Floating.......

Nothing like a nice scenic float trip down the Snake River! I have been looking forward to this all summer. We so thoroughly enjoyed this little splurge. We knew we would be doing this, but only decided the night before as to when, since we wanted to make sure it wasn't a really sunny day (with lots of annoying sun glare on the water), and we wanted to be sure it wasn't stormy. So, after reading the weather report, we booked ourselves on an 8am raft ride. What a blast!

Apparently the Snake River is not for beginners. The section we were on had no one aside from the professional outfitters. There was a nice big warning sign at the launch site.

We had a short van ride from Jackson Lake Lodge, and went down a long deserted road to this launch site. All of the area raft companies seem to launch from here, as there were a few other rafts leaving when we did. They space themselves nicely though, so it really seems like you are the only raft on the river. We all were equipped with heavy duty life vests, and had the safety talk before we even got in the raft. I liked that, as most of you would guess about me!

reading the board

fitted life jacket-nice

ahhh...this is great

our guide...he was really good!

beautiful views all around

the river flows pretty fast....10 miles in 2 hrs...not bad!

here comes an osprey

soaring osprey

fun!

looks fake, doesn't it?

We saw several bald eagles, and osprey. And, of course, the views were fabulous. There were a lot of downed trees in the river. They leave them there unless all channels are blocked, at which point they will dynamite the tree out of the river. The guide informed us that hasn't happened since the 80's.

The other rafters were so nice too! We all had fun!

bald eagle soaring 

does it get much better than this?

another bald eagle perched in the tree

hello

looks so regal

are you looking at ME?

mountain tops peeking out

another bald eagle -looks like a tree topper!

The guide was fabulous, and the other people in our raft were great. The trip was over before we knew it. The raft ride is 10 miles, and takes about 2 hours, but honestly, it seemed like 20 minutes!

this is so awesome!

so much fun!

We saw ospreys, and several bald eagles in the trees. Also, we saw some cool ducks, of which I didn't hear the name. I will have to look that up soon. We haven't seen these ducks at any other spot, and we've been to lots of rivers and lakes in this area. The guide also pointed out some immature bald eagles, which have no white on them. Not until they are about 3 years old. We learn something every day!

cool ducks

not sure what they are 

need to get some internet to google these guys!

this is just great...really enjoying this!

an "immature" bald eagle...not yet white

still pretty big!!

look at that view...and the young eagle is there on the tree perch

another view of that eagle

should we take another raft ride soon?  How about whitewater?

Towards the end of the float, we passed Menor's Ferry. Interesting to get the view from the river and see the ferry from the water. Its a replicate of the original, but still. For more information on that, click here.

Menor's Ferry

Menor's General Store

This float trip ended way too quickly. We enjoyed everything about it..the float, the guide and the other passengers. We learned a lot from the informative and easy-going guide, as well as the other fun people on board. And the scenery! Goes without saying, right?