This picture belongs at the end... but a second ago POOF it disappeared off the screen! This grasshoppa' stayed on my Aunt's shoulder for most of the trip. Certainly that has to be some sort of sign of good luck!
Today we drove from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, Colorado to do some white water rafting on the Colorado River. I prayed last night that since it is nearing the end of the season that the rapids will be calm and that if I fell out of the boat that they could get me back in. (My physique is a bit aerodynamically lopsided and I'm not the most gracious when having to "hoist" myself out of the water into an inflatable raft... I'm just saying...)
Here we are ~ ready to go. Take note of the dorky generic black baseball hat I have on... a last minute necessity to shade my "peaches and cream" complexion. (Really I didn't want my forehead to get fried and do the whole peeling process...)
The complulsary life jackets and oars. My dad offered a friendly reminder last night. He asked that, "I please wear my life jacket." Does he think I'm crazy enough to just, "wing it?" I think I got the oldest, smelliest one of the fleet... but I didn't complain... must mean that it's kept a lot of people from sinking. With the newer ones, one can never tell, eh?
There were five boats on our trip. Three were in front of us and one behind. I didn't mind having some pioneers in front of us. I could judge by the volume of their screams whether or not I needed to be brace myself and dig my foot into the little foot holder thing-a-ma-jiggy. The boat behind us was full of school age kids from a day camp. I actually felt sorry for their guide. Lots of screaming, whining and demands. There weren't any adult types keeping them in line. Question: are there parents who are actually comfortable releasing there kids to go river rafting in a boat without a chaperone? Guess so. That's some trust for you.
All wet. That water is fiercely cold. Either that or I've become spoiled by warm swimming pools and southern California oceans. See that kid in the background? He's Jonathan. An only child who rode in the front of the boat and asked a million questions. Nonstop. He's been on this trip several times before and would ask, "When are we going to get to such and such.... and do I have to wear my sunglasses and when can I go in the water and I want to STAND on the front of the boat... and what's that bug. I don't like bugs." Not so bad if he was an inquisitive type. A boy after my own heart. But he seriously asked the same questions over and over and over. And over again. Bless his heart. I tried the, "let's be surprised! I'm sure Chris (0ur guide) will tell us when we are getting close." He'd look at me and then the questions would start up again. Like I said, bless his heart.
This is where the, "man on the mountain lives." Nobody knows the whole story but apparently this man is entitled to this small piece of river front property. You can see his modest home complete with a laundry line, tool shed and pots and pans. He installed a zip line that goes across the river. He is seen in town quite a bit buying supplies. Not a bad place to camp out.
What a fun day. A drive through Taco Bell and manicures while watching The Olympics completed our night. Tomorrow is Maroon Falls and then a flight home. Sigh......
This picture belongs at the end... but a second ago POOF it disappeared off the screen! This grasshoppa' stayed on my Aunt's shoulder for most of the trip. Certainly that has to be some sort of sign of good luck!
Today we drove from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, Colorado to do some white water rafting on the Colorado River. I prayed last night that since it is nearing the end of the season that the rapids will be calm and that if I fell out of the boat that they could get me back in. (My physique is a bit aerodynamically lopsided and I'm not the most gracious when having to "hoist" myself out of the water into an inflatable raft... I'm just saying...)
Here we are ~ ready to go. Take note of the dorky generic black baseball hat I have on... a last minute necessity to shade my "peaches and cream" complexion. (Really I didn't want my forehead to get fried and do the whole peeling process...)
The complulsary life jackets and oars. My dad offered a friendly reminder last night. He asked that, "I please wear my life jacket." Does he think I'm crazy enough to just, "wing it?" I think I got the oldest, smelliest one of the fleet... but I didn't complain... must mean that it's kept a lot of people from sinking. With the newer ones, one can never tell, eh?
There were five boats on our trip. Three were in front of us and one behind. I didn't mind having some pioneers in front of us. I could judge by the volume of their screams whether or not I needed to be brace myself and dig my foot into the little foot holder thing-a-ma-jiggy. The boat behind us was full of school age kids from a day camp. I actually felt sorry for their guide. Lots of screaming, whining and demands. There weren't any adult types keeping them in line. Question: are there parents who are actually comfortable releasing there kids to go river rafting in a boat without a chaperone? Guess so. That's some trust for you.
All wet. That water is fiercely cold. Either that or I've become spoiled by warm swimming pools and southern California oceans. See that kid in the background? He's Jonathan. An only child who rode in the front of the boat and asked a million questions. Nonstop. He's been on this trip several times before and would ask, "When are we going to get to such and such.... and do I have to wear my sunglasses and when can I go in the water and I want to STAND on the front of the boat... and what's that bug. I don't like bugs." Not so bad if he was an inquisitive type. A boy after my own heart. But he seriously asked the same questions over and over and over. And over again. Bless his heart. I tried the, "let's be surprised! I'm sure Chris (0ur guide) will tell us when we are getting close." He'd look at me and then the questions would start up again. Like I said, bless his heart.
This is where the, "man on the mountain lives." Nobody knows the whole story but apparently this man is entitled to this small piece of river front property. You can see his modest home complete with a laundry line, tool shed and pots and pans. He installed a zip line that goes across the river. He is seen in town quite a bit buying supplies. Not a bad place to camp out.
What a fun day. A drive through Taco Bell and manicures while watching The Olympics completed our night. Tomorrow is Maroon Falls and then a flight home. Sigh......
No comments:
Post a Comment