Family Vacations: Have you thought about whitewater rafting?
We just returned from an almost perfect family vacation with six grandchildren, whitewater rafting in Utah.
Why was it so great? No television (especially CNN, the Simpsons and South Park), I-Pods, cell phones, Ps2, gameboys, internet or computer games! There was nothing for anyone to do but talk to and amuse each other. What a novel situation! And, more surprisingly, they never complained. They brought decks of cards, played word games, skipped stones on the beaches and always found something to do. I never heard, “Grandma, I’m bored.”
My grandchildren learned to rise above (and conquer) some unaccustomed adversities and inconveniences that suburban kids usually don’t deal with. For example, being filthy for four days, horse flies, wasps, cactus, outdoor toilet facilities. And, they learned new skills: camping in the wilderness, erecting tents, assembling cots, hiking, running rapids, kayaking, pitching in to load and unload the rafts.
They also had some new unusual experiences: seeing petroglyphs, learning about indians and outlaws, rowing on the river, following our course on the map, catching fish and seeing some snakes. (I could have done without the snake part.)
If you decide to try whitewater rafting as a family, or just go with good friends, bring very little in the way of clothes. Everyone lived in the same mangy bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts and sneakers. It was completely unproductive trying to stay clean. All of us were in and out of the Green River the entire day, and all the camp sites were on sandy beaches. I considered it a good day if everyone remembered to brush their teeth!
However, there are two extremely important items to bring along. The first, is good raingear. If it starts to rain on the river, it gets cold FAST, even though the temperature may be in the 90’s or 100’s. I had told grandchildren’s parents that inexpensive rain ponchos would do and, brother, was I wrong! They, and we, just about froze to death.
The second is heavy-duty mosquito repellent with as much DEET in it as you can find. The horse flies were even worse than the mosquitoes – both relentless!
Talk to different rafting operators..some of the best and most reputable seem to be Sheri Griffith and OARS…but there are many others. Be pro-active about asking exactly what is included or not and if it is participatory camping which our rafting trip was. We chose the Green River in Utah because the river is a little warmer than some of the others, but the Snake River, Colorado, and many others are also supposed to be great.
Try it…I’ll bet you’ll like it…we all did!
