9 A.M.
I wake up as my clock radio blasts a Green Day song. Not in the mood to get up before noon on a Sunday, I have to pull myself out of bed. Today's assignment: Tubing the Salt River. I throw on my swimsuit and a pair of shorts, stuff some suntan lotion, sunglasses and a towel into a bag and head for the car.

9:35 A.M.
I'm somewhere on the Bush Highway, smack in the middle of the desert, and have not seen another car for about the past five minutes. Signs direct me toward the Salt River Tubing and Recreation area. The parking lot isn’t as crowded as I expect, but since this is the first time I’ve ever been tubing on the Salt, I’m not quite sure what to expect.

9:50 A.M.
I wait in line at the large warehouse where Salt River Tubing owners Henri and Lynda Breault of Mesa store more than 3,000 inner tubes. Henri began the business in 1981.
Young adults, ages 18 to 24, are tubing's main demographic, although you'll see people of all ages on the river. According to Lynda, about four times as many people tube on weekends than weekdays.
“Monday through Friday is so relaxing,” says Lynda. “You can see more of the wildlife, like the horses.” The weekend, on the other hand, “makes a great place to meet people, visit and socialize.”

10:05 A.M.
The Beach Boys blast over the loudspeakers as people, young and old, chat while waiting in line. Eventually, I hand the cashier my driver's license and $13 in cash for my tube rental. She takes them from me, leaves for a few seconds, then returns carrying a map.
“Do you want to go for two, three or five hours?" she asks. I feel the warm sun beating down on me and decide that three hours will suffice.
She tells me to get off the shuttle bus at Point 2, and to bring plenty of water and suntan lotion.

10:23 A.M.
I board one of the shuttles for Point 2, also known as Blue Point Bridge. The bus driver’s voice is muffled as he attempts to make announcements over a microphone. My stomach rises into my chest as the rickety bus hits a sharp turn and dips into the road.
In about 10 minutes, we reach Point 1, also known as Water Users. According to Lynda Breault, the two-hour trip from Water Users to Blue Point Bridge offers the best rapids on the river.
Since I am planning to go for three hours, however, I stay on the bus and continue to Blue Point.

11:35 P.M.
After finding the water astonishingly cold at first, it is now the perfect temperature for a hot summer day in the desert. I have been cruising for about an hour, and my arms are aching from paddling around in an effort to dodge protruding rocks. My journey consists of long, languid stretches of slow-moving water, punctuated by spurts of rapids.
Out of the blue, I hear the loud vibrations of bass-heavy music approaching. Glancing back, I see a 5-foot-tall stereo-and-speaker system aboard an inflatable raft. A group of teenagers lingers around the raft, tied together by a web of yellow rope and dangling legs.
Bryan Belden, 26, and Kamanu Fernandez, 24, of Deer Valley explain the solar-powered system was created with car audio components.

1:35 P.M.
I reach Point 4, also known as Goldfield, and the end of my float. I board an empty bus, wait for it to load up and, 20 minutes later, I am on my way back to my car.
The bus driver, full on energy and laughter, plays some hip-hop music over the radio.
“Did you have a good time?” she yells as the bus bounces over the rock-strewn road. Screams and applause echo as she thanks us for coming to the Salt River.

1:45 P.M.
The bus driver takes a sharp turn onto a street marked “wrong way.” We are dropped off, and I waddle over to the return station with my tube around my shoulder and my water-laden bag in hand. I am sun-beaten and tired. My hair is a mess of river water and foliage, and I look like Rudolph with my bright red, sunburned nose. But I find out my tube rental is good until the end of the day. Hmm, maybe this time I'll try for the full five hours