China, glass crystal wine glasses....White Water rafting....recipe for disaster.

Summer time is a time to celebrate the warmth of the sun and in our family, White Water rafting.I had never been white water rafting in my life until I met my husband back in 1991. He is an accomplished river captain and spent most of the summer weekends on the river camping and running the white water.

The first time he asked, "Want to come came and run the white water with me?" I said, "sure", even though it scared me. Now I'm not one who is afraid of water because I was a lifeguard and water instructor at one time in my life, but watching rafts go down a "Class 4" rapid is a bit frightening. (Rapids are classed from 1-5 with 5 being the most difficult rapid to manuever in.

Okay, so I'm getting ready for my first camping trip and I pack my crystal, china and wine so that we could have a romantic dinner next to the river. I couldn't figure out why my husband would pack water along since when I used to camp with my daughter, I would pitch our tent next to a water faucet in the campground and next to the bathrooms and showers.

Camping near the river we were rafting was considered "dry" camping and that means there is no water unless you bring it in. Plus on the high desert, the winds come up in the afternoons and the sand and dust is incredible. How did my romantic dinner come off? We laugh about it now, because the crystal and china remained packed and we ate off paper plates and drank out of paper cups (of course my husband was sensible and packed the right type of things for this type of camping). I still smile when I think about our camping trips with our family over the years and once our girls started rafting with us, they eventually stood at the bow of the rafts going over "class 3" rapids. But that's another story for another time.

Since that first rafting trip, I've learned to pack the right way so instead of a recipe with this post, I'm giving you hints on how to pack for a multiple day rafting trip and how you can keep your food cool even in the hot heat on the river.

Tips for white water river camping:

Plan your menu ahead of time
Pre-cook all your food except pasta and/or instant potatoes
Place all the pre-cooked food in double zip-lock baggies
Freeze the baggies flat
You can even freeze breads and milk

The day of your trip, take the zip lock baggies and place them in the order of how you will eat the meals. If you use multiple coolers, once the coolers are packed do not open them until the day you eat your meals. (This keeps the items frozen longer).

Use the river to wet some towels and place these over the coolers. This also keeps them protected and they stay cooler as well

Once you're ready to eat a meal, empty your baggies into a skillet or saucepan and heat through. You may need to add a little water, milk or oil to get things reheated.

If you follow these simple rules, your camp kitchen will be smaller because you won't have to pack so many saucepans and skillets and clean-up will be easier.

Happy White Water Rafting this summer!!