Rogue River Gold

Have you been watching the Gold Markets lately? With prices floating between $900-$1,000 an ounce it is tempting for every one to grab a shovel and a pan and head for the river!

Well, there is plenty of gold on the Rogue River. In fact, some experts claim there is a million dollars a mile in gold, but it is in fine flakes and hard to extract. With the price of gold these days there may just be 2 million dollars per mile in gold!

The kids that come to our Teen Raft Camp take a turn at finding gold the old fashioned way. They become immediate experts and have a ball doing it. Yes, any gold they find is theirs to keep! Gold Panning is a popular past time for the teens. We take them to some of our "No Fail" sites where everyone finds a little gold!

Be warned though, once there is "color" in the bottom of the pan, you could be hooked for life!

Teen Rafting Camp

Going Green!

The mountains, hills and canyon walls are turning green with all of the rain and precipitation we have had in the Rogue Valley. A hike along the Rogue River Trail is a sensory satisfying experience. Birds are chirp, chirp, chirping to welcome you out for a day in the wild.

The wildflowers are blooming along the trail with Indian Paintbrush, Trillium, Oregon Grape, Bluebells, Bird Bills, Cat Ears and little yellow butter cups. The wildflowers display a sweeping view of blues, yellows, oranges, reds, pinks, purples and fuzzy pale white! Up close the delicate flowers look so fragile and yet they burst forth through age old rocky cracks.

The abundant moisture in the ground, falling from hidden sources, filling creeks and streams, and seeking to find the Rogue River. Around the next bend you can find fresh water falling from snow that's melting a few thousand feet above. The spray of water hitting the rocks at your feet feels crisply refreshing in the spring sunshine.

Old growth timber offers sudden shade mixed in evergreens, alder, myrtle, madrone, oak and more. The mingling smells of the forest trees mixed with damp moss and lichen send the senses into a happy dance. Just try to keep your tapping feet on the trail and your head in the clouds on the spring green hike.

Rogue River Rafting

Camp Coffee

Mmmm-mmmm! The smell of fresh brewed coffee in the early morning at camp is one of the greatest smells you can imagine. ORRO brews a hefty dose of coffee each morning in an old time percolator style pot. Of course, if you are like Alyssa who prefers tea we have that available too.

Early morning coffee, the smell of fresh air, the sound of the river and your best buds around the campfire...What more could you ask for? Life is good!

Family Camps Oregon

River Garden

O'Brien's Headquarters is nestled on the most fertile, sandy, loamy soil for growing delicious fruits and vegetables. The onions have peeked out of the soil and are standing proudly at 4 inches tall, and broccoli and cabbage are ready to be transplanted. We are watching the blossoms on the nectarine, pear, apple, peach and plum trees with our fingers crossed, hoping the early spring frosts haven't killed the chance of fresh fruit for the summer.

There are a variety of berries growing in patches at ORRO Headquarters: strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries, red raspberries and golden raspberries, not to mention the abundantly grown blackberries. These are Mother Nature's Candy that last the whole year. We dry, freeze, preserve and enjoy fresh all of the berries right down to the strawberry lemonade!

O'Brien's also grows TONS of walnuts every year! Did I say tons? It is true and the pigs that are raised at ORRO Headquarters thrive on these nuts. The guides help to harvest the nuts that the pigs don't eat. The nuts are also used in River Mix which is a type of Gorp or Trail Mix, made which fresh fruits and berries grown right here at Headquarter or by nearby farmers.

There will be many happy campers this summer with O'Brien's Rogue River Outfitters and The River Garden is waking up, getting ready for another delicious rafting season!

Rogue River Rafting

O'Brien's Talented Guides

At the end of the 2006 Rafting Season, Guide Karyn, AKA River Hippie, painted a picture that captured her feelings about the summer. She incorporated a magnificent blue green background for the color backdrop of the Rogue. Next, she utilized the Peace symbol for the beauty she is part of on and off the river. After that, she threw in her "little red convertible", yep, you guessed it: an inflatable kayak. The finishing touch was a pair of paddles. When she presented the picture, I knew instantly we would use it for the following season T shirt.

With the help of the very talented artists at Raw Talent, the graphics department took the photo sent to them and came up with an amazing design. The title "Your Peace of the River". Guide Karyn was happy with the final product and it went to the printing shop. This was all accomplished via internet, emails, digital photos and PDF files!

Next up, the 2007 Rafting Season ended and Guide Alyssa, AKA Hippie Chick, presented a design full of the same river spirit that she had enjoyed throughout the past rafting and camping season. It was happy and energetic. Of course, this also incorporated the Luck of the Irish. Needless to say, Tim was happy about that, as he saw the little leprechaun and thought it must be him...but finally decided the gray haired leprechaun was inspired by Pops back in Chicago.

Guide Alyssa created a happy leprechaun floating on a shamrock down the river of life. We only know leprechauns to be happy and the feeling of the shirt brings back all of the summer time fun and cheer. Once again, we contacted our friends at Raw Talent and asked them to use this great painting in a T shirt for our 2008 season. The title: "Living the Dream" says it all.

If you think our two latest shirts are cool, you should meet the guides that inspired them! O'Brien's is very proud of the talented artists, River Hippie and Hippie Chick, that work for us each season. Wait until we tell you about their Jousting Championships!

Boat Coats

The Rogue River is rated a Class III River. It offers both scenic beauty and exhilerating rapids. Along with the enjoyment of the river personality comes a responsibililty to raft sensibly. The life jacket, personal floatation device (PFD) or "boat coat" as we call it is the vital element of any trip. In other words, if you don't have your coat, you don't float! It is the law.

Life jackets need to be in good condition. If they have become hard inside, recycle them. If they are torn, recycle them. If the zipper is broken, recycle them. If the buckles are broken, recycle them. You get the picture: if the boat coat has been damaged, it loses integrity. Take the time to inspect your life jackets before getting the rest of your gear ready for a rafting adventure.

Make sure your life jacket fits! Did you eat too much over the cold winter nestled in by the fire? Did you work out to your heart's content and trim off a few extra pounds? Try on your jacket, zip it up and buckle it up. Make the adjustments on the sides for comfort. Yes, snug is good! If your PFD is difficult to zip up or you can't quite buckle all the buckles, or it is so uncomfortable you just can't wait to take it off, you need to exchange the old one for larger sized life jacket. Also, if the jacket is so loose that it can be pulled above your ears easily, even after being tightened in all the right places, you will need replace your old standby with a smaller sized life jacket.

Take the time before you head down to the boat ramp for an awesome day on the river to make sure your PFD is in good condition and fits properly. Remember, rafting responsibly means you actually wear your life jacket. A great day of whitewater runs and relaxing river floats can end in tragedy if safety and sensibility are ignored. The best place to keep the boat coat is on your body.

Oregon Family Camp

Self Bailers vs Bucket Boats

We run two kinds of rafts in our whitewater rafting business. We have self bailing rafts and bucket boats. The Rogue Inflatable is an 18 foot, black and orange bucket style boat. This means that if water washes in, someone has to bail the water out. Usually this is done with a bilge pump or a gallon sized bucket. In the biggest water, a five gallon bucket might accompany the other two.

The self bailing rafts have a bottom that is laced on and inflated. As water washes in it easily flows back out as it seeks the lowest level. With the inflated floor, the lowest point is outside of the raft. The Maravia is a 16 foot, royal blue self bailer.

On the Rogue River, the Rogue Inflatable was designed to maneuver and handle winds with ease. As wind blows upstream (it almost always does) the floor lifts slightly and the only resistance to the wind is the side tubes. The Maravia on the other hand is a very light weight, sporty model. However in a heavy wind the self bailer has more surface area on the water so that there is more wind resistance, but less weight.

As you can tell, both boats have advantages and it just depends on the preference of the boatman. We like both models and use the analogy of blue jeans. The Rogue Inflatable is like a pair of Levi Jeans: sturdy, durable, look great and never go out of style. The Maravia is like designer jeans: well made, beautiful fit and feel, and you can get it in many colors.

The bottom line is no matter what boat style you prefer, just make sure you get yourself, your friends, and family out on the water, living the dream!

Oregon Whitewater Rafting