Life List: River Float

This summer we went on a river float. This is an item on my Life List. The best way to tell you about our very first river float would be to show you some colorful, slightly tweaked photos. They'd put you right there. Give you the sense of how great it was. 

I'd show you the cooler full of juice boxes, I'd show you the other cooler full of very light beers (practically water) and the other adult concoction Logan whipped up for the event.

I'd show you the sweet Rottweiler who lived at the place we went to. I'd show you how dirty our car got finding the place we rented our tubes from. I'd show you all the times we turned around and passed the other two families who went with us because all three of our GPS's told us different ways to get there. 

I'd also probably have a pretty good picture of me falling into the water not even two minutes into the float, trying to save the cooler tube from floating away to Canada...(Pro Tip: Ask if they have rope where you rent your tubes. If they don't and you're floating down a river with ten kids and six adults...bring some rope.)

I can't show you these things because someone dropped our camera so this entire summer, my Best Summer In A Long Time, will forever consist of crappy iPhone photos taken with my 3g phone. Sigh. 

We went up north again this summer with some friends, like we did last year. This year there was another family with us and another couple of kids thrown into the mix. 

I'd mentioned I wanted to do a river float before we headed up, everyone was into it, sounded like fun. So we prepared to do it the day before our family went home.

LIFE LIST!

Two of the kids had a traumatic experience with a rain storm a few weeks prior and it threatened to rain at several points during this day. The result was these poor kids were scared the entire time that it might rain. Like two tiny terrified meteorologists...from Texas. (Where rain is considered a state of emergency.)

LIFE LIST!

As we waited to get on the road one of the kids in our group decided the van we would be travelling in to be dropped off up the river to start our float was not suitable. And I'll grant her that. It really wasn't suitable as anything other than a giant rapist van. It was only missing curtains on the windows and maybe some sort of airbrushed eagle. Or angel. But we went on anyway.

LIFE LIST!

One of the older kids told the littler ones there were snakes in the water. Ha ha ha! ...... So those little kids were pretty excited to get in the water. 

LIFE LIST!

We get in the water and the two littlest floaters are, in a word, petrified, though they'd done this before in Florida. I almost brought up the gators in Florida, they should have been scared then not now! But one look at my friend's face as she held the hand of her terrified child told me it wasn't a good idea.
So we floated down the river with a bit of a soundtrack, a soundtrack I'd entitle, "I don't want to do this." One of the kids cried for so long he actually fell asleep. Or maybe he left his body and went to his happy place to endure this particular level of hell. [Enter adult beverages here.] 

LIFE LIST!

A little ways down the river one of our party gets stuck in the branches on the side of the river with one of the really terrified children. As we try to talk them out of their predicament, she screams so loudly I thought to myself, "Holy Crap, the kid was right about the snakes."
It wasn't a snake but an enormous spider. Her husband jumps off his tube to rescue his wife and child who we think are being attacked by a water moccasin. When everyone is safe he realizes...he's lost his wedding band at the bottom of the river.

LIFE LIST!

This is the part of the float where we regrouped. We got our everyone's tubes together, all 10 kids and 6 adults. We got everyone a beverage, the sun came out so the Terrified Meteorologists could relax, the little kids either passed out or started to relax. We came up with a plan for keeping everyone connected and started floating down the river.

Life List!

Keeping all our tubes connected was a little like a giant game of Twister. You grab that persons ankle and another person's hand. Then you switch and someone's holding your ankle and you're grabbing another person's hand. But don't let go without telling someone you're doing it and making sure they're holding onto someone else!

Life List!

Sometimes we ran into trouble, A couple kids stuck on a branch. Or someone accidentally letting go. By that time Maddie had gotten used to walking along the murky river and we'd send her against the current to help collect people and reconnect them to the group. Or more importantly distribute beverages where needed. (Everyone got two!) We started calling her our "River Otter". As in, "River Otter! Help!" I don't think I've ever seen Maddie so happy to help anyone. Even her brother.  

Life List!

One of our friends likes to yell "Hey Oh!" Maddie thinks it's when someone says something inappropriate. I think of it more as an all-purpose exclamation. We started a Call and Response halfway down the river. One person yelling "Hey" everyone else yelling "Oh!"

Life List!

By the time we arrived at the dock, with the big friendly rottweiler waiting to greet us, we were all relaxed. Everyone had had fun (except maybe our youngest travel companion who was happy...it was over).  We were all in sync. 

We were a team. 

Life List!

Comments

[The Bug]

You know, as a kid (and, yes, maybe even now) I was never afraid of moving water. It was that deep still water where you can't see the bottom where the giant whatever would reach up & grab my toes. No fishing on the lake for me! But tubing down a river? Sweet!

[Touchy]

A river float? With kids? Hearing stories like this makes me feel like a total underachiever. How could you enjoy yourself with all the water and danger and maybe even sharks? You're brave! I bet my kids wish I was brave...maybe I should work on my bravery.

[Lisame]

"meteorologists...from Texas. (Where rain is considered a state of emergency.)"

I choked I laughed so hard at this! Oh yes, I live in Dallas, Texas where just a day and half ago the rains caused the Trinity to crest, brought two tornadoes and knocked out most of the power...People died! It IS a state of emergency! "what is this water from the sky you speak of?"

I'm laughing so hard at this! Good to read you making jokes again.

Floating the river with kids? Your nuts!

[ladynicole]

That is AWESOME. We've done that with my family, and it's great.

[Melissa Summers]

When my friend Jean moved to Texas she cracked up at the warnings that ran across the bottom of the screen like we'd get if there was a foot of snow on the ground. Then she found out about the flooding but still.

[cjm]

Yep, it's because when we get rain (in Texas) it sometimes mean 10+ inches in less than 48 hours. And, you know, is sometimes accompanied by hurricane-force winds. Just sayin'. Yea for floating (you, not us in TX)!

[Kim]

We did this a couple years ago & had a blast.

So happy to see you writing again. I really enjoy your posts.

[Jane]

Wow! That's awesome. I have never done that before, although I did white water rafting when years ago. But to do someting like that with the family is really something else. I had fun reading your post!

[Jennifer]

no pictures needed with your awesome descriptions!

[Heather]

Being that I have lived within walking distance of a river most of my life, floating down the river is about as common as eating ice cream in the summer.

Sometimes I forget that proximity dulls the fun of such an activity. Must put a river float on next years list.

[adequatemom]

No photos, but you'll always have the memories. I'm going to start interjecting "LIFE LIST!" into my conversation at random moments, in tribute to you.

[adequatemom]

No photos, but you'll always have the memories. I'm going to start interjecting "LIFE LIST!" into my conversation at random moments, in tribute to you.

[ChristyD]

I'm so glad you're back! I've missed your posts. Thanks for making me laugh.

[Heather in Austin]

Also snorted out loud about the meteorologists...from Texas! We treat rain here like other treat ice. PANIC! CAR CRASHES! HORRIBLE TRAFFIC! I swear if it even sprinkles, I leave work like 30 minutes early to avoid all the fender benders.

Your river float sounds awesome! No pictures needed...I could totally "see" it. :)

[Tricia]

You should try canoes.

[Melissa Summers]

We have. Snooze fest. Tubes are fun.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.