floating the guadalupe...

Over the weekend, two friends along with Kyle and I ventured out and floated the Guadalupe River, approximately 40 min north of San Antonio. We got a little of a late start and didn't get to the river until about 1, and by then, the river crowd was in full force. This is something of what the river looked like when we arrived:

There are 3 sections to this river.

1) The Horseshoe. This takes about 1-1.5 hours to float, and many people go around multiple times rather then floating the whole thing. This is pictured above. Along this "loop" there are houses lining the river. Some had bubble machines and disco balls for us to look at, some had music playing for us, and some where out in the river themselves, playing with their dog. It was full of people and fun to see.

2) The "medium" loop. This loop takes about 2-2.5 hours to float. You are able to go through some rapids and what not. After we survived one rapid, I somehow got out of my tube to help tie the cooler down and was standing in the river when SPLAT. The current took me and I lost my balance and footing and fell down flat on my rear. I sat in the river and just laughed...well, we all laughed. However, for the rest of our adventures, we chose #3.

3). The "long" loop. This "long" route of the river took about 3.4-4 hours to float. We went through many RAPIDS (we saved the cooler!) and saw some beautiful views along the way. Even though there were a lot of people, we were able to see some gorgeous views, such as this:

Our group consisted of 3 people from ND and 1 from WA, so we were all northerns. Two of the wanted to bring the game, "Slap the Bag" with, so we did. We grabbed our wine bag out of the box and threw it in the cooler. I was surprised at how many Texans looked at us like we were crazy, but then wanted to "slap the bag." We had a 21st birthday girl slap it, a bachelor on his "day out" slap it, and others. It was entertaining to see all the people try it out!

Since we were on the water all day, I was not going to brave brining my camera out; no way no how. They did, however, have someone in the water taking pictures of people floating in the river. He caught Kyle and I just as we were going through some rapids. (I had to purchase the rights to get the high quality photo, so I apologize for the low grade. I was not going to pay $12 for a single picture). Overall, we had a blast and can't wait to do it again!