Dare To Try New Things

Down The River We Go

My husband and I “won” a trip to Arizona for listening to one of those dreaded timeshare presentations. I was desperately trying to find things for us to do in the 114-degree heat. As I was scanning through endless samplings of activities people had posted online I came across Salt River Tubing http://www.saltrivertubing.com/ in Mesa, AZ. “Perfect!” I thought…nice cool river water, an ice chest full of beer and five hours to float with my honey. Life is good.

I went to research the website and all I saw were pictures of young college kids floating down river. It looked like something out of spring break with hard bodies in skimpy bikinis and ripped dudes. My own insecurities seemed to muster up. What would they think of this chunky old lady out there with them? Luckily my husband brought me back to reality and reassured me that we would be fine. He was correct. I love this man!

We stopped and picked up a small ice chest, some sunscreen, waterproof phone protectors (a must!) and snacks to take on the trip. Did I mention beer?  We grabbed a twelve pack of beer which my husband said would not be enough.  I assured him the float trip was only 5 hours and how much beer could he drink?  Later I found out I was wrong.  The nice part is Salt River Tubing rents special tubes that support your ice chest to float along with you. How convenient!

The River Adventure Begins

I was pleasantly surprised to see all shapes and ages of people on the river. The water was cool and refreshing and the scenery amazing.  We saw people jumping off cliffs into the water, wild horses that came down to enjoy a cool drink and loved the camaraderie among the fellow tubers. People were sharing water and other beverages and snacks with others floating by that were not as prepared.  Laughter and jokes were being shouted from group to group and you could see some of the float groups getting bigger as people decided to join up with them.

Rapids Ahead

The only river rapids we saw were small little ripples and yet I still managed to flip over when I went to grab the tube with the ice chest in it.  I dumped everything! We were frantically grabbing items before they sank. The only casualty through it all was my bathing suit cover-up!  Luckily my keys and phone were strapped around my neck in a waterproof case.  We were cracking up that our first grabs were for the cans of beer. We all have our priorities!

By the time the river float trip was over, we had nice color and a great relaxing day.  I am so thankful that the fears and concerns did not stop me from going on this trip.  So many times in our lives we create stories that keep us from experiencing new adventures.  Don’t create these stories and if you do, go out and change the ending.  You are after all the author of your own book.