American River Rafting (South Fork)

April 21, 2014 - What A Deal!

I opened my Yahoo e-mail box on my dad's birthday, and found a present for myself! A half-priced TravelZoo deal for Mariah Wilderness Expeditions: a two-day rafting and camping adventure with Saturday departure for $150.  I bought the deal two days later for myself and Casey after sharing the trip idea with my friends on Facebook and Yelp. Four friends bought the deal with us, and I picked the weekend of June 28-29th and called to make the reservation.

Mini beers I bought by mistake

May 1, 2014 - Getting excited!

In the spirit of adventure, and because I much dislike leaving straight from work to start an adventure, I decided to take the Friday before our trip off.  I learned we could camp at the river on Friday night for an additional $15 per person. We were planning to see a Shakespeare production of Comedy of Errors at the Cal Shakes amphitheater on Thursday night and would head up to the river the morning of June 27th.




June 26, 2014 - Yelp Elite Event at Cal Shakes

The Yelp company sure does inspire some of their reviewers to keep writing by rewarding them with free tickets to plays, meals, drinks, and the opportunity to meet and make new friends.  This was our second visit to Cal Shakes outdoor amphitheater in the Orinda hills; both visits were with other Yelp Elites and the tickets were a gift, as well as some wine and snacks before the performance.  The theater is really outstanding, and I was very impressed with the sound, lighting, and performance of Comedy of Errors.  I have recommended visiting this performing arts arena countless times since our first visit in 2013. Once again, I recommend that all of my friends buy some tickets to a summer show! (Bring a blanket, it gets cold!! brrrrr) It was the perfect start to kick off my three day weekend!


Friday, June 27, 2014 - Let the Adventure Begin!

I spoke with Melinda at Mariah before we left and learned that we couldn't check in until 5 pm, so we ended up staying around home longer than we originally planned.  I also learned that we couldn't cook at our campsites. She explained that only a couple of areas allow cooking and it's reserved for boy scouts getting their badges.  However, over the weekend we met other couples that brought their grills and cooked up food at camp.



Big fish swimming in the water

We stopped at Red Hawk Casino before driving to the campsite in Coloma. The casino was only two exits past our exit on Hwy 50 so it was a convenient way to kill some time before 5 pm check-in.



Horseshoes

Marco's pizza

Precisely at 5 we were at camp and ready to set up our tents. It was a short walk from the parking lot to our site: "River Rock". The lower swimming hole was a short distance away, but we ended up just putting our feet in since it was getting late in the evening by the time we explored the water.  We threw a couple of horseshoes but had trouble playing with cement around the posts.

We were really disappointed to find there was no fire pit at our site.  There was actually no fire at all the first night that we could find, so we drove into town (less than two miles away). We ate pizza at Marco's (since we weren't allowed to cook dinner at our site!!). It took 40 minutes to receive our slices and they ran out of all their varieties with tomato sauce. It was here our friend Hayley last saw her phone.





[When she went back on Saturday to see if "Lost and Found" had a new phone, she was told 3 (yes, three!!) other people had phones go missing also.]  The night ended for me after one drink at Coloma Club Saloon & Dance Hall.  Four of our group of six went back to camp and talked for a bit with cans of beer in our hands.  Quiet hour at camp begins at 10, and we had our lanterns off by midnight. Our other two friends crawled in sometimes after 2 a.m., having found a bachelor party to crash at the Saloon!






Saturday, June 28, 2014 - American River, South Fork - Rafting Day #1

We paid $13 extra for breakfast (since, once again, we had no grill of our own) and received veggie breakfast burritos and fruit. Another couple cooked bacon at their site. My poor husband isn't much of a veggie person, so this wasn't really awesome for him, but I enjoyed the eggs and mushrooms. Breakfast was served at 8 a.m., but we didn't hit the water until 10.  Nobody understood why we had to get up so early and then wait around for over an hour. 

Carl on the river

Some campers headed out for a day of wine tasting at 4 local wineries. The rest of us were assigned to rafts and guides. We were introduced to Carl, who would be our guide for the next two days!


Carl on the wine bar

Carl was so much fun! He was full of wonderful information about the water and water levels, shared personal life stories, information about local homes we passed along the river and residents and the town history. If you are lucky enough to get him as your guide be sure to engage him. The front of the boat may be more wet, bumpy, and action-filled, but he was the best part about sitting near the back.

We had a great time the first day. Some parts of the river were a little slow but for me this was perfect. If I had wanted a crazier, rapid-filled adventure I would have booked the Class IV trip for $50 more.  Class III rapids are more my style since I'm not much of a water adventurer (my biggest fear in the world is water slides).

Halfway through the day we stopped and ate sandwiches along the river, before finishing up our journey and heading back to camp for a BBQ dinner. Wine was served with dinner. I found out on Sunday that veggie burgers were an option, which had never been announced, so I had chicken and beef with my dinner. I prefer not eating meat, so I wish this option had been announced.


Saturday night BBQ

Campfire

We did sit by the fire a little bit on Saturday night but I was tired and needed sleep to get ready for the next day so it was an early night for us. A few more glasses of wine we brought from home in our own camp, some staring at stars, and then sleep.






We rose early again on Sunday which was easy to do with the sunlight streaming in through the tent.  There really isn't any shade around most of the camp until evening, unless you bring your own, so plan ahead. A few of the sites we saw were private and shaded, and seemed much nicer than ours, but we weren't there much so it really didn't matter.







Sunday BBQ lunch

Sunday was a half-day on the river.  We had a lunch at the end of the day back at camp before saying goodbye.  I finally got my veggie burger and it was outstanding.  They buy the frozen ones from Costco (I had to ask!) and that's the only place I'll buy from now on.  Fire-grilled goodness.






It was sad to say good bye but not hard; we were all so tired and ready to go home.  I'd broken down most of camp in the morning (remembering how hot the afternoon would be from the day before) so we were ready to go after we ate. We did a little shopping in the camp store and bought some t-shirts on sale.  We then said farewell to our friends and to Carl, and drove home.

I would absolutely do this trip again, but I'd do it as a day trip with this company. I think the camping part is great for families, and especially children. But we were hoping for music, fire pits, etc. The staff was wonderful all around, the water was nice, bathrooms were clean. We really didn't have many complaints and would definitely recommend them to friends. 

(Note: They provide great instructions about what to bring. Invest in some nice, comfy water shoes. Many brands have made these inexpensive and comfy to walk in or even hike in.  Bring a hat for your face, waterproof sunscreen, and a long sleeve shirt.  I was really happy to bring along my water proof camera for some action shots.  Bring your camping chair and tent, but know they also rent gear like tents, and even permanent structure cabanas with cots, in case you don't have your own gear.  Most importantly, bring your smile and good attitude, and have fun!)