An affection for life jackets.

Perhaps it's because I'm still processing the whole thing. Perhaps it's because the experience was so stinkin' awesome that I don't know where to begin. Or, perhaps it's simply because I've been a little bit lazy when it comes to blogging. My hunch is that a little bit of all three reasons could account for why I've not yet told you about our river rafting adventure of last month.

I could begin our Cataract Canyon tale by recounting the pre-trip swimming lessons that my dear friend was kind enough to give me in an effort to make me more comfortable with the idea of water in general (Thanks, Kylie!) Or, I could tell you about how I was so terrified that my knees went weak when we were loading the boats. There's also the part about how I hugged my life jacket the whole first day of flat water and counted birds to keep my mind off of the whole 'floating down a big body of water' thing.

But that would only be part of the story. And in the end, it's such a very small part.

The stories that stick in my mind are more of the "I can't believe I did this but it was so totally AWESOME!" variety. The deer and river otters. The sky-scraping cliffs that hugged the banks. The unbelievably soft sand at our campsites. The azure sky during day, the bats at dusk, and the stars that fell on us as we talked at night. The swim in the confluence of the Colorado and the Green. The sound of the river as we drifted off to sleep. And the food, holy hannah, the food!!!


By the middle of the trip, I was feeling decently OK about this whole 'being in the river' thing...OK enough to try my hand at a run through rapid #10 in the inflatable kayak with my new cousin-in-law, Sarah. We paddled a perfect run, which warranted much applause and fanfare from the supportive crowd on shore. It was the resulting confidence that then led me to swim said rapid in my life jacket (which was named "Shark," by the way)...you can guess that this exercise was less-than-intentional, as Sarah and I took our second run sideways and ended up more out of the boat than in. This is where I could also tell you about sacrificing my shoes to the river god. May they rest in peace at the bottom of Lake Powell.

We were gifted this adventure by our good friend Arlo (who also served as our guide, along with his brother Obe) on the occasion of our wedding, and were joined by several of our college friends who also received the same generous wedding present. I can't thank those friends enough for their kind and steady support as I faced my fear head on. Much appreciation to Arlo and Obe in particular...they were consumate professionals and, even when the waves were crashing in my face and the panic was pulsing through my veins, they somehow made the whole experience amazingly fun.


(Warning: completely unsolicited testimonial ahead that might make Arlo blush...if that's possible.) If you have any inclination to float the beautiful rivers of Utah, I can't recommend SGRE enough. They are truly the best of the best, and it shows. From the customized meals to the vast knowledge of natural history, to the uncanny ability to turn an unfounded fear into a totally fun time. Top notch, I tell you. Check out their blog for some sweet deals.

The only drawback? My camera remained buried in a dry bag for most of the trip so I don't have many photos to prove my experience. Drats! I did however manage to get a pic of the charming gent in circa 1988 sunglasses though!


All in all, a total blast that might even warrant an encore at some point (though not at high water...that's where I draw the line.)