NOTE: The Portneuf River is
a tributary of the Snake River. This river runs through the town of
Lava Hot Springs. There are several places in town to rent tubes ($3-$10
on this date) or you may bring your own. You may rent by the hour or
the day. There are one, two, three and four main tubes. It is about
2.5 miles at the longest point but you can do shorter sections. In some
sections, the river is only about 2 feet deep and people will "drag
bottom" in a few spots. The tube rental places will let you have
a free life jacket with your rental. (Of course, some of these rules
and prices may change as the years go by. The two RV Gypsies have no
control over that).
Be sure to wear tie-up shoes, not flip flops or slip-ons or you will
most likely lose at least one of them on the way down. |
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Below: The steep, rocky path to get down to the Portneuf River. No matter where the two RV Gypsies tried to enter the river, it was a steep path down and very slippery near the rivers edge. |
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Below: Since the two RV Gypsies
were not able to photograph themselves from this angle, they took pictures
of other people in this area, where the first two mini waterfalls are
located. Many people put their tube in after the falls, but of course
the two RV Gypsies wanted the experience of tubing over these two falls.
As the two RV Gypsies watched, most tubers made it over the falls okay,
but a few people flipped over. One lady cut her arm in this area, but
not seriously. |
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Below: These two photos were taken by the two RV Gypsies
while in their tubes after going over this waterfall themselves. Notice
the big rock right in the middle of the waterfall at the top.
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Below: There were several
mini waterfalls throughout this journey. At one point, Karen Duquette
ended up completely covered with water, although she did not fall out
of the tube. On the second time through that area, Lee Duquette got
covered with water because whoever was in front of the double tube got
completely soaked. (The tube twisted and turned as they went down the
river, alternating who was in the front). Everyone on the single tubes
laughed each time Karen or Lee got soaked. After a bit, it was easier
to tolerate the cold water. The water was cold, but not freezing icy
cold. Below are photos of other people going over the area that soaked
the two RV Gypsies. People sat on the wall to watch this area and laughed
as the tubers got soaked or thrown out of their tubes. |
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Below: Whenever the two RV
Gypsies got to a calm part of the Portneuf River, they took a quick
photo. There were several mini waterfalls in the area. The water was
very shallow, and several times the two RV Gypsies got their tube stuck
on the rocks and had trouble getting the tube to flow down the river.
One time when they were stuck, Karen Duquette just reached out and grabbed
the arm of a man on another tube and hung onto his arm until they were
able to float on their own again. He must have been taken by surprised,
but all he said was, "quick thinking." Of course
during these times, the two RV Gypsies could not photograph themselves.
They were tubing together on a double tube because that's how Lee Duquette
wanted to experience this. |
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Below: When the two RV Gypsies
exited the Portneuf River at the designated spot, they had to walk across
the bridge shown in the photo above, and that was when they took the
three photos below. |
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Below: Lee Duquette carried
the tube through the town back to the place where they started their
tubing trip. Once, the tube accidentally bumped a guy passing by and
the person just laughed. There is a shuttle bus that will pick the tubers
up and drive them to the beginning again, but they charge $2 a person
each trip and the two RV Gypsies did not mind the walk. The two RV Gypsies
got a lot of wonderful comments on their "Kool-Aid shirts"
that they were wearing. |
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Below: Now the two RV Gypsies decided to take a second
turn tubing down the Portneuf River. Here is photos of them as they
first entered the river. See how shallow the river was at that point.
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Below: Karen Duquette relaxed
on the tube, while Lee Duquette took a few photos before getting on
the tube too. |
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Below: Karen Duquette got
in the front of the tube first, then Lee Duquette found it a bit difficult
to get into the back of the tube. They finally figured out that if they
each sit sideways, with legs on opposite sides of the tube, they could
balance their weight better when tubing over the falls. They also had
to lift their butts when the river got super shallow or they got stuck
on the rocks. |
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