Explore Nature’s Edges with a White Water Roller Coaster

Photo credit: mountainhop.com

The idea of being outside is becoming foreign to many people who work in office buildings for faceless soul-sucking corporations. In fact, Americans are working more now than they did in the 1970s, and that means that they have less time to play. While they are stuck in the office, their creativity is fading, and their humanity is slowly leaving them. Aside from human contact outside of work, people need to be connected with nature, and one of the best ways to do that is with white water rafting in Colorado's Royal Gorge.

“Last Child in the Woods”

One author proposed that kids are losing something because adults are taking all of the edges away. While parents are signing kids up for sports and flattening forest to make playgrounds, they are taking the edge away from the parks and the places where children play. They are in essence making life and children dull with the automation of scheduled time.

Children need places that are wild where they can explore. Go to a playground and watch where the children are. Sure there are many of them on the equipment, but after a rain, there will be just as many in the puddles, and if there is an edge to explore, kids will congregate around that area. They move the grass at the edge and look to see what is underneath, and it is this exploration that helps them learn.

Nature’s Roller Coaster Ride

Lilo and Stitch claimed the waves to be the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, but for those who are landlocked, or aren’t interested in fighting with the ocean, white water rafting in Colorado's Royal Gorge can provide the same kind of thrill that surfing does. You will have more safety equipment, but calling it a roller coaster is a misnomer. Roller coasters provide the same ride time after time. White water rafting provides a different experience each time that you are on the river. It depends on the rainfall recently received and what else is going on both in the area and in the region. That can make for a stunning ride.

Whitewater River Rafting Can Be an Unforgettable Experience

Photo credit: yahoo images

When you go Royal Gorge river rafting, be prepared to get wet and have the time of your life. Colorado’s Royal Gorge is known the world over for its incredible scenery and its fantastic white water. There are class III, IV, and V rapids, depending on the time of year. There is a minimum age to run the river and when the water is high, you should be in good physical shape. You can run the river for half a day or a whole day, and if you still have some energy left, there is a zip line you can play on as well.


Gear and Guides

All the gear you will need to enjoy the white water from a raft is provided. There are splash jackets, personal flotation devices, helmets, and wetsuits and river boots as well. With every rafting trip, there is a safety support kayak that goes along if extra help is needed along the route. All of the guides have years of whitewater experience, so you can be confident that you are in good hands while you are in the raft and on the river. 

Extras and Excitement

Between the live music on the weekends, the available helicopter tours, gift shop, and company photographers catching your rafting trip, your trip will be one you will never forget. The pictures they take can be made into a CD for you to take home and show your friends how brave you were and how much fun you had. The rapids you will navigate through on a Royal Gorge river rafting trip are Spike Buck, Shark’s Tooth, Five Points, Salt Lick, 3 Rock Falls, Single Dip, Double Dip, and Kamikazee, among others. If you are the adventurous type and have no fear, book your whitewater rafting trip in the early part of the summer when the rapids are turbulent and the water is running fast and high. If not so much excitement is comfortable for you, book your trip in the middle or just past the middle. It will still be fun and exciting, but the water will not be so high and won’t be flowing as fast as it was earlier in the season.