Rafting Big Horn Sheep Canyon - 26th July 2008

What a great day . . . . We have talked with Nishwa for years about rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. That doesn't seem like a possibility, for us anyway, as Kaiden is still too young. So when Nishwa said they were coming for a visit we thought that we could all go rafting together . . . . . The Arkansas River is not the Colorado and Big Horn Sheep Canyon isn't exactly the Grand Canyon by any stretch of the imagination but we had a blast all the same.

Simon & Kelly Nishwa & Keith

We went rafting with Simon's Mum & Dad in May & had a fantastic time, so we were itching to do it again. We rafted the same river but this time we went down a different canyon. Keith had actually rafted this section of the river before but it was 10 years ago, so he didn't mind the refresher & Nishwa just loves rafting so she was keen as well.

Kaiden spent most of the trip up the very front in the bow. He was awesome! He counted out our strokes for us to help keep us in time & when he wasn't doing that, paddling or being dumped on by a sizable wave he was helping out Ben our guide, by being second in command! As I am sure you can imagine. He is such a little helper!

We all took advantage of some calmer water to have a little swim in the river. It was really refreshing actually. Well all of us except Ben & Kaiden. Kaiden was under strict instructions to stay in the boat, thus saving his mother from a heart attack & Ben had to be in the raft to pull us all back in once we were done.

And Kaiden was right in the front taking the brunt of the waves! Little Legend!!

We had a great time rafting & even though Kaiden took a few waves in the face, he had a blast & is ready for his next trip. His Dad is ready to raft a more treacherous stretch of the river. Hopefully he'll get his chance before it is time to go home to Australia.

We spent the afternoon at Royal Gorge. Which was amazing. There was a one off entrance fee & then all but one attraction/activity was an extra fee. We first went on the "World's Steepest Incline Railway"which went straight down 2200 feet or 671 meters to the bottom of the Gorge. That was fun. While we were at the bottom we watched other rafters ride the rapids then we took the slow trip back up on the Incline Railway.

Kaiden & Kelly inside the Incline Railway & then the outside view

Then we walked across the Royal Gorge Bridge which is supposed to be the "World's Highest Suspension Bridge which was built in 1929.

The Bridge & Kaiden on the Bridge at the mid point

It was amazing looking so far down to the river. We even saw a raft flip. Once we got to the other side we kind of collectively decided to have a go at the Royal Rush Sky Coaster. It's claim to fame is that it is the "World's Scariest Sky Coaster" Do you sense a theme . . . . . It looked amazing. It is a ride where you are harnessed into like a sky diving bag (I don't know what they call them) & then attached to a huge cable. They then winch you up into the air & when you release yourself, you swing 1200 feet above the Arkansas River at up to 50 miles per hour. It is one of those things that would scare you to death when you start but then would be just unbelievable after the initial freak out. A definite rush. Keith & I wanted to give it a go & I think that it would be safe to say that Simon & Nishwa were only doing it because we wanted to. And honestly everyone only waited the better part of 2 hours because I really wanted to do it. Anyway the closer we got to the front of the line, the closer a huge storm got to the canyon. We had 1 couple in front of us & another couple out on deck waiting when they shut the ride down due to the massive lightning strikes that were getting quite close! We waited all that time & never got to be scared out of our whits. I was really bummed! Simon said " I guess his prayers were answered " & I think I heard Nishwa say she didn't really want to do it either. So with all that it was obvious that everyone was really just there because I wanted to really do it. Thanks guys! And sorry for making you waste 2 hours for nothing. Especially when we missed taking the longest single-span Aerial Tram back over the gorge because it was closed as well. We had to catch a bus back to the other side as the rain really started to come down hard & it also started hailing. Bummer! Oh well. What can you do? You can't argue with safety or Mother Nature. So there was nothing left to do but head home.

This is the ride we lined up for nearly 2 hours for

And this is why we missed out!

All in all we had a great day . . . . . then all too soon it was time to take the Weiss' to the airport so they could catch their plane home to New Hampshire.

THANKS for the visit Nishwa & Keith. We really enjoyed having you. Remember, if you dare, you are always welcome where ever we are . . . . & the snow boarding season isn't that far away!