A River Trip Through The Eyes of a 12 Year Old

Hi Family Rafters,

Summer is about gone so we are doing are best to get in some floating before ski season.  We had the pleasure of taking a new family down the Green River.  What a great time.  I gave my camera to the 12 year old so that she could share on this blog.  Here you go:

 The Green River

 Our hike to an old homestead

 One happy hiker!

There is nothing like a 2 seat outhouse!

 River Dog!

A  birthday cake on the river!

Well that's the river through the eyes of a 12 year old.  Good times as always.  I'll be back with more.  Let's hope this blog helped some new families get out on the river.  More in the future on my Family Therapy on the River program!

Bill Strong Denver on Family Rafting

The Arkansas River is dropping fast.

Hey All,

I hope you fellow rafters are having a fun year.    As I wrote earlier, we are mostly rafting Browns  Canyon this years.  We will be hitting Lodore Canyon in August.  The Arkansas river is dropping fast, so this weekend is likely our last.  We will be taking some new families out this weekend, so I'll post some pics next week. 

Here's a pic from a past trip down the canyon!  Good times!

I'll be back soon with more.  Happy Rafting!

Bill Strong of Denver on Family Rafting

Where Has The Time Gone?

Hi All!

It was ski season the last time I posted here so I thought I'd give an update.  I hope many of you were successful in getting your river permits for this season.  We struck out so we are doing most of our floating on the Arkansas River and looking for the right permit cancellation.  The upper Colorado is coming up so we will likely go there soon as well.  We will likely do Lodore Canyon later this summer.  I will be posting soon on how to secure a permit cancellation.

Even during this dry year we have had a lot of fun this summer floating rivers and getting wet!  I've also had the pleasure of taking some new families out on the river.   It' always so nice to see how well a family responds to being on the river together and to introduce them to river life!

Here is a pic of a fun family that I took down Browns Canyon of the Arkansas.  They were great and a good time was had by all.  "Dad, when are we going to get our own raft" was mentioned a few times.

The next day I was able to get my own family out on the river.  My daughters love Browns Canyon and are a both good enough to kick me out of the Captain's Chair.

 My daughter forgot to watch what was ahead of us!  SLEEPER!  (a Sleeper is a rock that's easy to miss because it's barely covered with water)

The waves can get everyone wet and weather changes fast, so we always have plenty of dry clothes just in case.  I like my crew warm, well fed and happy. 

We even caught some fish for dinner!  Life on the river is truly grand!

 The Strong Family Rafters are having a wonderful summer and hope all of you are as well.  Stay tuned for more on Family Rafting from Bill Strong of Denver.

As we wax our skis and pray for snow...Let not forget to apply for next years River Permits

Hello Everyone,

Well you can bet that we are all praying for snow here in Colorado!  Whether you're a rafting and skiing family like we are, or just a city slicker, we all know we need a big snow year.

I plan on waxing my skis this weekend (go here for a great YouTube on how to wax your own skis). I'm hoping for a nice year skiing China Bowl along with all the other wonderful mountain runs we have in Colorado.  We bought the Epic Local this year and sure hope to use it.

I was having lunch with another rafting dad and we started talking about what River Permits we are hoping to score for this upcoming year.  As many of you know, there are some rivers that are heavily regulated so you need a permit to float them.  These permits are obtained through a lottery system that have deadline dates, so you sure want to submit your application in time.  For some reason, my friend and I always forget the deadlines for submission, so I thought I'd post some of them here.

Lodore Canyon of the Green or Yampa Canyon in Dinosaur National Park is a yearly event for our family.   We always put in for a permit and tend get a ticket 1 out of 5 years.  When we don't get one, we grab a cancellation (more on how to do that this spring if we strike out again).   River Permits applications for Dinosaur National Monuments can be submitted from Nov 1 to February 1, 2013.  Here is a link to the permit.

Rio Charma  river in New Mexico is another great family float that needs a permit.  Go here for to learn about their permit system which also uses a lottery.  Permits for the Rio Charma must be received by Jan 31st.

Upper and Lower San Juan River is a great family float.  You can do upper and/or the lower.  Go here to see the permit information. Applications must be received by the Monticello River Office by February 1, 2013.

Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho is a great river trip but a significant step up in difficulty.  I do not suggest this river for beginners or for families with children under 12 years of age.  Other people do it with younger children but I'm not suggesting it.  Go here to read about the permit process.  Applications are due by January 31, 2012.

Selway River in Idaho:  This is a wonderful family river trip (below Selway Falls) Lottery Applications for the Selway River launch dates (May 15-July 31) are accepted from December 1 until midnight Eastern time January 31. Permits are not required outside the control season on the Selway River.  Go here to read about Selway Permits.

Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River in Utah is a great trip.  I don't take young kids on this trip, but it's a great family float for older kids.  Go here to learn about Westwater permits.

Rouge River in Oregon is an amazing float.  Go here to begin the process of applying for a permit.  The lottery application period takes place from December 1 to January 31 each year.  This is a once in a lifetime river trip so good luck in the lottery!!!!


I'll be adding to this page as I have time.  Let's start planning our 2013 river trips!  Good luck getting permits!!!

Bill Strong of Denver on Family Rafting

Hi all,

Now that river season is over we will be focusing on family skiing.  Stay tuned to this blog for fun family ski ideas, deals and adventures!!! 

As many of you may know, in Colorado 5th and 6th grade school children get special passes and deals.  We've opted to have my daughter in the School of Shred, run by Vail Resorts.   I bought the Epic Local Pass to go along with my daughter's pass. 

Let's hope for some SNOW!!!!

Bill Strong on Family Skiing

Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River in the Fall

Hi Family Rafters,

We just got back from running Westwater Canyon (which is west of Grand Junction right past the border into Utah) of the Colorado river and had a blast!!!  This wasn't a trip where we took kids so we were able to let loose a little bit on how we ran the rapids.  Good time were had by all.

Go here for my YouTube of the trip.  Please understand that I'm not all that great at YouTube, but you'll get an idea of what the scenery looks like.   What's so cool and unique about this canyon is the contrast between the red sandstone walls and the black Pre-Cambrian rock that you get into in the heart of the canyon.  I hope you enjoy the video.

Here is a map of the canyon: 

Here are some of the pics you'll see on YouTube.  And below is a great example of how you don't want to run Skull Rapid at this level.  Going left of the rock would have been a better idea.  Not having kids in the boat allows for a little bit more excitement!

Above is a good view of Skull Rapid and the "Room of Doom" on river right.  At this level (2500 CFS) you can easily enter into the Room of Doom and cruise around.  At higher levels it can be difficult to exit due to the circular flows.

More pics of Westwater in the fall.

A storm that came along as we were in the canyon.  

Holy smokes it moved in fast!  Luckily I was able to dock my raft in a little cave along the bank where I could wait out the storm.

More scenes from the float and a nice campsite:

The river polished Pre-Cambrian Rock is truly a sight to behold.

Indeed there's nothing like life on the river!

It's going to be long off season.  Let's hope for a lot of snow this year to fill our lakes, reservoirs and rivers!!!  Time to strap on the boards for some skiing.

Best regards,

Bill Strong of Denver on Family Rafting

A Special Thanks to Maravia!

Hi All!

I just got back from the river so this is just a quick post.  I wanted to give a shout to Chris Frazee of Maravia Rafts for helping out with my Families On The River program.  We had a chance to get the new raft out this weekend and ran Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River.  In this pic I'm about to take on Skull Rapid.  Westwater sure is beautiful this time of year!  I'll post more pics soon.

Thanks to Jan at Stitches' N Stuff for the Everything Bag and all the other drop bags.  Go here to see her fantastic and bomber products.




 

Thanks again Maravia Rafts!!!!

Bill Strong of Denver on Fun and Safe Family Rafting