What an awesome day!

We slept in and had a late breakfast trying to plan ahead for rafting at 1:30… we did such a good job with our planning ahead that we ended up with over an hour of time to spare before we needed to leave for the rafting spot. So we went to practice our bellyflops and burn off a little excitement.We made it to Mountain Water Rafting on time and ready to raft! I was afraid to take my camera, so we only have some before and after shots from me, but plenty of great shots by their photographer.Michael was stressed out that others in our group were not on time and ready to go right at 1:30! (He definitely doesn’t get that trait from me 🤪) . We loaded up on a bus with others on our trip and headed to the drop-in site. One of guides, Cheddar, gave a safety speech that was part funny and part “we have to warn you of things that won’t ever really happen but just in case”. Mike Brown was intensely listening to this speech, and I was praying that Cheddar would shut up! 🤪.

AJ was our guide – very nice guy who just graduated from college with a degree in Adventure Education. Adventure Eduction – How cool is that? And apparently it’s a real thing because in Colorado, the schools have a lot of classes like this as an elective. How did I not know this was an option in school?!?! 🤷🏻‍♀️. He was so kind to the boys asking about school and what they liked… but when he told Leo he didn’t think he had seen any Marvel movies, I thought Leo would fall over 🤣

The only hiccup was that we rafted with a family of 5 from Texas… who I am labeling the Texas Terrors. The best way to describe them would be if the Kardashians and the children from Madea’s Witness Protection had children. These would be those kids… know-it-all, disrespectful to their parents, over-privileged tween and teenagers. Michael and Leo said well at least we know how not to act when we get older 🤗 (parenting score!). It was so bad, that the guide asked if we would sit in the back for the second half of the ride so he could have a break from them 🥴

The boys were awesome ! They did great paddling and listening to instructions. Michael started in front with Mike, and Leo sat in the middle between me and the Texas mom. Then Leo and I switched and he did the padding while I relaxed. As we got the big rapid, AJ switched Michael and I in order to put to 2 adults up front. I don’t think he cared ❤️🤗We did a 4-hour ride, and stopped half way through for snacks and water. Then it was back in the raft. This time we moved to the back of the boat and each of us paddled (and AJ got a break from the Texas Terrors).

Right before the end of the float, we got to climb up an 8-foot rock and cannonball into the Animas River. Even though it was pretty warm today, when you hit that water 🥶Dang! That water was cold!!! 🥶 It took your breath for a second. A few people jumped in more than once… any guesses which ones? 🤔

We had so much fun today! Even with the Texas Terrors, they just gave us something else to giggle about 🤗 And now to the clothes… everything had a brown gritty film to it. I was going to wash at the hotel but before I put it into the washer, we decided to soak it in the tub with some detergent. Here is it right when we put it in…

Ten minutes later…Two hours later when we got back from dinner… Yuck!

While the clothes soaked, we headed out for dinner at a place AJ and another guide recommended – SteamworksThe food was delicious and great laid back Colorado atmosphere. Think they are full and tired 😊

We decided to explore the downtown a bit in search of a hat for Michael and a T-shirt for me, and stickers for our water bottles. And we found ice cream in the process … there’s always room for ice cream 😉I thought the sign on the office door was hilarious We found Michael’s perfect hat but they were closed so we’ll come back tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our last day. We are headed to Mesa Verde National Park for a picnic and tour tomorrow and then to celebrate our last night of vacation…Can’t believe it’s already been 2 weeks. Time flies when you’re having fun 😀❤️