KAYAKing

Thanks for all the comments about Forrest's birthday. I appreciate them so much. 

We got through the day.. and will get through this week with some lingering tears,

but many smiles, too.... lots of fond memories.

I want, now, to share some photos of Grayson (our 14 yr old miracle) Two years ago, he received a (white water) kayak for his 12th birthday. The following photos are from his party on the Chama River (northern New Mexico) when he tried it out for the first time. 

We took a few of his best friends down the river in our raft, while Grayson paddled next to us.

This March, we are going on the Grand Canyon and he and his dad will kayak some pretty BIG water for three weeks!  

I think Grayson is really excited about the trip....

........and nervous.

I know, though, that he is very capable and will have the time of his life.

The Chama is a nice "family" river. The water is pretty calm and the rapids are Class 2 and 3 (out of 5 - with 6 being "unrunnable"), so it is a good river to learn on.

The Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is HUGE.

 The scale is different, ranging from 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest.

There are two rapids in the bottom part ranked 9 and 10 - whew!

I will be on the top "7 Day" part with several friends, and then we will hike out at Phantom Ranch. 

The rest of the gang will take another two weeks to finish the rest of the river down to Diamond Creek, which is above Lake Mead, in Northern Arizona.

 

I will be back home, alone (with dogs and cats) for a couple of weeks, thinking about them everyday!

It will be the trip of a lifetime for all of us, but for Grayson, it will be the first in (hopefully) a long list of amazing rivers that he will be paddling in his life.

One day at a time.......