The boy and I went tubing down 4 miles of the James River in Scottsville, VA yesterday. I have to say it was one of the most relaxing magical days I’ve had in years and I wish we had done it sooner and more often this summer.
We left Richmond around 11am and took the 1.5 hour drive west to Scottsville. The drive was so nice. 50 miles on 64W and then the rest was on twisty country roads, the kind I adore driving on. We easily found James River Reeling and Rafting and got registered, moved the car next to the river where we would be ending our trip and put on our sunscreen and waited for the bus to be ready. They have 3 old school busses and they stagger the drop offs so there isn’t a huge amount of people entering the river at once. The bus drive alone was hilarious… like we were about to be part of a cheesy horror movie, 20 people on an old bus speeding down dirt roads with pop music playing. Good grief.
We were dropped off at an opening to the river in the middle of nowhere and picked out our tubes from a pile. A guy fixed up a tube just for our cooler with a net of rope on the bottom and we tied our 3 tubes together and got into the water. Everyone managed to command their own spot on the river, respecting some personal space, and we began our quiet little trip. There were large groups, families, small groups, couples, and kayakers.
The river was really low and slow yesterday (about 3 feet) and perfectly warm and clear. You could see the bottom of the river the entire 4 hour trip. The James is rocky and we got beached a few times on rocks that were just below the surface. We hit a few little fast currents but nothing to brace yourself for. There was also a lot of river grass and pale brown rocky sand dotted with baby clams slowly moving below us. I only saw one bass but tons of jewel toned dragonflies. The weather was perfect and we got plenty of relief with fluffy clouds. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. Without phones or watches, we had zero concept of time… something I never get to experience in my life.
The banks on either side were awesome – really steep and about 4 feet of exposed tree roots extending from the water. We passed a few tiny magical islands. I was concerned about bringing my camera but I think I could get away with it next time if the river is as slow as it was yesterday. So, I didn’t take these pics.
I was pretty bummed when we saw the bridge, since that’s where we would have to end our trip. I also somehow forgot to bring a dry pair of pants and had to drive home sitting on a garbage bag. Also… don’t reapply sunscreen with wet hands. It kinda defeats the purpose. My thighs are feeling quite warm right now.
Being a fidgety person, it was nice to be forced to just relax for a few hours and do absolutely nothing. I couldn’t have had a better tubing partner and I think it was good practice for our trip to the beach in a couple weeks where we will be doing A LOT of relaxing. I can’t wait!
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