On the Colorado River

The Colorado River
We are still in Moab. We just can't get enough of this place. We have already explored Arches National Park and now it was time to check out the Colorado river, which runs near Moab. So we decided to sign up for a rafting trip.

Reluctance
When I say we, I mean that I was somewhat coerced into it. I don't have a problem with rafting down a river, but when you sign up for something like this, you are signing up to share the merry event in extremely close quarters with a bunch of excited strangers. When I size up the entire experience I tend to start talking myself out of it.

Nicki however starts talking me into it. And she usually wins. Plus in this case, we have never been white-water rafting and she has always wanted to do it. I reluctantly agreed.

The Rafting Group
As the rafting group began to assemble, it was a mixed bag of couples and families. And a few loud excited children. I was surprised to see children because part of this trip was white-water rapids.

You know what happens when children get near water. They have a tendency to go a little nuts. So I realized I would be sharing the raft with excited children. Well, ok.

Dodging a Bullet
We all assembled at the beach and I saw the raft. Unexpectedly, as if sensing my discomfort, the raft guide stared directly at us and asked, "Would you two like to have your own kayak, or you could stay in our raft if you want."

What? I quickly replied, "We'll take the kayak."

Kayaking the Colorado
The decision was irreversible. I was feeling a sense of relief, but then I looked over at Nicki who was looking a bit worried, actually she was looking unusually disturbed.

She explained to me what I had just done. We are heading down rapids alone in a Kayak.

Instructions
The Guide went through a lot of terrifying safety instructions. While much of the instruction were aimed at the group in general, he would also have specific instructions to us.

"Whatever you do, just keep the kayak pointed into the rapids. Don't turn the kayak sideways."

And it was exceptionally reassuring when one time he yelled, "No matter what you do, stay away from the right side of these rapids. There are rocks. Stay away."

It was all up to us to make this kayak do our bidding.

Lots of Fun
In the end, we enjoyed this experience tremendously. Towards the end, we actually were seeking out the rough parts of the rapids and plunging point-first into the turbulent waters. It was a lot of fun.

None of our pictures show the rapids really. They came up quick and I never had time to grab the camera to take any pictures. The kayak was always demanding 100% of our attention and energy.

Moab is an awesome place. We won't forget the fun we had here.