River Rafting

As our last big adventure, my dad, Brian and I went whitewater rafting on Clear Creek in Idaho Springs, Colorado. I was a bit anxious during our drive to the rafting outfitters because I really didn't want to fall into the creek.  Once we were there, my concerns subsided and I got really excited to get going.  We had to get our wetsuits and booties, helmets and PFDs all set and then we had to practice paddling.  After our training, we were off.  There wasn't much time to get situated since we hit waves and small rapids nearly immediately.  The creek included Class II, III and IV rapids.  That probably doesn't mean much, but suffice it to say, we were very wet when all was said and done.  Rafting was so much fun.  I can't wait to do it again, and I'm really glad my dad was so excited to raft; he got the trip together and Brian and I got to tag along for the fun of it all!

After our rafting adventure, we drove to the top of Mount Evans.  It was cold and we hadn't really planned to drive there, so we didn't pack warm clothes; as such, we decided to stay at the lookout point and enjoy the views from there.  We were able to see Pike's Peak and many other notable 14ers.  We also saw some wild animals, which included marmots, mountain goats and big horn sheep.

Hey Goat!

Sheep!! 

Mom, Dad, Grandma and me at Mount Evans 

After our mountain excursion, we headed back to Fort Collins and went to dinner.  It was kind of sad to think about how we were leaving the next day.  I'd grown quite comfortable in Colorado despite the fact that I was living out of a suitcase. I easily could have stayed a few more days ... or weeks... but Italy calls, so I certainly have that to look forward to!

I don't have any rafting pictures since it's a little hard to operate a camera while paddling and being splashed in the face.  If anyone is really curious, I can direct you to the website that houses the rafting pictures for the outfitter we used.  They're kind of funny to look at.

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