What a day! It was supposed to be a rest day, but, whew!, white water rafting is hard. We left Estes Park and I was happy to leave. It was just too crowded and full of touristy things for my taste. We drove a couple of hours to Idaho Springs and had plenty of time to walk around the adorable downtown. It was everything Estes isn’t. Lots of cute shops, cafes, and too many tempting restaurants to choose from.
As noon approached we headed to Clear Creek Rafting just a few miles from downtown. We were plenty early for our 1:00 departure so ate yet another lunch of peanut butter and jelly and Cheetos in the car. Today was the first day where we actually heard from a girl that they were tired of Cheetos. Who knew that was possible.
At 1:00 we were introduced to the head leader of the beginner group. We all received wet suits, wet/water shoes, life vests, and safety helmets. After a quick change, loads of giggles erupted as we checked each other out in the most unflattering attire possible. The whole group loaded two school buses with the guides. We drove ten minutes upstream and were then given an important safety talk. That part did kind of freaked me out. Kind of like being on an airplane during the before flight video. You don’t really want to pay attention because you know you won’t have to use the information, but what if?!
Finally we were introduced to our guide, Crawfish. He’s a 21 year old kid from Tennessee, covered in Super Mario Brothers tattoos, and lives in his car for the summer at the Clear Creek Rafting place. He was really, really cool. Has spent a ton of time the last two summers exploring many of the places we’ve been or want to go. And, more importantly, he was really good at keeping us safe and making sure we were having fun.
As soon as we got into the water the fun began! The rapids were fairly intense and due to higher level of snow melt this year we got to encounter some Class Three Plus rapids…something the intermediates get to do! Zak and I were in the front of our eight person boat and took the most splashes. It was cold! The river was only 40 degrees! But such fun!
I think the best part was the quick glimpses I took of the girls, who were right behind us. Ellie, our natural thrill seeker, was just in her element. Every wave and splash and drop and rapid brought such joy to her face. I know she left wanting more. She was ready for the intermediate course. Zoe, who was so apprehensive about the whole event, was pleasently surprised by the thrill of the adventure. As we made our way downstream, she became more and more relaxed and was able to really enjoy it.
After our hour long raft trip, we made our way back to home base. After showering and changing we headed back to downtown Idaho Springs. We quickly found one of two breweries and had a post adventure IPA and some wings with a new hybrid veggie I had never heard of, the watermelon radish. It was delicious! After playing a few rounds of Exploding Kittens, we walked around a bit more and found our dinner spot. A new restaurant with great food, Zak and I had awesome bison burgers.
We finally made our way to camp. Yep, it’s our last camping night of the trip! Yay! We quickly set up camp among the swarms of mosquitos. We have a great site, right next to a raging stream. I’m hoping to sleep well as tomorrow we, once again, attempt to reach the summit of a 14er.