Sunday, July 18, 2010

Libations on a Arizona River Runners Rafting Trip

Arizona River Runners is in the rafting business. We've got all the licenses and permits and prerequisites to guide you through the Grand Canyon, show you what AWESOME really means, keep you safe and to bring you home in one piece.

We do not, however, have a liquor license (I don't think any of the outfitters have a liquor license) and therefore, we do not provide alcoholic beverages. So, it's definitely a B.Y.O.B. situation. You bring what you would like to drink. We provide water (no pun intended), soda, lemonade, coffee, tea, and juice...stuff like that. You are welcome to bring the specific things that you enjoy - alcoholic or otherwise.

Here's where it gets "sticky". Let's say somebody brings lots of “whatever is their favorite beverage." It's nearly impossible to label each can or bottle but hopefully, you will not be dipping in to somebody else's things unless specifically invited. This may sound petty but if you are addicted to Dr. Pepper and everybody on the raft is drinking up your supply.... this could be a problem. Or you may not want to share your wine that you and your sweetie discovered on your honeymoon 25 years ago.

Sometimes it's hard to know what's what and whose is whose. A lot of it is supplied by Arizona River Runners for you to enjoy, but some of it might belong to a fellow rafter. Quite simply, IF IN DOUBT---- ASK.

Drinking lots of water is important. Hydration, hydration, hydration. But that is another whole topic.

On your Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, bring your favorites to drink.... don’t drink other peoples' favorites without asking.

Click here for more tips and ideas on your Colorado River Rafting Trip!

Unplugged on a Grand Canyon Rafting Trip with Arizona River Runners

Allow yourself the freedom of no phone, no TV, no computers, no NONE OF THAT STUFF. The Grand Canyon can fill up your senses. You worked hard to clear you calendar and actually go on this rafting trip. Work it to the max. Leave your daily demands behind. You’re on the river now with Arizona River Runners.

You can move to the cadence of the river and the moon and the stars. You don't even need a watch. You are not on a schedule, nor do you have an itinerary. Your main responsibility is to have as much fun and wonderment as humanly possible. The Grand Canyon will bombast you with truly awesome surroundings. Drink them in. Allow them to penetrate your mind and soul.

Your time unplugged is short. Rediscover your friends and family. Talk with your kids and play goofy games together. Ask questions and listen to their answers. Take pictures but most of all...unplug and make new, wonderful memories.

Arizona River Runners rafting trips vay in length, from 3 days to 13 days. You decide how long you want to “unplug.” Call us now at 1-800-477-7238 for your adventure of a lifetime!

Different Trips For Different Folks with Arizona River Runners

So, you checked out Arizona River Runners website and now you're undecided about which trip to choose. 3 days, 8 days. What's the difference?

Right up front, let me make it quite clear that the 3-day trip does NOT go where the longer trips go just floating really fast. No!

The longer river trips typically start at Lee's Ferry and travel downstream 187 miles to Whitmore Wash where a helicopter awaits those people for a breathtaking flight out of the Grand Canyon. This is where the 3-day people enter the river. So, after having spent a day at the Bar 10 Ranch along the Arizona Strip, the 3-day people swap seats with those leaving the river, on both the helicopter and the raft, as their river time starts at Whitmore Wash and continues downstream for more fun and fabulous scenery. The river is emerging out of the depths of the Grand Canyon. The corridor is widening and the rapids are less extreme. There is still grandeur to behold and rapids to ride but it is not the closeness of the Inner Gorge or the ebony Vishnu Schist that corrals the torrential waters upstream.

There are millions of awesome things to see in the Grand Canyon. You could spend a lifetime and never explore everything. But, in 25 words or less...the longer your raft trip is, the more time you have to explore off-river sites. There are Indians ruins, petroglyphs, fossils, waterfalls, grottos, pioneer homes, side creeks running turquoise blue, and places of immense serenity beckoning to your senses.

The longer you spend in the Grand Canyon the more you will revel in the vastness of this place. Time in the Grand Canyon is time well spent.

Call Arizona River Runners 1-800-477-7238. We’re more than happy to answer any of your questions regarding our white water rafting trips.

My Job At Arizona River Runners

One of the things I do at Arizona River Runners is read the Post Trip Questionnaires. These are responses from ARR guests that have completed our Grand Canyon Rafting Trip. ARR asks lots of questions and we get quite an array of answers. Most responses are a gushing, enthusiastic reaction. Quite often I read:

"I've traveled all over the world but this was the best trip I've ever been on."

"Greatly exceeded all my expectations."

"At first I thought it was expensive but my raft trip was priceless."

"This was the best quality time together for my family."

I'm not making this stuff up and I'm not going to lie. We do get some negative replies like:

"There wasn't enough hiking."

"I didn't know I'd have to pee in the river."

"We needed more X-long cots."

"My salmon was over cooked."

We love to hear your feedback. We cherish the accolades; we listen and learn from your suggestions. Your guides read what you have to say as well.

For your "greatest trip ever" call Arizona River Runners at1-800-477-7238.

Arizona River Runners and The Bar 10 Ranch Celebrate 25 Years of Adventure!

This summer, Arizona River Runners is celebrating 25 years of flying river-rafting guests to the Bar 10 Ranch, a working cattle ranch on the Arizona Strip. Sharing the ranch experience with rafting guests provides visitors the opportunity to see a different part of the Canyon during their journey. Five generations of the Heaton family have been ranching on their property, located on a distinctive, narrow piece of land on the north side of the Grand Canyon, since the early 1970’s.

Arizona River Runners guests see ranch hands in action during their visit - doing everything needed to keep the ranch operating smoothly and also providing musical entertainment and dancing for guests. The Bar 10 produces their own all-natural grass fed beef (Bar10Beef.com) on their 10,000 deeded acres, with grazing rights to 225,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and Arizona State lands. The current ranching operations run approximately 1,000 head of cattle.

“Back in the day” it was common to add an airstrip for ease of “commuting” to and from town, which was over an hour away. It was about this same time rafting the Colorado River became a popular tourist activity. It wasn’t long before hundreds of people were floating down the river through the Grand Canyon, just a short distance from the Bar 10. When cattle prices fell, and interest rates soared, patriarch Tony Heaton recognized a business opportunity in the Colorado River. By the time river rafters got to a point near his Bar 10 Ranch, they had already been on the river for six or seven days, the length of time most people go for a vacation. Tony offered rafting companies the option to end their trip a few days earlier – just below the climactic Lava Falls Rapid, and use his airstrip to catch flights back to Las Vegas. He quickly organized teams of mules, and he and his four young sons were soon bringing awestruck tourists up from the river to his ranch, on mules, then in a converted school bus to the airstrip back to Las Vegas. Soon, Tony brought rafters to the Canyon for the shorter trips the outfitters offered.

It was about 1983 that Tony decided to build the lodge to heighten the river runners’ ranch experience. Tony and Ruby transported all the lumber, brick, windows, and other materials over the eighty miles of dirt road in a cattle truck.

All six Heaton children labored beside their parents, with unyielding commitment, energy and enthusiasm.

Later they added covered wagons to provide additional, private sleeping, and were surprised by their popularity with guests. In 1985, the Heatons set aside the mules in favor of helicopters and quickly saw the numbers of visitors to the Bar 10 Ranch increase to 6,000 per season.

Today the ranch sees over 13,000 guests a year, with rafting season from April into October. In addition to river guests, they welcome individuals, families, and groups. Guests are treated to delicious country-style buffet meals, using their own all-natural grass fed beef (Bar10Beef.com). The Bar 10 crew provides evening entertainment, and ranch activities include horseback riding, skeet shooting, hiking, and relaxing. ATV rides and helicopter tours are also available.

The one thing that never changes is the genuine, friendly, western hospitality.

To read more on the Heatons and the Bar 10 Ranch visit http://www.bar10.com/aboutus.amp.

For more information on lodging and activities visit http://www.bar10.com/

To book your rafting trip with Arizona River Runners and experience the Bar 10 Ranch and all it has to offer call 1-800-477-7238.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Harness the Sun With Arizona River Runners

The water of the Colorado River in the stretch that runs through the Grand Canyon has spilled through Glen Canyon Dam from Lake Powell. This same water has not seen the light of day for a long time and therefore it is very cool. You might say it is downright chilly. At the launch of your Grand Canyon Rafting Trip with Arizona River Runners the water temperature is right around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (or 10 degrees Celsius). That's chilly! It will warm a bit as it courses down the river. It may climb into the high 50's by the end of your trip!

There are advantages and disadvantages to the water being this cold. On the plus side, if you get bit by a pesky red ant, you can soothe your ant bite in the river water. Also, the cold river acts as a constant cooler for your drag-bag of drinks, and a good dousing provides quick relief on a baking hot, summer day.

On the negative side, it makes for very chilly bathing. All soaps, shampoos, lotions and potions are to be used solely in the main river corridor. The warmer side streams that you may hike in are quite attractive for bathing, but they are protected environments and therefore are off limits to soaps etc. Most Grand Canyon Rafters find it to be quite workable to swim, play and bathe in the main river.

If you just can't stand the thought of bathing in 50 degree water, perhaps lots of baby wipes will work or bring a solar shower. You can fill it from the river and heat it on the raft during the day (being careful not to get it too hot!) The most difficult part of your solar shower experience will be finding a way (or somebody) to hold it up while you enjoy the warmth.

So, harness the sun. Go solar.

Arizona River Runners has more cool tips to make your Grand Ganyon rafting trip the vacation of a lifetime. Call 1-800-477-4238 to begin your adventure today.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Arizona River Runners’ Rafts - What Are They Like?

Arizona River Runners has a pretty sweet motor rig. Our rafts are inflatable rubber tubes that are lashed to pieces of metal framework for strength and stability. An outboard motor is clamped to the back to give some guidance and propulsion. Boxes and large coolers are aboard and they contain everything. The coolers are in the very center of the rafts. The cold river constantly splashes the bottoms of the rafts. By day, they are covered by gear and by night they become the guides sleeping quarters. Storage bins are covered by 3" pads to make your seating on the boat quite comfy.

The inflatable tubes are made of many chambers so that a leak does not affect the whole raft. Each boat carries a spare motor, an air pump and lots of spare parts. River trips typically run two boats together for safety reasons as well as great photo opportunities.

There is an oval tube that forms the center of the raft and two straight tubes, one on either side, that come to a point in the front. The tip or snout of these tubes is called the "horn". It's a real rodeo up there and there are times when you can ride 'em cowboy. As a passenger, you can control how exciting you want your ride to be. There are parts of the boat that get all the excitement (water) all the time and there are places to sit that are much tamer and less wet. You can make your choice at any given time. You can change it up from time to time; even change boats from day to day. Get to know the other guides and people on the other boat.

When all the gear is packed and you're all aboard, heading down the might Colorado, the views are amazing. Our boats are built and packed so you don't have to crane your neck all day to get in the sights and sounds the canyon has to offer. You can relax back (on the gear) and gaze up into the canyon! What a difference, great views, no kinks in the neck - what more could you ask for?

Our motor rigs carry EVERYTHING you will need for your entire rafting trip. You will be amazed and thrilled as you see how it all fits together. Even the sleeping cots and chairs are on board. That's SWEET!!

So pick up the phone and call 1-800-477-7238 for your adventure of a lifetime – white water rafting through the Grand Canyon with Arizona River Runners!

Getting Aquainted in the Grand Canyon with Arizona River Runners

Maybe there are two of you going on an Arizona River Runners rafting trip. Maybe you are traveling alone (I did, on my first Grand Canyon River Trip). Maybe there are 12 of you who are best friends and family. No matter what your numbers, you are about to meet (and eat and sleep with) a whole new group of friends.

Your fellow river rats will very soon be your good pals. There's something magical about facing the unknown together. You'll conquer new territory as each others best advocates and supporters. The guides are there to ---"guide" you and help you on your journey. But you need to be an active participant in your own story. Be busy about getting acquainted. Introduce yourself and your friends and family to others that you don't know. You are all facing the same things. You have a lot of the same questions and worries.

You are about to have a fabulous week together so meet and greet one another right away. Don't waste a minute of your time being shy. There are grand things to explore in the canyon and fascinating things to discover about your fellow campers as well.

Enjoy everything about your Grand Canyon trip. Visit www.raftarizona.com for your Colorado River rafting trip today!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Extreme Tanning in the Grand Canyon on Your Arizona River Runners Rafting Trip

You are about to embark on a wonderful adventure on the Colorado River as is winds its way through the Grand Canyon. You will see and do and learn things that will forever hold a special place in your soul. Much of your Grand Canyon Rafting Trip will be in wilderness areas; remote and far, far, away from the electronics of the rim world.

You and your fellow rafters will eat, sleep and play out of doors. By day, you may have clear skies. Clouds might provide respite from the sun's burning rays or clouds might provide torrents of rain. In the Grand Canyon, clear skies, the color of deep oceans, can stretch endlessly above you. These are extreme tanning days.

Take care. Protect yourself from burning under the sun. Especially vulnerable areas are: 1) the top of your hatless head, 2) your ears peeking out from under your hat, 3) tops of your shoulders, 4) tops of your thighs from your shorts to your knees, 5) tops of your feet and toes peeking out of your sandals. These areas are facing up, straight toward the sun as you sit on the boat. The sun's rays are intense in the Grand Canyon. Couple that with the fact that you are outside all day long.

Sun protection is a must. Sunscreens and lotions, a good hat, long sleeved shirts and long pants (scrubs are wonderful) are your best defense. Remember, you don’t need super high SPF protection, anything above a 30 just adds more chemicals to your skin, but you use what you like. Our motto is :Apply, Reapply, Repeat."

No matter what level of tanning you might enjoy, it is important not to get burned. Sunburn, sand and more sunshine is a miserable combination. A combination you'd like to avoid. The sand and the sunshine are always going to be there. It's up to you to avoid the “burn.”

Visit us at www.raftarizona.com for all the information you need on your Grand Canyon Rafting trip!



Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A View From the River on an Arizona River Runners Rafting Trip


Check out these YouTube videos that a couple of our rafters took white water rafting through the Grand Canyon!






Have fun and enjoy the "ride"


For your adventure on the river call 1-800-477-7238!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Rafting a River Dance With Arizona River Runners

The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is a pool-drop type river. That means that the current beginning below Glen Canyon Dam (this is officially Marble Canyon) flows smoothly until something gets in its path. That would be rocks. The water "pools" upstream from the rocks until it "drops" over. Sometimes a huge boulder may sit alone in the middle of the current or other times large deposits of debris have been washed into the main river current from a side canyon. This forms the rapids. The river "pools" serenely above the rapid, spills over to continue on and the boats drop down to the river below. None of these look anything like a waterfall. The drop in elevation slopes downward so that there is a navigable path for you and the rafts. It's thrilling. It's wet. It's powerful.

As the water level changes so, too, does the relationship between the water and the rocks. Some rapids become more exciting and dynamic when the water flow increases, while some rapids become less of a ride. On the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, water levels vary depending on the release from Glen Canyon Dam. Water is enormously powerful, rocks move around, and the rapids change. This is truly the river dance. It is a dance that every ARR guide is thrilled to share with you.

To raft through the Grand Canyon with Arizona River Runners call 1-800-477-7238 or visit us at http://www.raftarizona.com/.

Friday, July 2, 2010

A Letter to Arizona River Runners


We would like to share a letter with you from a rafter who went on our June 8th, 6-Day Trip. Enjoy!

Dear Arizona River Runners,

When my mom first proposed the idea of a white-water rafting trip I have to admit I was slightly more than apprehensive about spending five days with twenty plus strangers, eating, sleeping, and boating together. As I was later to discover my worries were unwarranted and the trip turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. I have traveled all over the world, and taken several guided tours through national parks. My encounter on the Colorado River trough the Grand Canyon was some of the most beautiful and peaceful scenes I have ever witnessed.

The crew: Ani Stube, Dan Hall, Michael "MAC" Cornwell and Greg Eastwood were truly amazing from the start. All were welcoming, friendly and very knowledgeable. They were of constant entertainment and maneuvered the river as if they had been riding it their entire lives. Travis Veracammen, our Trip Leader, was exceptional. His love for the canyon showed in everything he did. His constant vigilance for all of us campers kept everyone safe. Most of all, he kept everyone around him laughing. This is a remarkable person and I am so thankful to have had him as our Trip Leader.

By the end of our journey, the entire group had melded into an extended family. Our experience in the canyon with Arizona River Runners brought us together like nothing I have ever come across before, and I credit that to the wonderful spirits of our guides. All shared tears when it came time to go our separate ways. ARR provided my family and me with more than a vacation; it gave us a life changing experience that will stay with us forever.

I hope this company will continue to share this adventure with many people for a long time to come. Please take care of our guides, they are like family to me and I miss them deeply. You run a really great program. Keep it up.

Sincerely,
Monica A. Lum
Honolulu Hawaii


If you have any questions please call us at 1-800-477-7238.