Family Adventure: Kayaking Horseshoe Bend

One of the few regrets I have had over the years is not going on enough adventures.  There were always good reasons to not go: money, kids were too little, too much travel/time off work etc.  But, I wish we had gone anyway.  I have especially been feeling this as Aiden has grown up.  This boy loves adventure!  I lives for camping and hiking trips and having fun.  Honestly, we are pretty limited in outdoor adventures here in Tucson.  I really wish we lived somewhere cooler where these things are more available.  

I confess this, because it was my main motivation for this last minute adventure.  Our spring break became uncharacteristically available.  I had been wanting to kayak Horseshoe Bend every since I heard about the Nielsens doing it.  So, even though Brent couldn't come, I booked a 3 day kayak trip for me, Aiden and Taylor.  After a few hours, I panic and called Amelia to see if she could join us.  Thankfully, Amelia is always up for an adventure and so she booked her kayaks and we started planning to leave 3 days later. 

  We borrowed all sorts of gear since you can only bring what will fit in your kayak, drove 4 hours to Northern Arizona and crammed into a hotel.

The next day, we caught our boat loaded with 5 kayaks upstream where we were dropped off.  Our guide did give us a warning that on our 3rd night, temperatures were going to drop dramatically and paddling out that last day would be miserable.  He suggested we make it a 2 night stay instead.  We decided to just play it by ear and decide later. 

Here we are all fresh and dry and ready for an adventure.

The river is extremely mild and we had no trouble making it 4-5 miles to the first camp.  We stopped at a fresh water stream and got a drink (we had to pack in our own water filtration so this we a nice amenity)

This views were amazing!  Floating down the river was peaceful, majestic, and fun.

 

We spent the next two days, floating and enjoying the views. 

We would stop for a hike, or for lunch on the riverbank.

We could feel the temperatures getting cold (especially at night) and the wind was really picking up.  So, we decided to follow our guides suggestion and finish after 2 days.  It was a bit disappointing, but Amelia and I wanted to make sure the trip was a positive experience for everyone and that last day might have ruined that.

Watching Aiden and Taylor having an adventure made my heart so happy.  

As we pulled out kayaks out of the river at the end of the second day, a big rain storm blew in and we could tell camping that night would have been miserable.  It ended up snowing and raining all night and the next day so we felt like we had made the right decision ending early. 

I am so glad I did something out of my comfort zone to allow these kids to have some good outdoor fun.  I am so so grateful for a sister who was willing to just drop what she had going so she could be my sidekick (which game me a lot more confidence).  I am in awe our our Heavenly Father's beautiful earth.  What adventure is next?!