The Perfect Family Vacation
The way we ended up down in the bottom of the Grand Canyon can be directly attributed to my mom. She is a world-class adventurer and traveler and has had a serious case of wanderlust for the past 20 or 30 years. She’s now 71 years old and still living the dream everyday. She planned this vacation about a year and half ago, And here we are, all nine of us in the in the family.
I’m the mother of two children, that are here with me, and their wives and their families, so it’s a total of nine, here with us.
We call this trips our Mandatory Family Fun outings, MFF.
My husband and I, many years ago, when our children were small, we were going to go to the zoo, The two kids didn’t want to go, so I said, “You’re getting in the car, we’re going, and we’re going to have mandatory family fun, you will have fun, and we are going to the zoo.” So it started from that, and it grew, and it’s just become a family tradition. It’s something we can’t stop and rafting was a good choice; because, it was something for everyone.
I came with my family, there was nine of us. This trip was just pretty much set up just to go have a MFF, Mandatory Family Fun. It was just to get away from the city and have a little break, you know, summer vacation.
This has been an absolutely fantastic adventure. I’ve had a chance to fly over the Grand Canyon several times, that’s kind of what I do, but actually being down here at the bottom to witness all the scenery, and the magnificence of it is overwhelming. You take pictures but it’s difficult to capture the grandeur of where you are. It’s amazing.
I love the Bar 10 Ranch because I got to hang out with all of my cousins for just a little bit. We got to do some skeet shooting and everyone told me I was pretty good at that. We got to ride the horses.
Western River Expeditions has done a fantastic job of keeping us safe, keeping us entertained, and keeping us fed. It’s been a great experience. A way to see a part of the country that a lot of people wouldn’t probably ever have a chance to see.
I also love the rapids here. It’s just so fun, it’s like, invigorating. It just gives you a ton of adrenaline when you go over that first rapid you’re like, “Okay bring me more”! I liked going to see that huge, beautiful waterfall, and just standing under that warm water. I thought it was really pretty how the sun shined off the water and it just kind of glistened.
Oh and guides, they’re fantastic. They’re outstanding, each and everyone of them. Our kids have new heroes here, they love listening to their stories. They can all spin a yarn. They’re good, they’re very good. Safety is first with them even though it’s very subtle.
The guides have been wonderful, they’re so funny. Especially that guy Steve. They just like to joke around and they make you feel like they’re your older brothers. They are wonderful cooks, I mean I had steak last night, on a river rafting trip. Woah!
They’re still talking about Mandatory Family Fun trips and this will be a highlight. Every one of the kids really, truly enjoyed it.
We do tend to get real busy in our daily lives and don’t always spend a lot of time together. Even though we’re kind of close together in proximity. It’s a way for us to get out and spend some time together, learn some things together, experience new things together, and also share memories along the way. It’s been a great experience. Would I do it again? Absolutely! Superb job, it’s just been a great trip. This is a trip of a lifetime, as they say.
