Arizona River Runners Wants You to Know...

The Arizona Office of Tourism has announced the 2011 Arizona Official State Visitor's Guide will now be available to consumers at no charge. This informative guide provides a wealth of information to visitors, and residents alike. Information on Arizona's history, golf courses, arts and culture, resorts and spas, dining and shopping, and so much more. It has information on camping and recreation, fun family adventures, including Grand Canyon rafting vacations ! It encourages and entertains readers to discover what this great state has to offer as a premier vacation destination. Get a copy today for your wonderful Arizona vacation.

To obtain a complimentary copy of The Arizona Office of Tourism's Official State Visitor's Guide log on to www.Arizonaguide.com, or call the Arizona Office of Tourism at 866-298-3312.

(From Arizona Highways "A New Guide to the Grand Canyon State")

Experience the vacation adventure of a lifetime on an Arizona River Runners rafting trip. Since 1970 we have provided complete Grand Canyon whitewater rafting trips. Whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon offers a unique view of one of the most popular natural wonders of the world. Arizona River Runners has grown to be one of the most innovative, and well-respected outfitters operating in the Grand Canyon. Call us at 1-800-477-7238, we'd love to see you venture down the Colorado!

Arizona River Runners ~ Year Round in the Grand Canyon

There are people rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon right now. Right now and all winter long, there are all kinds of activities going on. Some trips are scientists doing research. Everything in, beside, beneath, over and around the river corridor gets studied. There are bald eagles, condors, humpback chub, trout, tamarisks, rocks and waters, just to name a few things that are studied and recorded. Some teams go down there during the winter season to build trails or to rebuild the ones that are already being used. The flora and fauna are worked on.

Some rafters are down there just for fun. It's an awesome environment to spend your fall and/or winter in.

The water temperature is pretty constant at 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The air temperature is what has changed. It's obviously much cooler. The angle of the sun's rays is different. There are fewer hours of direct sunshine deep in the canyon, on the river. Winter rafters dress and pack very differently from summertime rafters. Lots of fleece is in order for trips this time of year.

Grand Canyon National Park is accessible year round. Be prepared for cold days, cold water and even colder nights.

Thinking about a Grand Canyon rafting vacation? Call Arizona River Runners, 1-800-477-7238, we can help you plan your family rafting trip. We have a variety of Grand Canyon rafting packages, one is sure to fulfill your wishes!

Plan a Family Rafting Vacation with Your Adult Children and Arizona River Runners

Your kids can be adventurous travel companions who are willing to try new things, and are hungry for physical activity and education. Arizona River Runners has a variety of family rafting trips with adventure written all over!

Remember when the kids were little, and family vacations sometimes seemed like more of a hassle than the fun and relaxing holidays they were supposed to be? First you had to pack for you, then for the kids, then load them into the car with a big bag of distractions, and bear the repeated annoyances of “are we there yet?” only to arrive at Lego Land or Disney World to wait hours in line and spend buckets of money on bottled water and Mickey ears.

Now that the kids are more grown up, things might seem a little easier. Don’t think that just because the kids are all adults means you have to give up those fun-filled family vacations. The empty nest syndrome can be rough for a lot of parents, but leaving the nest can be just as hard sometimes. It might surprise you that most kids would be happy to relish in old times, and spend some quality time traveling with their parents.

Besides, now that they’re older, your kids can be adventurous travel companions who are willing to try new things, and are hungry for physical activity and education. Why not bring them out on a Colorado River trip? Rafting through the Grand Canyon with outfitters like Arizona River Runners provide tons of boat-rocking rapids to help keep the excitement up, along with lots of fascinating information on the Canyon’s history and ecology. Arizona River Runners has family rafting trips with adventure written all over!

Along the way, you’ll get to experience the Canyon both on the water and off with a variety of side canyon hikes, hidden waterfalls and cool swimming spots. The Canyon is known for its unique environment and breathtaking geography, so you’ll be sure to find something fun to explore. Don’t worry, you’ll have some down time each day with delicious full course meals provided by the Arizona River Runners’ crew.

Your Grand Canyon rafting trip doesn’t even have to mark a milestone like a graduation or a job promotion; bringing your adult kids out on a river trip can simply be an opportunity to share in an exciting experience with a loved one. Kicking back at the campsite is the perfect opportunity to catch up and stay connected with your kids. You’ll be able to recount stories and share experiences with one another while enjoying the beautiful setting of the Grand Canyon.

You’ll also be surrounded by other people who share in similar interests, so your Colorado River trip can be a great opportunity for both you and your children to make some new friends. Our guides, especially, have some incredible stories about their own experiences whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon, and they’re always happy to share.

Now that the family is together for the holiday - go online and take a look at our trips! You will be pleasantly surprised at our all-inclusive rates. Book your "grown-up" family rafting trip with Arizona River Runners, it will be the adventure of a lifetime -an unforgettable adventure! You’ll travel over one hundred plus river miles down the Colorado River and have the opportunity to share in the experience of a lifetime with your kids, all while rafting, swimming, hiking, and camping in one of the most amazing “Natural Wonders of the World.” It’s the family vacation they’ll never forget, and best of all – there are no lines! Call us now at 1-800-477-7238!

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!

Grand Canyon Rafting with Arizona River Runners ~ Adventure at Its Finest

I did my first Grand Canyon Raft trip when I was in my early 20's. I was single, playing and teaching racquetball for a living and working as a server in a restaurant. I had traveled half way around the world in my short life but had yet to do a Grand Canyon raft trip. So, when the opportunity came up....I jumped on it.

I had the time and I had the money so, without knowing a soul on the trip, I signed up and went on my first Grand Canyon Raft trip with Arizona River Runners. I remember after our orientation, standing at Lee's Ferry with my life jacket on, about to get onto the rafts and thinking to myself....."Did I just pay all this money and I'm going to die?!" Here I was, the great adventurer, jock, strong, independent woman (hear me roar!) and I was second guessing my latest choice of adventure.

As I watched our blonde, bronzed river guide packing his boat, my next thought was "The guides go down the river, come back, do it again and again and again so it must be okay." With this thought in my head, I clamored onto my first raft and my life was forever changed. It was an adventure beyond anything I expected or could have hoped for.

That was 34 years ago. I married that blonde, bronzed river guide. We ran the river together as crew for 3 years, and now we have two grown daughters working on the river.

Adventure at its finest I'd say.

For your adventure call Arizona River Runners at 1-800-477-7238. We'll take you on the Grand Canyon Rafting vacation of your life!