Colorado, Day 4

 Thursday was the day that everyone was most excited, apprehensive or nervous about depending on the person; White Water Rafting Day! We drove to Buena Vista for Browns Canyon National Monument Half Day Rafting Trip and the weather was perfect. Our family had two groups. The group that wanted to just float down the Arkansas River and the group that wanted to experience the rapids. Grandma, Emily, Adriane, Evan, Caroline and Lucy went the float route and took a separate school bus to their location. Grandpa, Blair, Stephanie, Violet, Eli, Ivy, Jeff, Melissa and Liam went for the rapids and left in our school bus for our trip. 

Both tour guides were great. On the float trip both Caroline and Lucy got to steer the float with the help of the guide and saw lots of rocks and cliffs. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures as they highly encourage you to leave your phones in your car so they don't fall into the river. There is also not a  professional photographer on that loop either. 

There was a professional photographer on the Class III rapids loop so they were able to get some great photos of our boat going through one of the rapids. At first our guide was concerned that Liam would not be able to sit on the side and help paddle with the rest of us but once he saw how well he paddled down the river he encouraged him to give it a try knowing that if he began to feel overwhelmed he could move to the center of the boat and enjoy the ride. 

A fantastic way to spend 3 hours for sure. Our drive back to the cabin was just as beautiful.

After a good nights rest we all packed up our cars and headed for home. The kids did a great job during the 15 hour drive in the car and we listened to Harry Potter and Little House on the Prairie audio books. We also watched movies, wrote down as many different state license plates as we could find and played iSpy. A lunch break at the last town in Colorado led to a discovery of a fun history/childrens museum where the kids could explore what it was like to be a pioneer on up to being a kid in the 1950s. 

A quick stop in Iowa on our second day of driving to have lunch with Great Grandma was another perfect break from our drive. 

It was a great vacation and we all loved Colorado!