James M. Robb State Park, Fruita, Colorado
Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. ~ Proverbs 27:11
Blaine did some research and personal scouting and found us a place to put our kayak into the Colorado River! So that’s what we enjoyed today! And as I recall, we only had to share the river with two other people the entire time.
Here’s how it went down, since we only have one vehicle and hiring someone to drive us either to our put in or take out spot would cost $65. Highway robbery!!
Our kayak is always in the back of the Jeep, so we got in and drove about 10 miles up the road from the campground/JMR State Park. We blew up the boat, and set sail, drifting down the Colorado River at an average of 3.5 mph. At times we went a LOT faster! Remember, this is the Colorado we’re talking about!
They also offer free lifejackets for you to borrow.
As you can see, we have our own.
Still, it’s an inflatable similar to ours.
The entire trip was a lot of fun, and since we were on the cool water and it was breezy, we didn’t get too awfully warm today.
I had to rescue my phone quickly because it wasn’t sealed in it’s plastic bag like it was supposed to be.
I found another, more conveinent and dry place to keep it handy. : )
We haven’t seen those in forever and a day!
Never realized they could be found so far West.
We haven’t been real white-water rafting in years.
Maybe we should try it again . . .
Whoo Hoo!!
About halfway along, I had to put my long-sleeve shirt on to additionally protect my 50spf sun-blocked arms.
Most of the time, the river was calm, but every so often, as I’ve mentioned, we had to navigate some mild rapids. And we got wet, multiple times! Wet enough that at one point, we found a place to pull over so we could dump the water out that collects under the boat liner (which is what our seats sit on). Water gets heavy! But navigating those rapids was great fun!
So now we’re back “home”, at the campground boat ramp, and we pull it out and dump it again so we can carry it to a picnic pavilion that’s not far from our campsite, but the site is too far away to carry a 43# boat, plus all the stuff that’s in it (cooler, etc.), plus paddles.
So we parked it at the pavilion, and I babysat, while Blaine walked home to retrieve his bike – – and a chair for me to sit on. (Those metal tables are really uncomfortable to sit at – – I know because there’s one at every campsite!)
Once he kindly brought the chair to me, he took off. Two bottles of water. One bike. One man. Facing the sweltering hot afternoon, with no shade. For ten unforgiving miles. He would’ve made a great pioneer, don’t you think? It took him two hours from the time we set the boat down at the pavilion, until he returned with the Jeep to pick me up – – and the chair, and the boat, and the rest of our stuff.
What did I do? I talked to my mom for a few minutes, took a couple of pictures and read with my feet propped up.
Giant dinosaur tracks walking right through the pavilion. : )
It was still hot, but not nearly as hot as Blaine had to endure. Just look!
One more day of this heat, then we move to a town that’s consistently 20⁰ cooler – both at night, and during the day. Yippee!!!!!