Monday was white water rafting day. The rafting company picked us up at the hotel and took our group to Idaho Springs, which is about 30 minutes west of Denver. When we got there we were fitting for wet suits and splash jackets  because the the water temperature was 38 degrees. We also got life vests and helmets. We got on a bus to the river and on the way our guides went over all of the potential dangers of white water rafting. Who knew there were so many ways to get hurt on a raft.  Most of the people in our group had never been rafting before and we were doing the intermediate course on Clear Creek. After the guide’s speech on how to prevent yourself from drowning, I think there were a few people that were rethinking their decision to come on this trip. When we got to the river, we were split into groups of 6 plus a guide. Our guide went over how to paddle and how to stay in the raft. To keep yourself from getting tossed into the water, you keep one foot in the foot hold in the bottom on the boat and the other foot under the padded bolsters in front of you. Once on the river, we got into the swing of paddling and riding rapids. It was a great ride. The intermediate course had the perfect mix of calm water and fast rapids. There are videos of the intermediate course on the rafting companies website. http://www.coloradorafting.net/#river-trips/clear-creek. It was a pretty amazing ride. We’ve decided to do it again a little closer to home, maybe on the Ocowee.

On Tuesday, we went to Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak. I’ve posted the pictures from those. I’m always fascinated by the beauty of  nature and both of these places are pretty amazing.  We chose to drive the 19 miles up Pike’s Peak which took about an hour. It’s a scary drive with very few guard rails and lots of twists and turns but the view was  definitely worth the climb.  Pike’s Peak is over 14000 above sea level and boy do you feel it. It was amazing to look out from the mountain and see for miles and miles.   

I threw in a few pictures of the Keith Urban/Sugarland concert. Great show.

Old Town Oil

The Fudge Pot