Spending time together on the river is one of the best ways to enjoy family life. I remember rafting the Grand Canyon on my honeymoon, a father/daughter bonding trip with my two teenage daughters on the Tuolumne, and the whole dang family clan enjoying the South Fork of the American River. I simply can’t remember any family times I have enjoyed more.
It isn’t that I don’t enjoy my family in other vacation venues, like Hawaii, I very much do. It’s more that all the issues that keep us apart elsewhere just melt away on a river trip. What’s for dinner and who does the dishes? Gone. What to wear? Look in that tiny little bag, silly goose. What day is it? Who cares!
I especially love the sound of the river at night, the scent of campfire smoke and the taste of s’mores, followed by sleeping under a canopy of stars. I relish waking up to the smell of breakfast cooking on the stove. Then it gets really fantastic, running whitewater rapids and watching my girls whoop and holler like they don’t have a care in the world.
Trips like these are ones to be remembered for a lifetime. They are excellent opportunities for families to just be focused on each other while experiencing fun and adventure, escaping everything else for awhile. You leave longing for the next time….
