to help bring the mattress home.

It didn’t quite work out.

We chased it down to the local park where we tried to corral it.

Unfortunately it ended up taking me out. Again.

Once it started going into unfamiliar residential areas we gave up.

My dad even joined in on the chase! We think that he’s ashamed to be seen with us.

After we went home we got into our minivan and checked out all the bridges the creek went under. We never found the mattress so we assume that it is floating happily down the Box Elder Creek to the Bear River and then to the Great Salt Lake!

Unfortunately our dad’s prophecy that it would sink was not fulfilled and it 
obviously worked way too well.  
As evidenced by the yellow line (bottom to top) we chased it across two roads 
through a park and past several bewildered bystanders for .4 miles.

(shout out to Emily for the photos and video)