Southeastern Outings is very pleased to once again offer the opportunity to go tube floating.

We just identified last summer a new tube floating outfitter on the Tallapoosa River at Heflin.  Tallapoosa River Outfitters has rented kayaks to SEO for many years, and now they also rent tubes.

Everyone is cordially invited on this real fun event.  The float will be on the Tallapoosa River near Heflin, Alabama.

We will eat our picnic lunches by the river when we arrive at the outfitters.  Then we will float on the river for about two to three hours.  The outfitter will put us on the river upriver from his place, and you will float down river and take out at the outfitter’s place.  Then you can play in the river at the end of the float if you wish, and/or just lie out and relax or get in your car and leave after finishing the tube float.

Please bring picnic lunch, drink, sunscreen, towel and dry clothes in the car to change into for the ride back home.  Wear old shorts or a swim suit and substantial, snug fitting footwear you don’t mind getting wet and dirty.  Old sneakers usually work well.  Bare feet, flip-flops, slip-ons and thin-soled “beach shoes” are not acceptable!

The usual charge for tube rentals is $15 per tube.  However, if we bring ten or more people in our group, the outfitter will charge us only $10 per tube, so please bring your family and friends with you.  Please come on this outing yourself and bring others with you to help us have over ten people in our group so that we are eligible for the discount.

Tube rental charge covers tube rental, transportation upriver to put-in point, use of a life jacket and use of picnic area and swimming area in river after lunch.  All participants are required to rent tubes from the outfitter for the tube float itself, no exceptions.  Please do NOT bring your own tube!

Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 7 and older able to handle themselves in a tube for two to three hours on moving water are welcome and encouraged to come.  Parents are advised of risks of wading and swimming in sometimes deep water, and parents are responsible for all risks to their children.

Note-To view photos of what we will see on this trip, please click on this link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xYiJrjAhaMhT8sgg7

Please be sure to click on the link and view the photographs.

Please meet at the Leeds Highway 78 gravel parking lot no later than 10:15 a.m.   We plan to depart promptly from there at 10:30 a.m.  Arriving 15 minutes before departure time will allow time to use the restrooms at the service station, hear announcements concerning the day’s event, and form carpools from the parking lot.  If you are not at the meeting place at the designated departure time, you will be on your own at the tube float.  Please be on time ready to go at the meeting place! 

          Please eat breakfast before you arrive at the meeting place, and come with a full tank of gas if you intend to drive.

After the tube float and depending on the time we finish, we may go to a restaurant in Oxford for an optional dinner.  If you would like to wash up and/or have dinner with us at the restaurant after the tube float, please bring a change of clothes and a towel.  Outfitter has a Porta Potty where you can change.  Better than that, hot showers are available for $5.00 at a truck stop by Interstate 20.  If you would like to shower, wash up and/or have dinner with us at the restaurant after the tube float, please bring a change of clothes and your shower things.

Reservations Required: You must email seoutings@bellsouth.net or call Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680 if you plan to come on this outing.  Please advise your name and telephone number.  You may leave a message on Dan’s answering machine or voice mail if you wish.  If you are also making a reservation for someone else coming with you, please give the NAME of that person.  Don’t just say, “My daughter, my friend, my wife”.

If you have made a reservation to participate and then decide to cancel, please be absolutely sure to call and notify the trip leader.  Don’t just tell your friend if you intend to cancel!! 

Please do not just show up for this outing at the meeting place without making advance reservations!  And if you decide to meet us at some place other than the meeting place specified in this announcement, please notify Dan in advance and directly of this fact.

Info: Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680 or seoutings@bellsouth.net

DIRECTIONS TO MEETING PLACE

Leeds Highway 78 gravel parking lot-6995 Parkway Drive, Leeds, AL 35094. Gravel parking lot on Highway U.S. 78 between the Chevron and Marathon service stations at the first Leeds exit, Exit number 140, off I-20 heading east (towards Atlanta) out of Birmingham. Turn RIGHT at the end of the exit ramp coming from Birmingham. See Chevron and Marathon stations on right immediately after first red light.

DESCRIPTION OF SOUTHEASTERN OUTINGS

Do you wish you had friends who share your active lifestyle and enjoyment of outdoor activities?  Then become active with Southeastern Outings (SEO), a nonprofit organization committed and created to serve people who enjoy being active in the outdoors.  The organization plans, organizes and leads outings such as dayhikes, easy kayak and canoe trips, stream and waterfall walks, bicycle rides, lake events and other fun activities to beautiful sites in our natural environment.  From time to time we also sponsor potluck suppers and other socials.  All events and activities of the group are open to the public.  Participating in SEO activities is a splendid, simple way to make congenial new friends who enjoy the outdoors.

NO DOGS OR SMOKING ALLOWED, PLEASE, ON ANY SOUTHEASTERN OUTINGS EVENTS.

The organization currently has 320 members.  We scheduled eighty-two events during calendar year 2018 for an average of 7 fun events per month.  We enjoy the outdoors in all seasons throughout the year.  Thirty-two people on average have participated in each hike during January 1, 2019.

SEO does not charge for participation in any of its outings.  You do not have to be a member to participate in one or two SEO activities.  Dues are only $10.  Please contact Dan Frederick, President, 205-631-4680, or seoutings@bellsouth.net for more information and to obtain three free monthly newsletters with membership application and a complete description of all our outdoor events.

Southeastern Outings now has a website.  Just go to seoutings.org to find announcements of all our upcoming outings scheduled plus some brief, general information about Southeastern Outings, a membership application and 1500 lovely photographs from several of our outings.

Thank you.