The Trip My Parents Promised Each Other "This Will Be Our Last Time Visiting Fawn & Mike."

My parents came out to Moab to see our first house! Dad had never been to Moab before, so I wanted to show him all there was to offer (Mom's first visit was about 2 months ago). Naturally I wanted them to experience it all. This is one of those times when I have promptly forgotten how those approaching their silver years might not be into mountain biking for 2-3 hours, white water rafting levels 3 and 4, rigorous hiking through slots and caverns for 3+ hours, trekking precarious paths just to find some old dinosaur footprints, Off-Roading while receiving free chiropractic care on the neck and spine in the backseat of a 4-Runner (sorry Meghan, but your car is in good shape), rock climbing sheer cliffs, and base jumping. So . . . we only did MOST of those things.

I had signed them up for a West Water Canyon trip, so on their first day here we got them up early and drove out to West Water. The trip was through the company I work with so there were about 20 other people going too. We worked it out so my parents and I could be on the same boat as my good friend Richard and we'd both row the canyon.

My favorite part about the bus ride up was one of the guests (from New Jersey) several rows in front of my parents and I, asking Richard, " So, are there a lot of mormons in Moab?" RICHARD: "Mmm, no. Not very many actually."

(*FACT* - there are 6, count 'em SIX wards in Moab!! That's plenty for a small town. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.)

IGNORANT GUEST: "That's what I thought because we've been here for a few days and I haven't really seen any . . . I mean I'm not sure what they look like, but you know."

I was this close to walking over to him and saying, "I know where you can see some." Then twirl around slowly for him. "Take a goooooood look . . . because we go into hiding after 5:00."
But instead, Richard just looked back at me and tried hard to suppress some hearty laughter since he knows I'm mormon.

The West water trip was awesome. Richard told lots of stories about the history and folklore of the area and the whitewater was very exciting. I made sure to get everyone wet with large waves. As fun as guiding was, the are two points that stand out in my mind as hilarious. During the latter end of the trip the guests can jump out of the boats and float down the river in some mild rapids. Mom and Dad BOTH took on the challenge! I would watch them and then talk with Richard and then watch them some more. All around good times. At one point Mom and Dad were floating separate from each other. A few minutes later I wondered, Where is my Dad?? He had unknowingly drifted over toward a whirlpool. Which then promptly sucked him under.





He came out of it easily enough, but only after 10 seconds of bobbing, swirling, and gasping for air.

The next unexpected event was when mom had drifted in front of the raft. Seeing a 16 foot, large, floating, yellow-thingy coming at you must be terrifying be cause my Mom's reaction was to yell out and grab the nearest salt-and-pepper haired male floating by and proceed to climb on top of him in order to avoid being floated over.



Needless to say, the gentleman wasn't my dad. And wasn't happy about his almost drowning experience on the fearsome white water - not because of a rapid (he'll tell his friends), but because some lady was using him as a junglegym.
It's ok mom, I'm sure everybody does it.

The next day we went on a pretty skilled hike in the Firey Furnace at Arches National Park. Mom and Dad had to move their bodies in ways they haven't been moved in years just to get through the slots, narrows, and climb over caverns.

They were good troopers. Okay we all were. It was hot out there (Helloooo - Fiery Furnace!) and water doesn't stay cold forever.









The whole thing felt like a maze. Mike was our guide with the most experience since he'd been through before. . . but I caught him using a higher source.


Here are some cute poses.

























On Sunday, after taking Dad to the local movie museum, we drove over to a trail on the other side of town where there are dinosaur tracks imprinted on petrified mud. Dad thinks the whole thing is fake. You can see it yourself! Two prints of 3-toed feet above their heads.











On the walk back to the car, Mike, always the nature guide, starts telling us about a white bug you can find on cactus that native americans probably used for dyes. He found several on a bunch of cactus near by and called us over. "Hey Steve. take a look at this." He said as he squatted down to pick off a bug. We look over and notice a funny look on his face before he lightly jumps up and says "Ow."


He totally sat on the cactus behind him!! He pulled out a HUGE 3" needle, but there were tons of smaller ones still stuck to that behind of his. After making sure that he wasn't mortally wounded I couldn't help doubling over in huge fits of laughter. He had decidedly declined from driving us back home since he couldn't sit down. So, we stuffed him in the very back on all fours - the most comfortable position. Oh wow, I'm STILL laughing about this. The whole thing was hilarious! I love u!















Yeah, basically we just had lots of outdoor fun. I was a little worried we were running my parents into the ground with all the hours of activity. A couple times I knew they must have been getting tired because I knew I was! It's hard to keep up with my husband sometimes!