Pangaea River Rafting in the News!

What Makes Pangaea World Famous?

NW Magazine
...Reprinted from NW Magazine

Whether you’re craving a wet and wild adventure or a relaxing family float, a rafting trip is sure to renew your spirit.

Story by Scott Staats

Although Pangaea River Rafting runs float trips on the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers in Montana, they also run trips on the Spokane River in eastern Washington.

These float trips start within the city limits and then head into a state park of ponderosa pine and sagebrush. The lower Spokane River carves its way through a steep, forested valley, snaking its way past spectacular volcanic rock formations. Wildlife seen along the river includes deer, coyotes, falcons, and ospreys. “Our goal is to make their trip be the best thing that they’ve done all summer, to create a lasting memory,” says owner, David Lawrence. “The variety of trips that we do makes us unique.”

Pangaea offers six different Spokane River raft trips, including whitewater (Class II and III), mild whitewater (Class II), bird watching, river wine float, geocaching, and scenic river float. Most trips run a half day and cover up to 8 miles.

Their river wine float is a unique way to enjoy the river: sit back and relax in the splendor of nature and be pampered. This trip tackles a milder section of the river, making it a perfect outing for a group of intimate friends.”

RV West
...Reprinted from RV West Magazine

Sample the best of the region in scenery and flavor

by Tanya Laing

River adventure tours don’t always involve fast-paced, pulse-accelerating whitewater action. In fact, on the Spokane River, you can enjoy a gentle float while seeing some of the lovely sights of the region mainly accessible by boat and enjoy some of the fine wines produced in the area.

The Adventure That CHeers: Seeing the city sights on a gentle float tour down the Spokane River is enhanced by the taste of regional wines.—photo courtesy Pangaea River Rafting

Pangaea River Rafting is a company that offers guests wine-sampling tours from April to September. Owner David Lawrence wanted to appeal to active retirees who might not be interested in the adrenalin rush of whitewater rafting or who wanted something beyond the ordinary when sampling local vintages, though the float tours are popular with a wide range of adults with discriminating palates.

“You just sit back and you are in the most gorgeous setting in the entire area of Spokane,” said Lawrence. “ And Spokane has some really great wineries that are making some well-crafted wine. It’s the easy scenic float with a regional twist to it.”

The three-hour tour takes guests from downtown Spokane downriver to the T.J. Meenach Bridge near Riverside Park.
“It’s a beautiful stretch,” said Lawrence. “It’s an urban river with a little bit of an urban flair and that classic basalt high desert Spokane scenery.”

The feedback has been phenomenal, said Lawrence. People are often pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the wines, and the taste is complemented by the relaxing experience.

Meetings and Events
Reprinted from Meetings and Events

78 Great Ideas (and one absurd notion)

by Adrienne Schofhauser and Katrina Swartz

Every once in a while you bump into a great idea that makes you smack your head and go, "Why didn't I think of that?" But you don't have to give yourself a headache.  we've scurried all over the Northwest, collecting brainchildren to toss into this grab-bag for you.  Take what you can use-or perhaps get inspired to come up with your own bright ideas.  Let your imagination run naked through these 11 stimulating pages of tricks, trends, innovations and great advice.

11 Team-Building Ideas

Virtual Golf
Stay downtown, work hard downtown, and still make tee time. At Hotel 1000, planners can host an afternoon on the green at some of the world’s top golf courses on two large virtual screens. Seattle; 206.957.1000; www.madisontowerseattle.com

Electric Boat Co.
Rain, shine or something in between, you can still arrange a boating excursion on Lake Union. Electric Boat Company crafts comfortably hold 10 people, and they’re fully covered. Since the boats are electric, there’s no exhaust smell on those sunny summer days when you want to roll the windows down. Spark some team-building camaraderie with multi-boat parties on a scavenger hunt in which participants solve riddles and search out clues along the shores of the lake. Lounge on-board for lunch or appetizers on the water, or dine at a lakeside restaurant. Seattle; 206.223.7476; www.theelectricboatco.com

Pangaea River Rafting
The adrenaline rush of whitewater rafting or the calm of floating beneath blue skies and puffy white clouds with a knowledgeable guide is sure to get your team rowing together, but so too might the goofy Centipede Shuffle or the wild Sing-a-Pore Sling, all experienced in the region’s vast backyard playground. Pangaea River Rafting, with river trips near both cities, uses interactive mind-bending challenges to spark smiles and grow group cohesiveness in workshops ranging from one hour to a full day, either on the river or its banks. Every W.E.T. (Working Efficiently Together) program is customized to your group’s needs and abilities. Spokane, Wash., and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 406.239.2392; 877.239.2392; www.pangaea-expeditions.net

Pinnacle Pursuits
Reach the highest levels of team-building with Pinnacle Pursuits’ half-day outdoor programs, indoor leadership series or interpersonal workshops, all designed around researched theories of emotional intelligence, leadership styles, communication strategies, motivation and group dynamics. Send your group on the Survivor Adventure, Deal or No Deal game, or Pinnacle’s newest program, GPS Adventure Challenge, based on the sport of geocaching. Pinnacle Pursuits couples fun activities with calculated themes of group-bonding and team exercise. Vancouver, B.C.; 604.876.7535; 877.876.7535; www.pinnaclepursuits.com

Tall Order Culinary Tours
Imagine your group docking on the beach of a private island, where an attentive staff greets you. The ingredients to create a zesty barbecue feast are laid out on rustic tables. This two-day interactive retreat is just one of many different group-bonding quests that get your group of six to 20 guests doing bicep curls with cantaloupes or savoring white wine in a massage chair. Tall Order Culinary Tours expertly mixes teambuilding ingredients with gourmet experiences. Delta, B.C.; 604.597.7296 / www.tallorder.ca

Improvise an Experience
Improv companies and theaters often offer business-geared workshops that make use of performance-enhancing techniques. Activities such as the “Yes” game, improvisational scenes and assuming character identities produce collaborative efforts sprung from individual decisions—all creating an atmosphere where everyone has something valuable to offer the group and the rules of spontaneity break down any shyness barriers. For a list of Northwest improv groups, check out: www.improvnorthwest.org/groups.html.

Events on the Edge
Production company Events on the Edge pushes the boundaries of team-building with an interactive murder mystery or “mafia musical” styled around your gang’s names, personality quirks, stories and jokes. The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train hosts the whodunit, or Events on the Edge can bring the crime to you at another venue. The Fuh-Geddaboudit Interactive Mafia Musical features an old-fashioned family Italian dinner and theater show with improv games, songs and serenades. Buy out the entire restaurant, or Events on the Edge will come to you at any venue. Seattle and Portland; 425.652.2731; www.eventsontheedge.com

Wildplay Element Park
When work calls for playing outdoors, try Wildplay Element Park, where you can navigate an obstacle course in a Douglas fir forest split by the Nanaimo River Canyon. The course includes zip lines, suspended bridges, scramble nets, swinging logs and other adventure fun. Guests can also bungee jump or strap into the King Swing, which uses a sling shot effect to fling you out over the canyon at speeds up to 140 km/hour. Wildplay Element Park is open year-round, with hours depending on the season. Vancouver Island, B.C.; 250.716.7874; www.wildplayparks.com

Julee’s Gorge Tours
Your Mission: Your pilot has gone down behind enemy lines and your team must find and rescue him/her before the competition rescues their pilot! Julee’s Gorge Tours, the only full-service event planning company in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Mount Hood National Forest, will arrange your tours, lodging, activities, meals, receptions, transportation and team-building facilitation based upon any budget or skill level. JGT provides instructors, maps, compasses, information packets, colorful bandanas, fun props and prizes for lasting effects and exhilarating teambonding memories. Columbia Gorge; 541.806.1075; www.gorgetours.com

Underdog
Every group has its own methods of creating cohesiveness, but the group that plays kickball together, stays together! Statdog, the corporate-planning arm of Underdog, Seattle’s sports league facilitating company, organizes dodgeball fund-raisers, beach flag football tournaments, miniature golf parties and other sporting events. Seattle; 206.320.8326 / www.statdog.com

Urban Wineworks
Sipping wine stirs the senses, whether you have a taste for earthy aromas, flowery essences such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lilac, or the kind of forceful flavor that makes your mouth pucker. At Urban Wineworks in downtown Portland, a group of as many as 70 can create a personalized label for its custom cuvee. Learn the history of blending, imbibe blended wines from different regions of the world, and work with quality single variety wines to bring together a harmony of flavors that express your taste. The rustic winery, tasting room and event facility offer 3,000 square feet of meeting space that features barrel paintings by local artists and room for live musical performances. Portland; 503.226.9797 / www.urbanwineworks.com

Glass Blowing is Hot
“Seattle is unlike any other community in the world for glass,” says Cyrena Stefano of the downtown public-access hot shop Seattle Glassblowing Studio. The city is world famous as the center of the craft glass art movement. Glass blowing is a hot team-building activity, used by companies such as Microsoft, T-Mobile and Caterpillar to enhance communication and encourage interpersonal skills, as many glass pieces are impossible to make alone. As part of the studio’s four-hour workshops, attendees team up with professional glassblowers to make individual pieces and a group creation. A meeting room upstairs accommodates 30 people. Downstairs, two glass art galleries provide event space for receptions or catered formal dinners. {206.448.2181 / www.seattleglassblowing.com}

Reprinted from the Spokesman Review

A sweet ride...
Warm day, cold water, good time
Rafters float Spokane river, finding ideal spot between chilly water and balmy day

By Mike Prager
Staff writer

May 9, 2007 Pangaea Expeditions owner David Lawrence, far left, steers a raft away from the shore, toward moving water on the Spokane River on Tuesday. (Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review )

A group of more than a dozen rafters couldn't have picked a better day to take a spring float trip on the Spokane River.

Temperatures cracked the 80-degee mark across the region for the first time since last Sept. 29.

"It's always nice on the river," said guide Brian Burns of Spokane.

But it's spring, a season notorious for changeable weather. "It was snowing in Montana three days ago," said Kristin Baunsgard, another guide on the trip.

Their customers gathered Tuesday morning at Riverside State Park for a wine and float trip offered by Pangaea Expeditions, www.leaveboringbehind.com, a western Montana-based company that works on the Spokane River early in the season.

Thirteen guests on two rafts drifted about two miles of lightly rolling river between the T.J. Meenach Bridge and the Bowl and Pitcher at Riverside State Park, then enjoyed wine and hors d'oeuvres afterward.

"Right now, it's prime time," company owner David Lawrence said of the Spokane River, which was flowing about 12,000 cubic feet per second on Tuesday with water temperatures in the 40s.

Tuesday's high temperature at Spokane International Airport was 83 degrees, while downtown Spokane and Felts Field reached 85. Coeur d'Alene hit a high of 82 degrees, and Sandpoint hit 81.

A few 90s were reported in the region, including Walla Walla at 91 and Tri-Cities at 93.

A cold front off the Pacific Ocean was expected to bring cooler temperatures by this morning. Gusty winds were starting to blow across the region Tuesday evening, ushering in the change.

Highs today are expected to drop to about 70 in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene; the normal high for this time of year is 64 degrees. Highs should stay in the low- to mid-70s under partly cloudy skies through the weekend. Nighttime lows should stay well above freezing.