Mystery Fun Day

I wanted to take everyone from work on a fun summer adventure but I was a little afraid they would either poo-poo my idea (Amanda) or chicken out (Jolene), and Jenna I still didn't know well enough to know what she would think, so I kept it a secret until the last minute. If I hadn't needed to tell them to bring things like an extra set of clothes and a towel, they wouldn't have known what we were doing until we arrived but instead I let them know the night before.

So yesterday morning we set off, Starbucks in hand (of course!) to Cardston and Kimball River Sports.

I had assured Jo, who was a little nervous that it would be fine, people rarely fall out of the boat and that it was safe. So guess who falls out of the boat? It was pretty funny to watch her fall backwards out of the boat in slow motion while the rest of us all sat there dumbstruck. Amanda our guide, quickly leaned over and grabbed her life jacket while the rest of us paddled to shore. Jo was a little shooken up, a little banged up by the rocks and more than a little wet, but she still had a smile on her face.

When we got to the place where we could go body surfing, we were all a little surprised Jo was up for it after her adventure but she did it along with the rest of us. It was fun. You hop out into the water and just let the current take you through the rapids. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures as we left the camera in the boat.

After hanging out there for a little while, we hopped back in the boats and went a little farther to a spot where you could jump off a 40 ft cliff. I've never even been off a high diving board, but have always kind of wanted to try. So I figured it was now or never. There were about 10 of us (out of maybe 80 people) who went. You had to be older than 18 and be able to jump the length of a paddle (you couldn't just jump off the cliff, you had to jump away from it too). Thankfully those of us waiting to jump couldn't really see over the edge until the last minute. I wasn't nervous until I looked over the edge when it was my turn. Holy cow that is high! The guide gave me some last minute instructions and just started to count. I had to get him to stop so I could work up the nerve but he pretty much started up right away again. He probably knew the longer I thought about it, the harder it would be.

Can you see me in the air? You might need to click to make it bigger.

It was fun! I don't remember seeing anything on the way down so I probably had my eyes closed. Once I landed in the water, I came up and started towards shore but the shallow part that I hit and tried to stand up in, still had a pretty strong current so I kept floating down stream... further... and further.. and further. A guide tried to throw me a line but he missed. So then as I floated down stream feet first on my back (like they had taught us). I struggled with trying to figure out how to swim to shore in that position, and realized I couldn't so I gave up and just waited for them to save me. A guide ran to my rescue and threw me a line that I could reach and hauled me to shore.

The rest of the trip was pretty mellow as everyone just tried to get warm again. We just enjoyed the scenery, each other's company and the wildlife. Jo bought a souvenir for the day and we all agreed the saying on the back was appropriate.

On our way home, we stopped to admire the windmills and then after came back to our house for a BBQ! Thank goodness for a wonderful husband who slaved away all day in preparation of guests. Thanks Mar!

Jenna had other plans but Jo, Brad, Nellie (Jo's mom) and Amanda all came over for some tasty burgers. Vito came too, to keep the girls entertained.

I had a great day and can't wait to plan the next Mystery Fun Day... skydiving here we come!