What’s in a name—the story behind Buena Vista’s proper pronunciation
Buena Vista’s proper pronunciation might be different than you think. When you call our office and ask about Browns Canyon rafting or the other white water rafting trips we offer throughout Colorado, you might feel as though the person on the other end doesn’t know a thing about Spanish and is butchering “Buena Vista”. Truth is, they’re absolutely correct in saying “BEW-na VIS-ta”. Long before Buena Vista became the white water rafting destination we know today, it was a mining town. In the 1860’s the discovery of gold in Colorado inspired many settlers to head West towards Buena Vista. The lure of getting rich from mining, the abundant water supply from the Arkansas River, and the lush soil allowing for farming and cattle ranching, made this area irresistible to early settlers. In 1879 when the time came to incorporate into an official town, community members gathered together and came up with ideas for a name. Some suggestions included “Cottonwood” as in Cottonwood Creek, or “Mahonville” after the Mahon family who were one of the first to settle the area. Alsina Dearheimer suggested the name “Buena Vista.” Alsina wanted to put a unique twist on the name designating the pronunciation of Buena like “beautiful”. Whether embarking on an Arkansas River rafting trip through Browns Canyon National Monument or taking in the stunning collegiate peaks from Main Street, the natural beauty radiates throughout town and it’s pretty clear why Alsina wanted to honor this. In Spanish Buena Vista literally translates to “good view” and the moment you set site on our town, you’ll probably agree good is a huge understatement. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to live and work in Buena Vista, Colorado. At Wilderness Aware Rafting, we offer exceptional outdoor experiences on stunning rivers in our backyard. Visit our website or give us a call if you are interested in experiencing Buena Vista rafting with Colorado’s top guides! Here are some of our favorite Buena Vista photos, old and new. We’d love to see yours! Tag @wa_rafting and share your #BeautifulBV photos on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
What White Water Guides Do In The Off Season
“So, what do you do in the off season?” There are few jobs as awesome as being a whitewater rafting guide, which can make this a tricky question to answer. A summer of Colorado white water rafting everyday is just that, only a summer, so our guides are forced to find other ways of occupying themselves in the off season. We asked around our Buena Vista office to find out what some of our guides have planned for the fall. Quite a few are in college and going back to pursue their studies at the end of the season. The whitewater rafting season is May through September (usually we end our season with Labor Day weekend) which coincides perfectly with most university summer breaks. Our guide staff is pursing degrees in a diverse variety of topics from Music, to Environmental Science, to Architecture. Some are very local going to school here in Colorado and others are spread off as far Northeast as Vermont. Of our staff that isn’t going back to university this fall, there is quite the mix of plans for the off season. One of our guides works with elementary and middle schoolers at an environmental camp based out of the Redwood Forest in Northern California. Here she leads week long seminars that focus on eco-friendly best practices and inviting children to develop an appreciation for nature. Another one of our guides will be heading to Nicaragua this September. While living in Managua, he will spend a semester volunteering at a children’s school teaching English. The school’s mission is to enable children through an education focused on technology and achieving bilingual English skills so they can pursue a better life. Joe Greiner, owner of Wilderness Aware Rafting, is organizing a trip for our guides and former guides to join his family for some whitewater rafting in South America. This two week whitewater rafting adventure takes place on the Rio Marañon in Peru, the source of the Amazon River. This incredible section of river is very similar to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, and in fact, is known as the “Grand Canyon of the Marañon”. It features class II and IV rapids, beautiful scenery, and flows typically are 20,000 CFS. To give you perspective, the Arkansas River we do most of our Colorado whitewater rafting trips on reached 5,000 CFS this year—and this was its highest flow in 20 years. No matter what our whitewater rafting guides are up to in between summers, we can guarantee that they all are monitoring the snow pack and counting down the days until next season kicks off!
Going Green: Wilderness Aware Rafting Is the Only 100% Renewable Energy Powered Rafting Outfitter in the Arkansas River Valley
Today marks the day where Wilderness Aware Rafting’s commitment to renewable energy has gone full throttle. We’ve always championed the green movement; in 2008 we were the first green rafting company in Colorado to incorporate renewable energy into our power grid. We’re excited to announce the installation of this solar panel now enables us to supply all of our energy needs via solar and wind power. Our 17 acre headquarters, Colorado’s 300 days of sunshine, and the increase in wind levels during the rafting off-season make for the ideal infrastructure to support our green energy initiative. We decided to tap into this alternative source of energy to help eliminate our carbon footprint, take advantage of the great savings renewable energy offers, and do our part in supporting American energy independence. You don’t need to make huge changes like we did to do your part. Here is a list of 10 easy ways you can have a direct impact on helping our environment: Bring your own mug or tumbler to the coffee shop. We all have a mug or two laying around the house and oftentimes coffee shops will offer a special discount for customers using their own containers for their beverages! Unplug your chargers when they are not in use. Even when they aren’t powering your devices, chargers continue pulling electricity. Make it a habit to turn lights off when you’re leaving a room. Invest in a reusable water bottle and bring it with you everywhere. We have some great ones for sale so you can get a souvenir from your whitewater rafting trip that’s both fun and functional! Invest in a variety of reusable containers for packing your lunch to work or school rather than using disposable ziplock bags. Start composting. Rather than filling a landfill, your food scraps will provide much-needed nutrients to your garden. Shop local. Your typical produce travels approximately 1,500 miles before finding a spot on your plate. Buying local products ensures you’re getting the freshest foods and reduces fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Plant a tree. Trees have an amazing impact, a single tree absorbs one ton of carbon dioxide in its lifespan. Recycle clothing and gear you’re no longer using. At Wilderness Aware Rafting, we offer gently used whitewater rafting equipment at a great price. Buying second-hand items prevents them from ending up in the dump, and saves you some green too. Play outside! Activities like whitewater rafting are great because they get you away from being entertained by electronics and the exposure to nature is a wonderful reminder why it’s important to all do our part helping our planet.
Easiest Summer Trip Ever: Family Vacation Wilderness Aware Style
There are some people out there who are planners; they get a thrill mapping out road trip stops (“we can stop for gas and see the UFO watch tower in Hooper since we’ll be 304 miles in and it’ll be approximately 7:36pm which means we can do dinner too”) and then those who prefer more of a laissez faire approach to planning. I definitely fall in the second category, which is why I am a huge advocate for a Colorado white water rafting trip for the entire family to enjoy. Hang on— you say that sounds like a lot of work? Not at all! Our multi-day rafting trips are pretty much like an all-inclusive family vacation with way more excitement than any coastal resort or theme park can offer. The moment you arrive at our office, our friendly staff is taking care of you. In the morning we offer all our guests a complimentary continental breakfast. After your family has gotten their fill, we suit you up in your rental gear (wetsuits, splash jackets, and booties), provide you with a dry bag for your personal items, and you’re good to hit the river. We cover all the details so you can relax and focus on the important things: family, fun, and whitewater rafting! We bring all the gear so you won’t have any headaches over how to load the car and keep everyone with enough space. Your camp is guaranteed to have a beautiful view of the water since we raft right up to it. Our guides take care of all the shopping and cooking (they really outdo themselves here serving delicacies like pesto bread bowl appetizers, freshly made lasagna, garden salads, and even baking cakes at camp in a Dutch oven!). Best of all, you get nonstop entertainment all day as you take on the rapids. Bonus perk—there won’t be any additional costs on the river so you don’t need to take on any unnecessary expenses for “irresistible” touristy trinkets. On top of all this, you’ll also be introducing your family to some of the best nature out there. Our rivers are home to big horn sheep, bald eagles, otters, moose, and many other exotic animals. Since the Arkansas River where we do the majority of our overnight rafting trips is along the continental fault line, you’ll be exposed to stunning rock formations throughout your whitewater rafting trip. Browns Canyon, for example, just recently was declared a national monument because of its beauty. In short, you could put a lot of effort into planning and carrying out your family’s next vacation or you can pretend you did and really just book one of our overnight adventures and have the best time ever—we won’t reveal your secret 😉
What it Takes to Be a Rafting Guide
If your love of white water rafting is putting thoughts in your head of becoming a rafting guide, then it would be worth pursuing that dream if you have the passion for it. Rafting doesn’t require you to quit your day job since it’s a seasonal job and it allows you to do what you love while having the opportunity to pursue other goals or have a job that pays the bills. Being a rafting guide is a lot more convenient for those with a more open job schedule like teachers, firefighters and EMS, personal trainers, or people who work part-time, and students. Some are rafting guides during the summer and work at ski resorts during the winter. It is still possible though to have a regular full-time job and work as a raft guide during the weekends. When seriously considering the idea of becoming a rafting guide, these are the things you should know. Step 1: Applying for the Job Essentially, don’t worry about not having experience before applying, you will get on-the-job training. Next, ask yourself if you are up for the biggest part of being a rafting guide besides playing on the river each day—am I up for entertaining and educating guests regularly? Guests expect to have a great time rafting and it is up to the guide to provide that great experience. With Wilderness Aware Rafting, we require a two season commitment and are a drug-free environment. We are also specifically a tobacco-free company. Be sure to thoroughly read through the application before filling it out and remember that even though it is a fun job, professionalism is important. The next step involves a phone interview. If you are chosen to move on after the phone interview, then you will have a 5-day interview river trip. Interview River Trip The interview river trip is a working interview for 5 days where you learn rafting and camping techniques and get the opportunity to do them. This helps us see how well you take working in that environment and allows you to get a real feel for what the job is actually like. This requires you to pay for your trip to Arizona and get to our location on the Salt River and also pay for the cost of the 5-day rafting trip, which is at a steep discount. We do provide meals and rafting gear. Before coming out on this trip, it would be helpful to condition yourself physically since rafting and camping are physical activities. Working out your arms and core muscles will go a long way to making it a fun trip, especially for 5 days. If you can go through the 5 day interview with a great attitude and do well, then likely we’ll ask you to join us during the Guide Training Course. Guide Training Course The guide training course is three weeks long and free. The normal cost of the course is valued at $1,500. There are a couple things to keep in mind though. Trainees must be CPR and First Aid certified so get that before coming to this. Since you’ll be with us for three weeks, we provide housing that requires rent and you’ll be assigned a unit with 2-4 roommates. Here, you’ll learn in more detail what it takes to be a rafting guide from paddle techniques to rope tying to water safety and rescue. Everyone who completes this course is guaranteed employment. Hiring & Working Once hired as a rafting guide, you’ll get to enjoy many days on the river and find out how much fun we have and why we love being rafting guides. Expect the workload at the beginning of the season and end to be lighter. Many rafting guides love rafting season because it’s like play and we all have a good time together. You get to meet new people every day and create lifelong memories for them as their rafting guide. If you’re interested in a whitewater rafting guide job, then check out our Guide Hiring Process and apply. More interested in whitewater rafting trips? Start planning your next rafting and adventure trip with us today.
Spend Your Honeymoon in the Wilderness
If you’re planning your honeymoon and not really interested in a typical one on the beach, then consider a week in the wilderness instead. An unconventional honeymoon is memorable and unique compared to the traditional trip to paradise. It’s actually more like a fairy tale waking up in the woods and exploring the outdoors like our Once Upon a Time friends. After all the work spent planning a wedding, take it easy while an outdoor adventure company organizes the trips for you. Not only is it budget-friendly but wilderness honeymoons provide personal experiences you’ll never forget. Multi-Day White Water Rafting If you and your beau are thrill seekers, a multi-day rafting trip is for you. We offer tent camping or inn-to-inn trips. Imagine having a continental breakfast in the mountains, spending a half day on the river and taking in the beautiful scenery around you, then going horseback riding or mountain biking afterwards. If you are staying inn-to-inn, dinner will be at a local restaurant and if you are in a tent, our guides will cook gourmet meals for you. The next couple days will be full days on the river and evenings walking in downtown Salida or under the stars around a campfire. We provide professional photography during your trip so you don’t miss those special moments. Just can pick up your picture cd on your last day with us. Rafting Packages Interested in spending more time away from people and more time together? We have one and two day rafting packages for people to do a half day of rafting and another activity. Paddle-N-Saddle tours offer half or full day rafting and a horseback trip. Raft-N- Zip is for those wanting more adrenaline rushes with our zip lining tour. Love mountain biking? Then the Paddle-N-Peddle is just for you and your love. These shorter packages offer a day of fun during your honeymoon with the freedom to spend the rest of your week with hikes, fishing, camping, and more. Let us help you start planning your honeymoon in the wilderness today. Contact us or Request a Brochure for more information on white water rafting and our other adventures.
The Colorado Bucket List – INFOGRAPHIC
Colorado is known for being beautiful and full of adventure. Whether you live in Colorado or are visiting, there’s so many places to check out that even a lifetime in this state wouldn’t get you to all the places you could go. If you want to hit up some of the most popular places and really get a feel of that Colorado culture, then this bucket list is the way to go. Which of these have you done? Which ones would you add to the list? At Wilderness Aware Rafting, our passion is white water rafting and enjoying the outdoors. We offer white water rafting trips, horseback riding trips, and zip-lining tours. Contact us for more information or check out our brochure.
Zip-Lining for Family Get Togethers
When relatives come to visit you, there’s a moment of panic of what you’re going to take them to do during their stay but also of excitement and an excuse to get out there to explore. While shopping and eating out are fun, those events tend to blur together over time. If you want your loved ones to remember you as, “Awesome Aunt Mary,” or “Best-Cousin-Ever Rick,” then thinking outside the box will get you on a quick route there. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. With humans, the act of exploring together through journeys is one of the common ways that people bond. Think about family vacations, you go somewhere new together and explore with the intent of finding joy in the unknown and making memories. So go ahead, take a vacation day or two from work and bring your relatives zip-lining. They say taking regular vacations makes a more productive and happy employee anyway. Zip-Line Tours Zip-lining is a thrilling and fun event for people of all ages and an increasingly popular outdoor activity of choice. With safe technology and equipment, people can soar through the tree tops and enjoy a bird’s eye view of the sky. The guides are there to keep you safe while teaching you about the environment surrounding the zip-lines for a greater appreciation of nature. If you have a need for speed, or aren’t sure if you like to go past the speed limit, zip-lining will remind you of the excitement of going fast. Don’t worry, if you want to slow down, there’s a brake rope to make you more comfortable. Each person goes one at a time 10,000 – 11,500 feet above sea level down five different zip lines. Glide along the tree tops for 400 to 800 feet and wave hello to your family zipping down next to you. Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of a hawk, eagle, or the Colorado State Bird—the Lark bunting. Zip-lining is a fun and easy activity for out of town relatives and your relatives down the street. Prepare for lots of laughing, pictures, and life-long memories and you’ll have a great time. Wilderness Aware Rafting offers Zip Line Tours year round near Leadville, CO, with five different and thrilling zip lines. For more information, Contact Us online or call us at 1-800-462-7238.
Understanding Horse Behavior for Horseback Riding
Horseback riding is one of the most popular outdoor activities to enjoy because it’s a great way to explore nature while bonding people and animals. Before you head off to your next horseback riding trip, it’s important to understand how horses communicate and what their behavior is like. When humans and animals understand each other, the bond and experience of horseback riding is even greater and more memorable. Horse Culture Horses are highly social herd animals that have a dominance hierarchy, or a pecking order. Usually, a herd of horses has one dominant mare that leads the herd and gets first dibs on resources and a lead stallion that stays on the outside of the herd in order to fight off predators or other males. When not guarding, stallions drive up the rear when travelling to move stragglers forward. The pecking order helps all the horses to know how they relate to the others and they often travel in rank order. They have a strong fight or flight instinct. When they are frightened, usually their first instinct is to escape and survive. If they can’t escape, then they resort to biting, kicking, rearing, or striking to protect themselves. Horse Communication and Body Language Before approaching a horse, it’s good to stand near and observe the way they communicate with each other. Animals are constantly showing how they are feeling through their body language. With horses, they have four common ways of communicating—vocalizing, touching, smelling, and body language. These are examples of what that looks like: Vocalize: nicker, squeal, whinny Touch: groom, nuzzle Smell Body Language: ear position, neck & head height, movement, foot stomping, tail swishing With the pecking order, horses will discipline one another when they are out of line by first showing body language, then biting, kicking, or nudging the other horse. A lot of a horse’s body language is similar to those of dogs and cats. The horse’s ears swivel towards what they are focusing their attention on, and can listen to sounds coming from in front and behind them at the same time. Keep an eye out for these indicators and what they mean: Whites of the eyes and ears flattened to back of head = fear or anger, pain Strong swishing tail and stamping hooves = fear anger Tail tucked in = cold or pain Raised tail = tension or excitement Flaring nostrils and snorting with intent eyes and ears = concern Bared teeth = anger about to bite Chewing motion with no food in mouth = self-soothing Extend upper lip when scratched = “Ohh, that’s a good spot” Meeting the Horse Keep in mind that as herd animals, horses view humans as predators. People tend to use operant conditioning to gain the trust of the horse and learn its body language. Remember that you are the horse’s leader, not a dictator. Keeping the horse’s feelings in mind will go a long way to building a strong bond between the two of you. If you are afraid of the horse, it will see this as human submission, which generally leads the horse into being more dominant and aggressive. The approach to meeting a horse is similar to the appropriate manner to greet a dog and how dogs greet each other. Approach the horse on its left side in an arc instead of walking straight on. This tells the horse that you are not aggressive and would like to meet it in a friendly manner. Horses favor their left eye due to their rapid reaction eye and they prefer to keep people in their left line of vision. It is very important to always approach the horse from the front and to the side and NOT from behind, where you put yourself at risk of startling the horse and getting kicked. Once you are next to the horse, off the back of your hand for her to smell and then pet her body. Once you are ready to mount the horse, do so on the left side as well. Your horseback riding trail guide should’ve instructed you on how to sit on and communicate with the horse as well as how far to keep your horse from the other ones for healthy personal boundaries. If you’d like to explore the woods on horseback, check out the horseback riding trips we have available. At Wilderness Aware Rafting we love white water rafting and enjoying the great outdoors on horseback, mountain bikes, zip-lining, and camping. We have many exciting Salt River whitewater rafting or Colorado water rafting trips available. Want more adventure? We also have many other fun outdoor trips available.
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse with Rafting Gear
If one of your hobbies is planning how to survive a zombie apocalypse, then you need to know what to do without your bug out bag when you are off having fun rafting and don’t have it on you. After all, if the Centers for Disease Control has a zombie apocalypse plan, then it is definitely worth knowing what to do to protect yourself during an outbreak in order to give you enough time to get back to your car and grab your 36 hour go bag. Sure, The Walking Dead and World War Z has taught you a thing or two on fighting off zombies out to chomp on your flesh, but they all have guns and combat training. What if they were paddling downriver in the wilderness? Here’s what you can do if you find out that dead cannibals are after your lively flesh. Armor First things first, you’re going to want protection from those rotting teeth. You already have a lifejacket on, protecting your core and back. If there’s an extra life jacket, cut it in half and tie each side to your arms to fend off and trick zombies trying to bite them. All rafters must wear a helmet and this protects your brain from being eaten and doubles for ramming through a wall of them. Just be sure to keep your neck straight and arms up to protect neck grabs with your arm armor. Weapons Next, unless you are in Silent Hill and can only run around and hide, a weapon is necessary for survival. Luckily for you, you carry a pocket knife as part of your everyday gear and have a paddle for skull bashing. If you have the time, cut off the end of the paddle to a point to stab zombies with or tie the pocket knife to the end. Taking a cue from the Maori, any wooden paddles would be easier for this purpose and will inflict more damage on the Zeds. The Maori used wooden paddles that came to a point called a hoe and also used them during war. Rest Get some rest from fending off zombies all day. If you are able to find a calm area of water or get the raft onto a lake, navigate it to the middle and drop and anchor to stabilize. Use a paracord rope to tie a large rock present style so it doesn’t slip off easily. Zombies can’t swim or climb ropes but if they could, climbing over the side of a raft is hard enough when you’re not a zombie. Escape If you’re traveling by foot and find yourself cornered, having a paracord or rope from the raft is handy for climbing up or descending down to get away from those biters. Tie it around a tree trunk or throw it over a strong branch with a weight on it to make it easier like a carabineer. Pull the other end of the rope through and you have a brace. Health Lucky for you, when people go rafting, there is almost always a first aid kit on board and at least a water bottle. Avoid dehydration and patch up any easy wounds until you can get yourself to safety. Hopefully, by this point you’ve found other people or made it to a car to get away. Turn on the radio and get away from major cities. At Wilderness Aware Rafting we love white water rafting, survival knowledge, escaping from zombies, and the outdoors. If you’re interested in a Colorado White Water Rafting Trip or Salt River rafting, browse whitewater rafting trips and other fun outdoor adventures we have available.
