July 16

Woke up to the mountains in the morning and headed to the American Adventure Expeditions headquarters- a ten minute drive. Rafting started at 9 a.m. on the Arkansas River.

Our guide was from Tennessee- moved to Colorado this summer to find work as a river guide. It was just the four of us- trading post friends- and Brandon, the guide, in the raft. He liked us and we handled the boat well, so well that we were able to do more than most participants usually do.

After rafting, we passed the "World's Largest Rocking Chair" near Colorado Springs on our way toward Denver. It' actually the world's heaviest rocking chair, but not the largest. The property the chair sat on was for sale and fenced off, so I couldn't get too close.

That night we stayed in Castle Rock, a town between Colorado Springs and Denver. One of my friends on the trip had cousins who lived there. They offered to house us for a few days. We took it easy that night and met the family, watched "Finding Nemo" with their 2-year old son, and moved in.