Riding the Colorado

Today was the day we have been both dreading and looking forward to... Sport was going to earn his Whitewater merit badge while our family rafted the Colorado River with the Mild to Wild Rafting company in Moab. I had never been whitewater rafting before, but some of the kids have and they were excited for another opportunity.

We arrived at the pick up spot at 8:00 am, were fitted with life jackets, and climbed into a big van. Our guide was named Dillon and he seemed to know everything there is to know about a river and a bunch of other things too for that matter.

It took us about half an hour to get to the drop off point and then another 15 minutes or so of safety instructions before we finally climbed in and set off. Most of us were on the big raft, but we also had a 2-man kayak that we needed for some of the scouting requirements. Sport and Crafty got to be pretty proficient with it by the end of the day.

The Colorado is pretty mild, and just right for our maiden voyage. We had the entire day to spend on the water and Dillon was happy to let us hop out and swim or surf the wave with the boat, or even float the rapids without a boat at all. Everything we did was so fun and the kids just kept wanting more.

We had lunch on a little beach and headed back out on the water. Crafty and Sport were able to take the kayak over the rapids and we didn't have a single person thrown from either craft. At 3:30 we finally pulled the raft up onto the beach so that it could be loaded. The kids were sunburned (because they never listen to me) and covered with sand as we climbed the steps to the big bus that would take us back to our vehicle.

A quick stop for gas and we were on the road again, this time landing for the night in Parachute, Colorado. Tomorrow we will be heading through Denver and up into Rapid City. It's mostly a travel day, but I'm sure we can have some fun along the way.