It’s easy to get caught up in the reliable old conversation of ‘I can’t believe Summer is half over’, or ‘It always goes by so fast’, or to get taken aback when you hear those first advertisements for the back to school specials. Those things are true, yes – Summer is eight weekends that fly by seemingly quicker than any others throughout the year, which is why it is even more critically important to appreciate them while you can.
Most Sundays I’ll will sit down, sip my coffee, open the laptop and have no idea what I am going to write about. The best way for me to draw inspiration in these moments is to open up my photo app and look through the past two weeks. What pops out? What emotions and memories are triggered? Most often I will find myself pausing on a single shot and smile. That’s how I know it’s worth my time to dive into the deeper aspects of that experience. It wasn’t just sitting in a tube on a river, it was an experience to hold on to.
The Prep
Unless you do decide to risk your own way down somewhere else on the river, there are fees that must be paid (unless you don’t pay them…more on that in a minute). Between park entry, rental gear and a wrist band, tubing via the conservation area is going to run you about $40/person. If you’re going for the day and will be running the route multiple times, that’s really not bad. If you’re looking for one trip down, which takes about an hour, then you may want to consider other cost-saving alternatives:
Bring your own gear.
You need a helmet. life jacket, and tube, obviously. Don’t try to fake your way around this either. Yes it’s only tubing and it’s purely recreational, but it’s legitimately dangerous if you don’t project yourself. Don’t be the reason they need to shut it down. oh – also bring a small paddle if you have one. super helpful
Invest in a park pass or visit your local library.
You can buy Gran River parks passes on a year long membership, which gives you access to all of the parks throughout the area. It’s a great motivation to explore all of the different conversation areas and what they have to offer through each season. Alternatively, you can get these parks passes on loan from your local library for free!
Skip the wrist band
ok, this is perhaps not the most honest thing to be doing, but the truth is – the systems they have in place for getting your wristband are painful to take part in. You will stand in a line up for up to an hour, while the staff at the desk fumble through a disorganized method of collecting information and distributing gear. It’s honestly like nails on a chalkboard for me to watch it because there are such simple steps they could take to cut the line down to no more than 5-minutes. Yes, buying a wristband is following the rules and supporting the park, but sometimes I struggle to support a lack of common sense. Besides, in all of our experiences the person who is supposed to be checking wristbands at the entry point has either been napping, on their phone, hiding under the stairs to get some shade, or flirting with someone. They don’t care, so save yourself the extra $20.
If you do go for the wristband, then be sure to reserve online and sign your waiver ahead of time, because you can’t do it at the desk. That’s right, you need to register and sign a waiver on line in advance. So…why is there a lineup?
The last thing I’ll say on the prep side of things is: please don’t go if you don’t know how to swim. Twice this year I’ve seen groups fall out of their tubes and panic because they don’t know how to swim, and twice this year kayakers coming by have had to save them. I’m not sure what these people were thinking they were getting into, but there are rapids, you can fall out, and you could get hurt or drown. It’s a fun experience, but you need some common sense.
The Experience
I won’t describe this experience through the detail of each rock, turn, or eddy; that’s not what looking through my photos made me think of. What comes to mind when I reflect on the experiences is in equal parts the peace it brings to just ‘float’. It is a freeing feeling to not need or want to be anywhere but in that place, and to lean back, look up, watch the clouds move and feel yourself moving in rhythm with nature. I don’t do great at sitting still or relaxing, but for some reason being in a tube allows me to let go of that uneasiness. Yes the rapid parts are fun, but those stretches that just carry you slowly downstream as you let go of your thoughts are just as much what the whole thing is about.
Looking through my snapshots, the thoughts that rush to the front of my mind, however, are far more meaningful than simply ‘having a chance to relax’. This was the first year we have been able to do this little adventure with the girls, and to see them smile, laugh and express themselves through excitement was a sign to me that we’re sharing experiences and forging memories that will stay with them. 30-years from now they may not recall all of the details, and they certain won’t understand what my expressions or emotions were, but I do wholeheartedly believe that they will remember that they used to go tubing with their family and that they had fun doing it. I think of how their childhood is shaping up and how open they are to trying new things. The smiles that consumed their entire face are etched into my brain; their eagerness to want to do it again and share it with others is locked inside my heart. It’s those thoughts and those emotions, that hope and that joy which stand out when I look through my photos.
Every summer, as the girls get older, we get to experience something a little bit different and I am incredibly grateful that we live in an area so full of adventure. Whether we walk, bike, scooter or climb, there are opportunities all around us. Sure, there are experience more exhilarating, epic and breathtaking than tubing down a river in Ontario, but it’s still a ‘Grand’ experience…
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