The paddle plays a vital role in sports such as boat racing, cricket, and pizza flinging. Grab a slice of excitement with today's Groupon: for $45, you get a half-day Colorado River rafting trip for two from Adrift Adventures in Moab (up to a $92 value).

The licensed trailblazers at Adrift Adventures have safely guided adventurers on boat, horseback, and jeep tours of Canyonlands National Park and the surrounding areas for 33 years. The half-day river excursion draws paddlers down the Colorado River through an august landscape along rapids suitable for rookies and swashbucklers alike. Two daily departure times afford rafters different takes on the area's natural beauty. Birds and fish rub sleep from their eyes and amid river and canyon panoramas as morning excursionists cast off at 8:30 a.m., returning about four hours later. The afternoon ride provides rays for sun-fueled eye feasting and lunch for carb-fueled mouth feasting, embarking at 11:15 a.m. and returning about five hours later to a planet of sentient apes.

Experienced guides put paddlers at ease, letting them take in the kaleidoscope of stony vistas and stirring white-water rapids. Adrift Adventures also provides waterproof bags for cameras and personal items, Coast Guard–approved life vests, and Trout-to-English dictionaries. Hotel- and campground-based rafters can inquire about free pick-up from their sites for a stress-free journey.