Fishing, bird watching, biking and kayaking — those are among the many memories our listeners shared with us when asked to talk about their favorite stories surrounding the L.A. River.
We encouraged folks to submit responses via our Public Insight Network in the days leading up to Found LA: Festival of Neighborhoods Sunday. The theme this year: “The River of Your Imagination."
"Imagine if we were able to create park space in the middle of our most populated areas where you can sit and watch birds, sunlight on water and a river," wrote Michelle Lesse, who recently took her 13-year-old daughter, Catalina, on a kayak trip there.
RELATED: Report recommends greening 11 miles of the Los Angeles River for recreation and wildlife (Photos)
Lesse and Catalina's trip down the river resulted in a "simple and short afternoon adventure." But listener LaTaisha Conto told a different story. First, she admits, she had no idea that there even was a river in Los Angeles — despite being a born-and-bred Angeleno.
"When my boyfriend came to me and said 'I bought tickets to go kayaking on the LA river,' I thought he was joking. He was not," she wrote.
The duo ended up in the water five times between the two of them — discovering that it's actually possible "to turn completely upside down in a kayak after going over a tiny rapid." Nevertheless, this city dweller concludes "kayaking is an excellent way to take in the view of the plant life that grows on the banks. (And though in my imagination there were Tigers and snakes in those trees, I am assured there were not)."
On Twitter, we received this video created by a group of 6th grade students, who made it their mission to document the 2008 river clean-up for a school science project.
Local photographer Peter Bennett shared a series of great photos from his recently launched blog, L.A. River Pix. His favorite parts of the river to photograph? "The soft-bottomed section along the Glendale Narrows and the downtown bridges."
"The thing that keeps bringing me back it is a 51-mile-long ever-changing landscape that always seems to be offering up some new face of itself," he wrote.
As you can see, stories ranged from insightful to hilarious. View our slideshow above for a collection of photos, quotes and lovely memories.
Do you have a story to share? Answer our Public Insight Network questions, tweet us @KPCC, share on Facebook or in comments below.