Arizona River Runners End of the Year Party

So, we had an end-o-the-season, Arizona River Runners company party last weekend. Kind of a low key affair. Dinner and drinks....some photos (some vintage and some current)......announcements and acknowledgements and, as always, some great music--- just us jammin' in the music room upstairs.

I love this party. For me, it's sort of like Parents' Night at the University. First of all, I am old enough to be most everybody's mom, and secondly I love and adore these people that work for us. They are incredible human beings. Great characters, each and every one of them. Strong, beautiful, funny, smart, adventurous, caring, and talented. Most of them have great plans for the off season. I can now live vicariously through them.

We, at Arizona River Runners are like family. We are a gaggle, a herd, a pride and a batch. We connect, and that makes us a great company. May I be so bold as to say that I believe we....our office people, our warehouse people, our drivers and our guides.... are tops, and that is good for us, and good for you too.

We'll be back on the water, starting in April next year with renewed enthusiasm (and new jokes). We hope to see you there too. We'd like to share the wonders, the beauty, and the adventure of rafting through the Grand Canyon with you. Call us for your Arizona rafting vacation, 1-800-477--47238

Arizona River Runners ~ The Virtues of Rafting

I first met my husband on an Arizona River Runners Grand Canyon rafting trip. So, it goes without saying that he is an outdoorsy person. I must be too, because there I was, solo (and single) embarking on this major adventure.

Through years of marriage and raising kids, we have enjoyed lots of camping, hiking and rafting. Spending time out of doors, in our minds, is one of the greatest growth opportunities. For youngsters and older folks alike, time spent with Mother Nature is time well spent. Rafting the Colorado River falls into this category.

Any time we could take our family on a river trip, we went for it. We could see our two daughters grow right before our very eyes as we experienced nature. There were lots of laughs. We played games, told stories and listened to tales. There were practical jokes and ambush attacks. We gazed at the starry, night skies and tracked the moon's path across the heavens.

Their were hardships too. Bugs, bats, sunburn, cold, rainy days. Sand gets into your sleeping bag. Sand gets into your food---ew! Critters steal your snacks, and scorpions and snakes live there. You drop your toothbrush in the sand. It's raining on my sleeping bag. These are Mother Nature's lessons. We all worked our way through anything and everything, the best we could. But we were having fun - we were actually having a blast.

The kids thrived on this. Grand Canyon rafting trips are a great way to stretch and grow for all of us at any age. It's a great place to broaden your horizons and learn new skills without a written handbook.

When conditions are good, all is good. When conditions are bad, all is still good. Rafting a river is good stuff for the whole family.

We invite your family to join ours rafting through the Grand Canyon, and experience Mother Nature like never before! Call Arizona River Runners for your whitewater rafting adventure! 1-800-477-7238

Grand Canyon Rafting Next Summer with Arizona River Runners

This year's commercial season is winding down. The end of the 2010 season is at an end. It's time to be thinking about next year......for us and for you.

The first step to getting onto a Grand Canyon raft trip next summer, is to pick a date. It's just that simple. Check your schedule at work, at church, at boy scouts and girl scouts, and the kids' sports, and find times that work for you. Call our office and see what's available. The sooner you call, the more choices you will have. The longer you wait, the more the schedule fills in (with non-procrastinators) and your options become more limited. Your reservation requires a small deposit and then you are good to go.

Sleep like a baby, knowing that you have a reservation for an adventure of a lifetime. Your space is secure and you can revel in the anticipation of things to come. As your trip date approaches we will send you all kinds of information to prepare you for your trip, including a packing list! Don't forget Arizona River Runners provides all meals, camping gear and rafting equipment.

Pick your date. Make the call. Reserve your space and time in the Grand Canyon. Right now, 2011 whitewater rafting trips are holding at 2010 prices! Arizona River Runners 1-800-477-7238, for your Arizona rafting vacation!

How Dangerous is Grand Canyon Rafting with Arizona River Runners?

This is an excellent question. How adventurous or hearty or skillful or CRAZY do I need to be to raft the Grand Canyon? Do I need special skills or equipment? All excellent questions, and very easily addressed.

As you can imagine, Arizona River Runners carries insurance. Quite appropriately, companies that offer this kind of insurance study our activities and rate our risk. You will find it very calming to know that rafting in the Grand Canyon has been rated more dangerous than playing pool and less dangerous than playing golf. As you raft along, your ARR guides will make sure that you feel this way too.

You do not need to be an extreme athlete or an adventurer of the utmost. You do need to want to bask in beauty and grandeur beyond all expectations. Perhaps have a yen for discovery and exploration. The Grand Canyon will work its way into your being in a way that is unique to you. Your experience will be your very own for all time to come.

Perhaps it will be the thrill of the rapids and the tumultuous whitewater that is most memorable to you. For some, the hiking and exploring side canyons will be the best. Many, quite unexpectedly, are astounded at the comradery amongst the group. They cherish friendships that are formed in the awesome setting of the Grand Canyon. Sleeping on the beach, under the starry, starry sky might be new and memorable to your life experiences. Outstanding memories await you.

You don't need any special skills. You're not wild and crazy to want to go whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon. You don't need any special equipment to get on board a Colorado River trip. Regular people raft in the Grand Canyon all the time and you could and should be one of them.

Arizona River Runners provides most everything you need. You bring your personal things and we provide all the "stuff" and the expertise to make your rafting trip a safe and memorable occasion. Grand Canyon rafting is a vacation you can look forward to with excitement and enthusiasm, and look back upon with fondest memories.

Lunch in the Canyon on an Arizona River Runners Rafting Trip!

I'm pretty easy to please in the food/eating department. A real appealing part of this is that somebody else prepares my meal AND cleans up afterwards. That is certainly the case on an Arizona rafting vacation with Arizona River Runners. Don't get me wrong.....the food on ARR rafting trips gets high marks in the culinary realm on it's own. The fact that I enjoy great meals with very little effort on my part is a bonus.

I've tried to duplicate some of the wonderful cuisine that I enjoyed in camps along the way and the one that is clearly a standout is Mexican Train Wreck. It is a salad that is served at lunch in a pita pocket. I've served it many times without the beauty of the Grand Canyon as a backdrop and everybody still loves it.

Here's the recipe I go by:

MEXICAN TRAIN WRECK

Serves a big bunch

3-4 c. chicken, canned or grilled, cut into bite size

1 c. tomato, diced

1/2 c. onion, diced

1 14 oz. can black olives, chopped

1 14 oz. can beans (black, pinto or kidney), drained

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. salsa

1/2 c. avocado chunks or guacamole

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 head of lettuce, chopped or shredded

2 c. tortilla chips, crumbled slightly

Mix all together. Serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese and chips.

Spoon into pita pocket or serve over a bed of shredded lettuce.

This recipe is quite flexible and can be tweaked to your liking. I often leave out the crumbled chips and the shredded lettuce so that leftovers can be enjoyed the next day or frozen.

For your Grand Canyon rafting vacation and fabulous meals, call Arizona River Runners at 1-800-477-7238!

Bon Appétit in the Grand Canyon on an Arizona River Runners Rafting Vacation!

When you raft the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon with Arizona River Runners you will enjoy some really good food. It won't be your typical camping food or that dehydrated stuff. No way! It will be delicious, fresh foods cooked by your guides, who really know their way around the kitchen.

A week on the river with Arizona River Runners might include chicken breast, grilled over hot coals or thick, juicy pork chops. Some nights the dutch ovens turn out lasagna that will offer you choice of meaty or vegetarian. You might savor a pineapple upside down cake still warm from the dutch oven or brownies, gooey and hot. Salmon steaks are one of my favorites. Mexican night offers chicken fajitas or maybe burritos that you build yourself. Rib-eyes just off the grill comes with a bucket of garlic mashed potatoes. Fresh veggies and fruit make perfect salads and sides.

Breakfast beckons you out of your sleeping bag. Every day starts with hot coffee, tea and juice. Some mornings it's eggs to order or blueberry pancakes with sausage. Build your own omelet and watch the chefs skillfully fold it all together for you. There's fresh fruit, yogurt, granola and oatmeal too. Bite into a toasted muffin spread with jam or peanut butter. Perhaps French toast will be a favorite of yours.

At lunch, pile up a dagwood sandwich with sliced turkey, roast beef or ham with choice of avocado, tomato, lettuce, cheese, red onion.....I'm sure I'm leaving out lots of stuff. There'll be olives and pickles and peppers too. Peanut butter and jelly is also available. ARR guides also make a really fab tuna salad.

One of the most popular lunches is called Mexican Train Wreck. You put everything that would be in a mexican food meal, plus the salsa, sour cream, lettuce and chips and chunks of chicken into a bowl. Stir well and..... Wa! La! You've got Mexican Train Wreck. It's a delicious twist on chicken salad.

You won't have ALL of these things on one trip....there just simply isn't enough time but those are a sampling of the kinds of meals that you will savor. Sure, Sara Lee makes an appearance with cheesecake and the like. We appreciate her talents.

Food, on our Grand Canyon raft trips, is delicious. Menus are flexible and for those of you that have certain food restrictions or requirements, let us know your specific needs and we'll make sure you'll enjoy meal time too.

Being in the Grand Canyon is exhilarating. You're going to be busy, exploring, hiking, rafting and doing all kinds of "campy" things. Great food will add to your amazing Grand Canyon rafting adventure. No doubt in my mind!

For your Grand Canyon vacation, call Arizona River Runners at 1-800-477-7238!

Grand Canyon Rafting with Arizona River Runners - "Git 'Er Done

One of the things I do at Arizona River Runners is read all the questionnaires that our guests fill out and return to us after their Grand Canyon rafting trip. It's really quite fun. It's actually a LOT of fun on a couple of different levels. First, and foremost is that it is apparent that people have had a wonderful time with ARR. Most times the experience exceeded all expectations. Secondly, their mind set has often shifted a bit.

Some very common responses are: "It was a trip of a lifetime." "Thank you for time spent with my family." "I've changed how I look at my "stuff" in my regular life." "I didn't want to go back to work." "I was sad to leave the river." "I can't explain what this meant to me." "It's been on my bucket list for a long time." "I wish I hadn't waited so long to actually go." "I was amazed how our group bonded, we became like family." "I've traveled all over the world and this was, by far, the best trip I've done." "I would recommend this trip to everyone."

I am not making these comments up. These are what I read from you over and over again. Sometimes they are even more soulful and fundamental. Your experience will be unique to you.

Have you been thinking about going on a Grand Canyon Rafting adventure? Have you wanted an Arizona Rafting vacation for a long time? It's time to "git 'er done."

Whether you travel alone, with your family or a gaggle of friends, whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon is an awesome experience that is well worth your effort to make it happen.

Right now, at Arizona River Runners, we are taking reservations for Summer of 2011 at 2010 prices. Dates are filling in but there is still room for you! This could be "your best trip ever" too.

Call us and let's "git 'er done."

Arizona River Runners 1-800-477-4238