Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Tubing The Ocoee River In Blue Ridge, Georgia

Barney, the Tube Lab. We got to the tube rental site pretty early and ahead of the crowds. As we walked up, Barney was standing near the rental check-in shack, silently staring at a tennis ball on the ground in front of him.
He was completely focused on it, except for quick glances up at you and then back to the ball.
Luckily, we all speak Labrador, so we repeatedly tossed the ball for Barney while we waited.
He's a sweetheart.
He was a wacky youngster when we first started tubing the Ocoee.

Run!
Beware the disembodied head!
So much for that selfie ... this is our crew, minus a few stragglers.

So weird to actually see the slope of the river.
Too subtle in FLat FL.

Pretty good-looking crew.
I never did get  a shot of all of us together... some of us float faster than others.

This damselfly stowed away for a bit on my finger. He stayed there as I dug the camera out of the mesh bag (which was zipped up) and turned it on ... single- handedly.

I thought sure he would leave as soon as I finished my camera grabbing shenanigans, but no! He actually cooperated.
Sweet.




It was the 4th of July holiday weekend, so getting a river photo without pink tubes was a bit of a challenge, but I did squeak in this one.

This is a must do for us every time we head up to Blue Ridge in warm weather.
It wasn't Florida, ... no humidity, blast furnace heat, or bugs,  but I have to admit, it was a blast.
The best tube vendor on the river is Toccoa Valley Campground. The place is clean, friendly, and upstream enough to give you a perfect 6 mile section of the river to float down.
When your float is done, their fleet of big vans will be waiting to bring you back to your starting point at the campground.
The whole process from tube checkout to van ride back is smooth and carefree.
(Plus ... they have Barney, the chocolate Lab)
Go.
Have fun.


9 comments:

Julie Zickefoose said...

Love every single bit of this. Pointless fun is so worth having. That is one gorgeous and accomodating ode on your finger there. This is where my chimping stops cold. Hope somebody can ID it!
I am leaving a comment HERE to prove that some small percentage of those who "like" a blogpost on Facebook actually do the heavy lifting, the tough fingerwork, to click through and read it. I believe it happens from time to time.

R.Powers said...

Just did that on JZblog!

Kegan said...

That looks like so much fun! Wish the lakes were a little more warmer, I think I would have to do the same thing. I am going out to look at kayak though!

Caroline said...

You can see why Art Deco jewelers used these guys as inspiration pieces. The whole trip looks like perfect cool summer fun.

Pablo said...

Someday, maybe I can take you on a float down an Ozark river.

Island Rider said...

Stayed very near that campground several times but never tubed. Next trip!

Mark P said...

Oh boy, does that look nice! But your comment about humidity made me laugh. We have slightly higher temps here in NW Georgia than up in NE Georgia, but the humidity is close to the same, and every time I go outside in the summer I wish I was in New Mexico or Colorado. Out there they think 25% relative humidity is high. But you were lucky this Fourth. The temperature and humidity were lower than normal. We were even able to open our windows at night.

LaDivaCucina said...

That looks like fun!!!

Anonymous said...

Just went last Thursday. Yes! was a beautiful week in NW Georgia/Murphy, NC area for the holiday week. Two grandmothers with their grandsons had a blast!!
Belinda Smith-Riverview. FL