Adventures By Disney--Day 7--White Water Rafting!

It was hard to believe that our last full day of our Adventures By Disney tour was upon us. You know what they say. . . save the best for last, except that it had been "the best" almost every day. That's Disney!

Our day began with a leisurely breakfast at the restaurant at Red Cliffs Lodge. The rafting was in the afternoon, so we slept a bit later than usual and then ate breakfast. The husband and boy went for a hike in the hills across from the lodge to look for arrowheads, so I could get a head start on packing, etc. They found an arrowhead! And then we had some pool time before lunch and white water rafting.

Lunch was on a special deck beside the river. Then we loaded the motor coach to ride to our launch site on the Colorado River.

Here we are ready to got. There were 5 rafts and our group was divided amongst the rafts. I remember that 3 of the group chose not to participate in the rafting.

Here we are on our raft. The guide spent some time with us before we launched so we knew safety precautions, signals and commands. He also told us about "smile breaks" in the river. Believe it or not, there was a cooler on each raft with water and snacks. Again, Disney!

We encountered Class I and II rapids, which were wild enough for me! We also had water fights between the rafts and had an unofficial race to the "finish." No raft overturned and we all made it to the end.

One of my favorite memories of the day is when the boy got out of the raft. Yes, it was OK. And there he was floating on his back with his shoes sticking out of the water in front of him confident as ever in the middle of the Colorado River. The husband and I were still in the raft, but had him close in our sights. I marveled at this moment! A short time later, we were all in the cool water and most of us floated to the sight where we pulled the rafts out.

Ok, here is where more Disney magic occurred. Since we had just been in the "drink" of the mighty Colorado River, we were a bit. . . sandy, and of course wet. So, as we loaded back into the motor coach, out guides had jugs of clean water for us to rinse our feet and shoes and of course thick towels for us to use to dry off. Only Disney!

Since we were still "high" from our rafting experience and all had on water gear, the gang headed to the pool for a diving contest. Judges were picked, categories of adults and kids, and points awarded for style as well as splash. What a great way to spend our last afternoon.

All too soon, it was time to get ready for our last dinner. We were gathering on the patio of the restaurant for a BBQ. The food was yummy!

Here we are just after dinner. Check out the river, the red cliffs, and the smiles!

The boy with our Adventures by Disney guides--Tiffany on the left and Diana on the right.

After dinner, we all went into a meeting room just off the patio and shared about highlights from our trip. You see, on our first night in Sedona, as each person or family introduced themselves, they told what they were most looking forward to on the adventure. Most people said the Grand Canyon or the white water rafting. So, here we were on our last night recapping the highlights. The guides then surprised us with a slide show presentation of our adventure. Photos of our time together along with music gave us all smiles, goosebumps, and some tears.

You would think that would be the end of our evening, but no, there was more. We all made our way to the campfire for smores, stories, and cowboy songs. At dinner, two cowboy musicians had joined us to provide music during our meal. The cowboys then brought their guitars to our campfire to play songs while we gathered around the campfire. The last song, as if on cue, was a compilation of Disney melodies. We all sang along. The last melody was "When You Wish Upon a Star." And, there we were looking up at a clear starry night with moonlight peering over the cliffs in Moab, Utah, with the Colorado River nearby. Magical!

We all said goodnight and made our way back to our rooms. Then next morning it was breakfast and the last of our magical luggage. We all then road the motor coach to Grand Junction, Colorado, where everyone few to their final destinations.

What an Adventure!

Click here to read our first day.

Click here and here to read about our second day.

Click here to read about our third day.

Click here to read about fourth day.

Click here to read about our fifth day.

Click here and here to read about our sixth day.