rolling on the river

a few years ago (i think it was two, but i can't be sure), in an attempt to make myself a more interesting and well-rounded person, i made a goal to tackle a bunch of things i had been putting off because of fear or insecurity, and dubbed the project "the year of frances." during that year i took a pottery class and a bread-making class, i got up on water skis for the first time, i took a trip to argentina by myself, i fell in love, i rode my first century, i switched jobs and accomplished a host of other impressive tasks.

i had such a good time becoming a better person that the concept of "the year of frances" has lived on. (i toyed with the idea of dubbing "the life of frances," but my parents thought that might be a little selfish and exclusionary.) this summer, which i think i might retroactively dub "the summer of adventure," has been particularly full of "year of frances"-style firsts, and this weekend saw another one. are you ready? can you guess?

here's a hint.



that's right! my first white water rafting trip!

heather found us a great day trip along the split mountain gorge section of the green river, starting in dinosaur national monument. all the work (including making a delicious lunch!) was handled by capable and affable river guides, and we were just along for the most delightful ride. also along for the fun was cousin bucky, relative to emdawg's finger-friend, ollie. cousin bucky is sure to be our companion on many adventures to come.




we headed down to vernal on friday night and the original plan involved camping, but the weather looked like this:




so we lucked out and "camped" on my cousin natalie's couches instead. which is my favorite kind of camping (the kind with a bathroom) so that worked out well. plus we got to watch the opening ceremonies of the olympics. that is not what this post is about, but they were ah-mazing.

we arrived at adrift adventures bright and early, were assured we would not die on the river (though we did have to sign a sort of scary release) and were fitted for life jackets and helmets. apparently, a life jacket fits best when it constricts all ability to breathe. also, life jackets and helmets are hot.







on our way to the put-in (that's the lingo for where you, well, put the boats into the water. i know. duh. but i wanted to sound in-the-know) we stopped in the monument for a quick hike up to some petroglyphs. i learned a few interesting facts that i can't remember now.









the interesting petroglyph facts don't really matter though (do they?) because the main event was the wild, untamed river! ok, actually, it wasn't that dramatic. but it was perfect for a first-timer like me. there were some pretty gnarly rapids where we got to use phrases like, "thread the needle" and shout "let's run it!" but there was also plenty of mellow water where we could jump out and swim, and enjoy the truly breathtaking scenery. we even pulled over to check out a bat-cave, though, luckily, the creatures kept to themselves.







we enjoyed delicious taco salad for lunch, while cousin bucky worked on his tan.





and we also made friends with our raft partners, an unbelievably nice family from upstate new york. the son, ben, has been living in colorado for the summer, working at a wildlife refuge, and his parents, jen and pete, had come out to visit him. they asked us all about ourselves and utah and told us all about their lives, and everyone laughed at all my jokes, which was a big plus.



our river guide, ian, was just as darling a river guide as anyone could ever hope for. his family actually used to own adrift adventures and he has been working as a river guide every summer since he was 16. when he's not guiding he studies geology in hawaii. i know, i know. let's all take a moment to feel sorry for him and his perfect life.

thanks to ian's skilled guiding, we arrived safe and whole at the end of the run. the day flew by and i was actually sad to see it come to an end.



cousin bucky was a little sad, too, what with all the attention he was getting from the ladies.



but the perfect day was far from over. stay tuned...

(that was my first cliff-hanger ending. how did i do?)