Heather BlackmonLast weekend, we checked two summer Colorado adventures off the list while Laura was in town. The first of the two was whitewater rafting with Colorado River Runs on the Colorado River. We actually picked up a Groupon in the spring and I used the rafting trip as an incentive to convince Laura to stay the week after my competition. It didn’t take too much arm twisting.
Decked out in Fabletics: tank, sports bra, and shorts for a day on the water.
We decided to stay in Breckenridge for the weekend (my favorite mountain town!), so we got up early to drive to Radium for our rafting adventure. We purchased the full day option, which was very different than expected. The morning was spent on a typical raft, returned to the shop for lunch, then back to the same stretch of river for a second try on individual “duckies”.
From all the snow and rain we’ve had this year, the water level was 3 times higher than the same time last year. The river was swifter than our trip last year, although that also meant less paddling. The river was actually pretty calm and the rapids mellow, so it was more of a relaxing trip than the workout I was expecting.
Luckily I had these crazy kids along to keep me entertained!
Near the end of the stretch of river we floated down, we stopped for cliff jumping. I immediately passed on the opportunity and was going to watch, but at the last minute I decided to take a chance. I never do this type of thing! Before giving myself much time to think about it, I started climbing the rock, shaking as I went. When I got to the top, I thought for sure I was going to back out. When the guide did the countdown (3….2…..1….jump), I stopped thinking and was suddenly in the air!
I know I screamed like a little girl on the way down, but suddenly I was in the FREEZING COLD water. Man it was cold! It was thrilling and scary and once was enough for me (Kirk did it 3 times). Mostly I was proud of myself for doing it – pushing past the fear to enjoy a new experience!
Here…
Goes…
Nothing…
[Tweet “Jumping Past Fears while Rafting the #Colorado. #MoveHappy #FitFluential”]
After eating lunch, we headed back out on the river, but this time in individual “duckies”. These were basically inflatable kayaks and was a much better workout as we provided the only paddles for our boats. Yes! We had fun racing each other down the river, learning how to maneuver the boats. We had plenty of flat water to practice on before hitting the first rapids. The small rapids were so much more fun in the duckies!
Overall it was a fun day, although I would go back to the Arkansas River for our next rafting trip. I also would like to try some bigger rapids after having a few trips under my belt on the lower classes. I would love to fit in one more trip before the season ends, but I’m not sure there will be enough time left this year. Our schedules are already pretty packed through mid-September, so we may have to wait until next year. There’s always so much to do in Colorado, there’s never enough time!
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Questions for you:
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Have you ever jumped off a cliff?
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is there something you’re afraid to try that you could push past and do?
