As you can tell by reading this blog, I try to be positive all the time, and especially on vacation. Going to a place I've never been, I have to be flexible and adaptable. And so far, we've had an excellent trip. Each and every experience has been positive, entertaining, and friendly. This is the longest and most expensive vacation we've ever taken, but so far we feel like we've spent our money and our time wisely.
That is, until now...until we took a river rafting trip with Alaska River Adventures.
Before I go on, let me say that when I'm on vacation, my time is more valuable to me than my money. I am in Alaska a certain amount of time, and once that time is gone, I have to get on a plane and return home. Fifty, or even 100 dollars here or there isn't going to make that much difference in the long run. But if I waste a day, or even a half-day when I could be doing something else, then that's a problem.
We had reservations for a 2 PM "Scenic River Raft Trip" with Alaska River Adventures. We were pleased to see that the company shared a parking lot with Prospector John's. So after we finished gold-panning, we stopped-by the office, verified our reservation, and presented our Northern Lights coupon (buy-one-get-one -- saved us $54.) Then we went down the road to Wildman's and got a good sandwich for lunch. (We did not take a shower or do our laundry at Wildman's, but we could have!) We were back at Alaska River Adventures by 1:45 PM as instructed.
We were provided with waterproof gear, boots and life jackets. There were about a dozen of us there. We waited. And waited. And waited. Finally about 2:20 PM a family of four arrived, and they checked-in and geared-up. Then about 2:35 PM a young couple arrived, and they checked-in and geared-up. So, about an hour after we were told to be there, we walked about a quarter-mile to the dock.
There were 20 travelers all together, with two guides, and two inflatable rafts. It became quickly obvious to everybody that we weren't going to sit in the rafts, we were going to sit on the side of the rafts. So, there were 11 of us packed into a raft that would comfortable seat about 6 or 7. The side of an inflatable raft slopes downward, and we were all sort of leaning the entire way. I'm pretty tough, but my back was very sore after the trip.
About 10 minutes into the trip, our guide (about 20 years old) announced that we wouldn't see any bears or moose or elk or anything else like that on this trip. Wow! Okay, so there's no way that they can guarantee you'll see wildlife. But they knew this before we started! They could have told us! My wife and I would have probably decided just to skip the boat ride, forfeit our payment, and found something else to do that day. But now we were a half-mile from the dock, crammed on an uncomfortable raft for 3 hours. A little voice inside said, "Jump, jump" and I almost did, but my wife was with me. I could have made it to shore with no problems...not like there were any BEARS to stop me!
Another ten minutes into the trip, the guide starts pointing-out buildings along the river. I'm not kidding...buildings! After 30 minutes, everyone was bored to tears, and engaging in small talk. Where are you from? What kind of work do you do? A few minutes later the guide starts pointing-out fish in the water. How embarrassing. Actually I felt bad for the young man. He had $540 in fares in the boat, and he was trying his best.
In all fairness, I guess to somebody who had never been on a river anywhere, there might be a little entertainment value to the trip. But, we like to canoe and hike, so this was downright boring to us.
I think on the trip we saw an eagle, a vulture, and maybe a crow. That was it. And fish. The only mammals we saw were humans fishing along the banks.
After three hours of this, we all piled into vans for the 20-minute ride back to our cars. Along the Sterling Highway, we saw a black bear and her 2 cubs standing in someone's front yard. The driver/guide hit the brakes, made a U-turn, and pulled into the driveway. Of course, in the minute that took, the bears had moved-on. One passenger, in desperation, hung over the seat, stuck her camera out the passenger window, and got a blurry photo of a bear's backside (or as we say, the south-end of a north-bound bear.) Then, she passed the camera around so that we could all see the picture. People gave the lucky photographer their e-mail addresses, and she promised to e-mail them the photo. That, my friends, is pitiful.
We got back to our cars, stripped our waterproof gear, and couldn't get out of the parking lot fast enough.
So, travelers, be very careful when committing yourself to more than an hour of time. On vacation, your time is valuable. Spend it wisely. And remember to ask, "Will I actually see anything interesting?"
That is, until now...until we took a river rafting trip with Alaska River Adventures.
Before I go on, let me say that when I'm on vacation, my time is more valuable to me than my money. I am in Alaska a certain amount of time, and once that time is gone, I have to get on a plane and return home. Fifty, or even 100 dollars here or there isn't going to make that much difference in the long run. But if I waste a day, or even a half-day when I could be doing something else, then that's a problem.
We had reservations for a 2 PM "Scenic River Raft Trip" with Alaska River Adventures. We were pleased to see that the company shared a parking lot with Prospector John's. So after we finished gold-panning, we stopped-by the office, verified our reservation, and presented our Northern Lights coupon (buy-one-get-one -- saved us $54.) Then we went down the road to Wildman's and got a good sandwich for lunch. (We did not take a shower or do our laundry at Wildman's, but we could have!) We were back at Alaska River Adventures by 1:45 PM as instructed.
We were provided with waterproof gear, boots and life jackets. There were about a dozen of us there. We waited. And waited. And waited. Finally about 2:20 PM a family of four arrived, and they checked-in and geared-up. Then about 2:35 PM a young couple arrived, and they checked-in and geared-up. So, about an hour after we were told to be there, we walked about a quarter-mile to the dock.
There were 20 travelers all together, with two guides, and two inflatable rafts. It became quickly obvious to everybody that we weren't going to sit in the rafts, we were going to sit on the side of the rafts. So, there were 11 of us packed into a raft that would comfortable seat about 6 or 7. The side of an inflatable raft slopes downward, and we were all sort of leaning the entire way. I'm pretty tough, but my back was very sore after the trip.
About 10 minutes into the trip, our guide (about 20 years old) announced that we wouldn't see any bears or moose or elk or anything else like that on this trip. Wow! Okay, so there's no way that they can guarantee you'll see wildlife. But they knew this before we started! They could have told us! My wife and I would have probably decided just to skip the boat ride, forfeit our payment, and found something else to do that day. But now we were a half-mile from the dock, crammed on an uncomfortable raft for 3 hours. A little voice inside said, "Jump, jump" and I almost did, but my wife was with me. I could have made it to shore with no problems...not like there were any BEARS to stop me!
Another ten minutes into the trip, the guide starts pointing-out buildings along the river. I'm not kidding...buildings! After 30 minutes, everyone was bored to tears, and engaging in small talk. Where are you from? What kind of work do you do? A few minutes later the guide starts pointing-out fish in the water. How embarrassing. Actually I felt bad for the young man. He had $540 in fares in the boat, and he was trying his best.
In all fairness, I guess to somebody who had never been on a river anywhere, there might be a little entertainment value to the trip. But, we like to canoe and hike, so this was downright boring to us.
I think on the trip we saw an eagle, a vulture, and maybe a crow. That was it. And fish. The only mammals we saw were humans fishing along the banks.
After three hours of this, we all piled into vans for the 20-minute ride back to our cars. Along the Sterling Highway, we saw a black bear and her 2 cubs standing in someone's front yard. The driver/guide hit the brakes, made a U-turn, and pulled into the driveway. Of course, in the minute that took, the bears had moved-on. One passenger, in desperation, hung over the seat, stuck her camera out the passenger window, and got a blurry photo of a bear's backside (or as we say, the south-end of a north-bound bear.) Then, she passed the camera around so that we could all see the picture. People gave the lucky photographer their e-mail addresses, and she promised to e-mail them the photo. That, my friends, is pitiful.
We got back to our cars, stripped our waterproof gear, and couldn't get out of the parking lot fast enough.
So, travelers, be very careful when committing yourself to more than an hour of time. On vacation, your time is valuable. Spend it wisely. And remember to ask, "Will I actually see anything interesting?"
