Everyone was very excited (and some a little anxious) about our plans to go whitewater rafting on the Arkansas river in Colorado. The truth is we didn't exactly book a "whitewater" rafting trip. It was supposed to be a family float down a very calm & gentle section of the Arkansas river requiring little effort and no paddling on our end. When I booked this originally through Echo Canyon River Expeditions they tried to talk me into a trip with bigger rapids but there was no chance of that happening with this group. I love the thrill but Mitzi had a class III river experience in the past that she didn't want to repeat. Grams, pop and our girls have never been on a river before. I didn't want to be on the pointy end of the stick if someone went over and took a swim downstream.
We had to be at the Echo Canyon facility in Cañon City by 12:45 which is about 90 minutes southwest of Manitou Springs. We decided to meet grams and pop there even earlier so we could all eat lunch before departing. The drive was through some breathtaking scenery. After passing quite a few rundown looking river outfitters we arrived at Echo Canyon which had a top-notch facility with a great restaurant called the 8 Mile Bar & Grill.
After lunch we applied our sunblock and started gearing up. Ugh, that didn't go well. Ella was not happy with the fit of her PFD (personal flotation device a.k.a. life jacket) but it was the only size they had. We would hear about this until we were on the river and then she would quickly forget. But we still had another hour+ until that point because first we needed to take a bus ride upstream to the drop-in site.
On the bus we met MacGyver (yes, this is his real name) who gave us the lowdown on everything we needed to know and everything the lawyers wanted us to know. This included all the ways we could be injured but as he ensured us that would never happen because that would really make them the worst tour guides ever. He was very excited for this trip because the family float is his favorite run since it's the only one with snacks and drinks.
At the put in site we met Cara who would be our personal raft guide and do the vast majority of the work. We took a bunch of pictures while she got the raft ready.
When the raft was ready Cara came over to test and tighten our PFDs. [Gasp] We were all a little surprised just how tight these things can get. Seriously they were tight to the point it was hard to breathe but Cara assured us that once they got wet it would loosen a little. Right now we all empathized with Ella a bit more.
To our surprise Cara told us that two adults do need to participate in the rowing so Mitzi and I each grabbed an oar. The girls sat between us. Grams and pop sat in the back of the raft. Also to our surprise we learned the river was running much higher and this wasn't going to be the gentle float we expected. We would hit some solid class II rapids, have to row into some strong winds and get splashed quite a bit.
And off we went .....
Cara was right, within a few minutes our breathing returned to normal as the life jackets loosened. Ella quickly forgot that she didn't like the way her PFD fit. The scenery was majestic, the splash of the waves felt great as it cooled us on a hot day, the girls laughed hysterically every time grams or pop took the brunt of a wave. Everyone had a great time.
When we pulled out 5 miles downstream it was disappointing the trip had come to an end but it was time to join MacGyver for his favorite part ... snacks and drinks on the bus ride back.
Before leaving Cañon City we took a quick ride to an outlook over Royal Gorge. This is a 1,200-foot deep canyon that's 10 miles long and was carved over millions of years by the Arkansas River. Magnificent!
On the way home we stopped for our last dinner in Colorado with grams and pop. Unfortunately they would be flying home tomorrow and our fun filled week in Colorado would be coming to an end.
