Floating the river is a summer essential, right? At least in my world it is. Water is a big part of my life and floating the river is another way to recharge my soul. Nothing compares to being on the river with good company, scenic views, snacks/drinks, and fun rapids to ride along.

During my years living in Eugene, OR I would float the river every summer. No wonder I had it in mind that I would have a similar experience floating the river in Truth or Consequence, NM with my roommate. What could possibly be different ((other than the scorching hot and intense desert sun that didn’t even come to mind until after the float))??

The float itself was about 4 hours in totality, and started off without a hitch. However, things started to take a slight turn about halfway through… Our skin was becoming redder and redder with each passing moment!! It didn’t matter the vast amount of sun screen we used during the float, nothing stopped the sun from slowly turning my roomie and I into lobsters. There was nothing we could do but continue the remainder of our float, continue to burn, and then see how our skin ended up looking like afterwards.

For me…here are the results:

Crispy legs!

Crispy stomach!

Crispy body!

These are a few pictures depicting the worst sunburn I have ever experienced. I definitely used lots of aloe afterwards, and learned my lesson of never floating the river in New Mexico when the UV is high. ((P.S. the UV was between 11-13 during our float.))

Thanks for reading.

Love, Sam. 💛