On the Monday after our Rafting adventure my Uncle & Auntie arrived in Denver for a visit. They had just been on quite an adventure themselves through Canada & the north east of the US. Luckily for us they decided to stop off & visit with us for a few days. Kaiden was so excited to see them. It was really nice because he hasn't seen them in ages & he was quite a bit younger I guess but he remembered them & as I said, was really excited they were here. As you can see below, Heather found herself with a new BFF the very night she arrived.
So for that week we were literally a full house, but we loved it. On the Wednesday we all (except Simon who was working - sorry Honey) headed up to Rockey Mountain National Park. It was as always Beautiful. The pass that goes over the top was still closed with all the snow but we were able to venture quite a way up. It was fun.
We headed into the town of Estes Park for a late lunch then Heather, Geoff, Rob & Kaiden headed off to Bear Lake for a hike & I stayed with Mollie in town so she could check out what the shops had to offer. It was getting late so by the time the hikers had returned most of the shops had already closed but we had a nice time & waited by the water wheel for the intrepid hikers to return. Unfortunately Bear Lake was still quite frozen so they couldn't do as much walking as they had hoped but I think they enjoyed it none the less. It was great to be able to take everyone to one of our favourite places in Colorado.
If I get some photo's I will post them but the next day I had to go in for some more surgery on my lip. I had another little skin cancer on the same side as the last one I had surgically removed last October. Fun! Still at least they found it & it has been taken care of. I have a munted lip now but that is something I can live with. Skin Cancer is not! So no biggie really.
Heather was a sweetie (actually everyone was) she offered to take me & stay with me while I had the proceedure but I didn't want her to waste a day sitting with me when she could be exploring Denver. Rob went on Kaiden's field trip to the Zoo with Kaiden's class which Kaiden loved & Mollie was waiting for me when I returned home & later game me a get feeling better soon gift voucher. Isn't she sweet. She is good to me! Simon was of course at work. So needless to say I wasn't in many photo's from the front over the next week or so. But Heather did take a few photo's of my lip in all it's glory to show Mum when they got home.
WARNING ! ! If you wear lip balm or lip gloss make sure it has SPF 15+ in it or you too may end up like me. I didn't realise it but I have been frying my lips for years & causing more damage. My surgeon had just done a piece that aired on the news, ironically that night, about young women that are getting skin cancers on their lips because of no SPF protection in their choice of lip wear. Interesting hey. Take it from me, it isn't pleasant at all.
White Water Rafting with American Adventure Expeditions!
Today we went white water rafting with AAE who are located in Buena Vista which is about a 2 hour drive south of Denver. We left early in the morning and due to some skilled offensive driving (although some would say "crazy & way too fast") we managed to make it on time. The trip we decided on was the Brown's Canyon, Half Day Trip on the Arkansas River. It was awesome ! ! ! We had a great time. Simon & I were up front Kaiden in the middle behind Simon and Nan & Pop were behind us with Anna, our river guide in control at the back. Before we started we had to have the instructional & safety talk, then we suited up & took a short bus ride to the drop off point where we guided the raft down the rafting rails & into the water and then we were off.
I must say that I was a little concerned about how Kaiden would go but he was great & he LOVED it. He moved between the side paddling & holding onto the rope in the middle when it got a little rougher. He was awesome! We all got wet which was a little cold but not a big deal. Some by accident & some deliberately (who would do that). Simon voluntarily took a dip in the river (twice) which he thought was fun. He said the river was freezing & you wouldn't want to stay in the water too long but he said he warmed up pretty quickly (which is why he went in a second time). We were on the river for about 2 hours I think. It passed by really quickly because we were all having such a great time. Our guide was great. She had been guiding trips for 7 years I think she said. She was great with Kaiden as well. When it was over we all said that we'd love to do it all again but we thought we could handle a tougher stretch of water. Don't know how we'd go but we all agreed we would love to give it a go. Even Kaiden who thought it was all no big deal because he did so well with this trip. Funny boy!! Definitely will do this again. Hopefully soon.
Mesa Verde National Park - 18th May 2008
As I said, this was our second visit & it was just as incredible. It was great taking Kaiden again because he's older now & has a better understanding of what we were seeing & walking through. He was amazed (as we all were).
Four Corners
Then we figured since we were in the neighbourhood we may as well mosey on over to Four Corners. It is the place where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah meet — the only point in the United States where the boundaries of four states intersect. It is pretty cool actually. Four Corners is on Indian Land so you have to pay the Navajo Nation a fee if you want to see the monument. They also have a bunch of Navajo and Ute artisans selling their arts & crafts which was fun to check out. After our visit it was time to head home back to Denver. Simon decided to take route that would take us along the New Mexican border (south east a little way) and then up the Interstate 25. It was supposed to be quicker because it was a better road. 5 hours into the drive (& not even into Colorado yet) Simon leans forward & whispers in my ear, I think I miscalculated. It's going to take a little longer than I thought. We arrived home at 3am. It took us almost 10 hours to drive home. Needless to say, it has become the joke of the month. A short cut via New Mexico. Simon continues to stress, it wasn't meant to be a short cut just an alternate route home. That it was & one we wont be taking again. Thanks Hon!!
1 comment:
WOW!! It's all I can say!!
Except that it sucks about your lip. I haven't had any of mine checked cos I think I will have little scars all over me. Need to do it. xoxo
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