White Water Rafting in Vernal

The people at the Brew Haus were so friendly, and we even saw one of our guides from our trip having a beer out back! It is a pub but there are lots of families. The service was good and very friendly, they even let us change our order! There were loads of tasty microbrews from around the state, as well as good burgers, ribs, and even vegetarian options. We had the steak sandwich and a burger... greasy but good! We had root beer floats for dessert, too! The inside was decorated with stuff from the history of vernal, and of the river business... pictures from a wedding on the river, old river gear, and pictures from before I was born. I would eat here again and recommend it to anyone who wants local food, local beer, and good people!

My friend Megan and I took a 1-day trip through Split Mountain, with Hatch River, and loved it! We saw a flyer for Hatch and stopped by their boat yard, and they were so friendly in the office! They had two spaces left for the trip the next day and got us all ready! They have been running the river for ages and know all about it!

The trip the next day started with a stop at some of the coolest rock art I've ever seen. The guides told us all about the art and knew so much about it! The river was cold but loads of fun! I got to paddle in the paddle boat and got soaked through the best rapids!

Katy, my guide, taught us how to paddle and talked us through the rapids. She showed us all sorts of rocks and new lots and told us how they were formed. She even spotted some big horn sheep on the side and showed us! Megan rode in the oar boat with Dewey and had a great time! He did all the work for her and told her all about the river-rafting history of the area and about lots of plants and animals in Utah.

Lunch was good. The guides had this amazing spread: tuna-fish salad sandwiches, loads of deli meats and cheeses, and cookies, trail mix, and all sorts of goodies! They even sliced up fruit and veggies for us to eat while they whipped together lunch.

The water wasn't scary at all, well, maybe just a little, but Katie was so good and told us exactly what to do! We paddled the whole way through all the rapids. There were even kids doing it, putting us to shame! The kid next to me was 8 years old and on a trip with his grandfather! His grandfather said that he went on a trip with his SON about 15 years ago!

We were so happy with the trip, we bought shirts when we got back to the yard. They told us all sorts of information about other trips they offered and we are going back this summer for an overnight trip! We can't wait!

Randy's shop is awesome! It's on Main Street, across from the big plane. He has loads of rock art recreations, and amazing desert themed jewelry for everyone you can think of. There are dinosaur teeth on leather cords for the boys, money clips with rock art recreations, beautiful rings, earrings, and necklaces for everyone. I got a pair of fish earrings for my sister and a beautiful silver ring with turquoise. His works are all very unique and remind me so much of my river trip that I love wearing them—they are great conversation starters! He even had a necklace I almost got that had a paddler petroglyph in silver that reminded me of how hard we worked on our river trip the previous day... maybe next time I come.
His jewelry is all handmade so it's not too cheap, but I didn't mind paying the price. I think the ring was $40, or so, and the earrings were closer to $30. In front of the shop he has lots of sculptures and rocks... a great place to show off his work! The shop is very small-operated by Randy and his wife, and looks cluttered and closed from outside. If my guide had not recommended we visit, i wouldn't have even though about visiting, to be honest. But you really get a reward going inside!