Order

Have you ever floated down any of the Texas hill country rivers by yourself? Texas has some fantastic rivers for float trips — the Frio just South of Leakey, the Blanco South of Kyle, the Guadalupe starting in Gruene, and if you prefer canoeing, the Upper Guadalupe from Sisterdale down to the 281 overpass (but that’s an overnighter so take a tent).

I’ve been down all those rivers on multiple occasions, but I have to admit, I’ve never floated them alone; I’ve always been with a group, and that’s not the same. With a group, everything is about the group dynamic and interaction. It’s usually loud and filled with laughter and stories, a few pranks, and much comradery. Alone is a different experience. It’s about noticing the world.

So, you’re wondering how I would know about tubing alone since I admitted to never having done that. That’s not precisely the case.

Back in the mid 1980’s, my little family went on a joint vacation with extended family at a campground near Leakey. On day two, a group of us set off down the Frio in innertubes, pulling the requisite cooler filled with beer behind us in its own tube. Maybe a half mile into our ten-mile trip, we encountered a rope swing atop a small bluff. Being teenagers, all my nephews insisted on stopping and trying out the rope swing. Being a guy, I had to prove I could do anything they could do.

Long story short, I ended up breaking a finger on my left hand bad enough that it merited a trip to the Uvalde hospital. But before I could go to the hospital, I had to endure the remaining nine and a half miles to the next river exit with a throbbing finger. It helped that the Frio lived up to its name and I could soak my wounded paw in the icy water the whole way down.

The next day, when the group headed out for another float trip, I stayed behind, ruing my circumstances. Deciding to make the best of it, I found a nylon rope which I tied around a huge river rock (not an easy trick with only one and a half hands). I tied my innertube to the other end of the rope and positioned myself in the middle of the river. The makeshift anchor allowed me to sit amidst the flowing river, shaded by the tunnel of massive trees while I basked in the solitude.

Solitude
I enjoyed four full hours of nothing but me, the running water, the few critters who didn’t see me as a threat, and, oh yeah, a six pack of Michelob. It was amazing to consider how much life was happening in and around that small river.

Earth
Had I understood then, what I now know about the rock cycle, I’d have been in awe at the history behind the various particles of dirt and rock headed downstream where they would ultimately find their way through the seabed, back into the earth’s crust and be reborn as rock which would, in turn, emerge as new mountain ranges via seismic plate collisions, only to erode and start the cycle all over again.

Water
And then, there was the water — the most peculiar of materials and one who’s unique characteristics are the primary reason we can inhabit this planet. Unlike other elements in a liquid state, water is the only one which freezes from the top downward. If not for that unique characteristic, oceans, lakes, and ponds would freeze from the bottom up, killing off all sea life including whatever it was that crawled ashore and evolved into homo sapiens.

Water shares that whole “cycle” syndrome with the rocks — finding its way to the ocean, desalinating via evaporation, traveling great distances via the Jetstream, and falling right back down onto the lifeforms who depend on it.

Sun
Even in the shade of those huge Cypress trees, it was hard to ignore the cycle of the sun as the Earth rotated at the perfect speed to keep us from burning like ants beneath a magnifying glass or freezing like my older sister’s pet rabbit that got left outside on a January night (but that’s another whole story).

Life
Everything seems to be caught up in a cycle and the cycles seem to have been designed in advance. It’s as if beneath the whole chaotic life that we experience every day, there’s another world based on order. It would sure be good to clearly see the big picture and understand the connection between the two — a picture that’s more easily recognized from atom a floating innertube.

So, what are ya waiting for? Every place I described in the first paragraph is less than half a day’s drive from North Texas. If you’re too nervous to go alone, call me. I’m always up for a healthy serving of natural order, along with a side of hill country barbecue.

A meeting of great minds who think alike