LEWISTON, Idaho -- It looked like Survivor, the family version. But the sunburned stragglers stranded on the beach beside Idaho's Snake River were only waiting for lunch.

''Ooooh, yuck, that's disgusting!'' said 11-year-old Michelle peering into a tin of smoked oysters. She wrinkled her nose. ``Can't we have peanut butter and jelly?''

To the rest of us, ready to devour an old shoe if necessary, the lunch table, laid out with olives and cream cheese, a tomato and lettuce salad, wheat bread and sandwich meats, looked positively delectable. But not to Michelle.

Two days and five meals into our six-day raft trip down the mighty Snake River, the grade-schooler from Atlanta was still turning up her nose at most of the menus. So far, Michelle hadn't liked much of anything. Now she rolled her eyes as 5-year-old Diane helped herself to an olive, dropped it in the sand, then stuck it in her mouth and chewed it, grit and all.

''Peanut butter coming right up,'' sang out Jo Deurbrouck, one of the six guides leading our family float trip, organized by ROW Adventures, an Idaho-based outfitter. ''You'll need it, Michelle, if you're going to paddle the rapids.'' Going into the food box, Deurbrouck, a 15-year veteran with ROW, dug out the peanut butter. The rest of us served our plates, buffet style, and munched gratefully, imagining the rapids that lay ahead.

The legendary Snake River, sweeping northward in broad loops toward the Columbia River, figures large in the history of the American West. For the pioneers, it was a dangerous obstacle on the journey westward. Today, the upper river's roaring rapids are a favorite with white-water enthusiasts.

But for families, the lower Snake's moderate Class II and III rapids, stretches of glassy pools, sandy beaches and sunny days add just the right mix of paddling, nature-gazing and camaraderie. Just right, in fact, for a customized ''family-and-friends'' adventure, with parents, daughters, sons, nephews and assorted friends.

When our son Steve announced that he was organizing a summer river rafting trip, the response was immediate. The trip's purpose, a reunion with far-flung family and friends in the heart of the still-wild west, offered lots to do and see. The preparations were minimal, he said, because ROW provides everything: guides, all meals, wine and beer, quality paddle and oar boats, spacious two-man tents, dry bags for cameras and sleeping bags. Within two weeks Steve had filled all 18 slots.

ROW, which leads a variety of guided rafting trips on Western rivers, often customizes outings for families and groups. These may include shorter or longer days on the water, extra time in camp, meals that kids will eat, and enough games and activities to keep all ages happy. So far, so good. But when I saw Steve's sign-up list, a flicker of doubt crossed my mind.

WHAT A CROWD

The 18 of us, ages 6 to 60, seemed as different as any group could be. And when we met for the first time in Lewiston, Idaho, at ROW's kickoff barbecue dinner, it was obvious that for many of us, Steve was the only common denominator.

What would his college roommate John, a California surfer, have to say to Caroline, a vice president at a Washington, D.C. investment bank? Would my sister Mary, a high school teacher and mother of four, have anything in common with Gordon, an international marketing manager, or with Steve's college friend, Dixie, a writer and single mother? And what if the six kids were pests?

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