In the souvenir shop there is a book (a HUGE book) of all the people who have fallen and died at the Grand Canyon. Leave it to my kids to want to get as close as possible to the edge - I will say that my nerves were shot by the time we left. We missed the train tour, it only runs twice a day and that will be something we make plans to do if we go that way again. Next stop Colorado. Colorado has to be one of the most beautiful states I have been to. There are so many places you can visit. So many things you can do. It was hard to pick but for some reason I was determined to go to the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. I do not know why I wanted to go, I just did. The children were not impressed with my choice, my husband tried to give me some other options
that sounded more fun than looking at sand. Needless to say, I won the fight because I am mom. As I type this I am patting myself on the back and want to remind everyone in my family how much they enjoyed the Great Sand Dunes. First of all, the size of the sand dunes is just amazing. Once we realized you can rent boards to go sand sledding it was a whole new experience. We hiked across Medano creek and climbed up a couple of the dunes. The family rolled, tumbled, sledded - I might even have some hysterical video of my husband rolling down the sand dune. There were giant smiles on every ones sand covered faces. I will say to be sure you have appropriate shoes - that sand get crazy hot. We spent over 4 hours there and lets just say there is still sand in my car.
-22- | WEEKENDEREXTENDED.COM ~ September, 2019
Our next adventure - Whitewater rafting. We were booked with Echo Canyon River Expeditions in Canon City on a half day rafting trip through Bighorn Sheep Canyon on the Arkansas river. My husband and daughter had been looking forward to this for the entire trip. Once we were dressed in our gear we loaded onto the buses and were taken to the river. Let me start by saying that whitewater rafting is not the same as floating or canoeing. I used muscles I did not know I had. Our “rafting expert� Dillon was absolutely amazing. He went over the rules and safety procedures, kept the kids engaged