I just returned from rafting the Arkansas River in Colorado. That's right I left Arkansas and flew to Colorado just to raft on the river that runs right through the middle of the state I live in. It may sound crazy but even though it is the same river, it is a completely different river in Colorado than at home.
At home the river is a wide slow moving river a mile wide at some spots. It is clogged with barges and commercial traffic; in Colorado it is maybe 25 yards wide, cold, CLEAN, and full of rafters and kayakers.
The river begins near the town of Leadville and meanders through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and then finally merges with the Mighty Mississippi and heads for the Gulf of Mexico.
I met my cousin Matt, second cousin/nephew Joey, and Matt's friends Evan and John in Denver on Friday. Evan lives in Denver and graciously picked us up at the airport and hosted us at his house.
We hung out Friday and then headed to Lakota Guides near Buena Vista CO, at the crack of dawn.
At Lakota we met our guide, chef, oracle, manservant and all around great guy John.
He gave us the rundown of our trip.
We began upstream above Buena Vista and rafted the Narrows and Numbers sections of the Arkansas and the “Silver Bullet” rapid. This was Class III and IV white water. We camped out just past the entrance to Browns Canyon Saturday afternoon.
After setting up camp Guide John cooked us dinner and dessert.
Mmmmm! Steak!
Here are some extra "camp" pix.
The following day we continued through Brown's Canyon, stopped for lunch, and then navigated the “Toilet Bowl” and “Slidell” to finish our trip.
As loyal readers of my blog know I have done a lot of canoeing in Arkansas, but I have never done anything like what I did last weekend. I have memories that will last a lifetime and I can’t wait to go again.
Here is a slideshow from the trip. Be sure turn your sound on.
