Kayaks and Birthdays

 We got to go on this really amazin kayaking trip last Wednesday. It started at the base of Hoover Dam and ended at Willow Beach (not even real sure where that is). To get to the base of the dam they took us on this restricted road that we had to get permits for. A person escorted us down and had to observe us the whole time and didn't leave until we started paddling away.
The morning was B.E.A.Utiful, no wind. It was a perfect day to go down the river. While we were waiting for everyone to get their boats ready to go I was sitting on the rocks with one foot in my kayak. I was going to fix my seat real quick but didn't realize that the rocks were so slippery. I serisouly fell into the river before the trip even started. The guy who escoted us did say that he had never seen anyone slip in so gracefully :) That made me feel better. So I got to check the water out before everyone else. It was about 40-50 degrees. Yeah, a bit chilly...

Watch out guys. Those rocks can be slippery...I would know.

 There were lots of little places to stop along the river. Hot springs and what not, but we wanted to try and find these hot pools. This little canyon that were hiking up? Not the right way to the hot pools but we didn't realize that until we had hiked almost half a mile in. Come to find out later that trail led to the highway. So we really added an extra mile to our trip. I think that hike spent everyone more then the paddling. By this time in the day it was well over 100 and not many of us were equiped for hiking as we were in water shoes and bathing suits. Oh well, now we know.

This was the sign on the REAL trail to the hot pools. I guess a couple people in our group didn't see it on the way up and dunked themselves completely...it does say it's rare. Lets hope that's true.

 We had to climb this ladder to get to the hot pools. The first pool that's at the top is pretty warm. We described it as Bullhead City tap water. Yes, living here in the desert we don't have cold tap water in the summer and turn our hot water heaters almost completely off. Anyway, the first pool was like that and the second was like a really hot hot tub. The third one was burn the flesh off your legs hot. Maybe it was just because my chins got burnt but seriously I couldn't stand to be in it. I had to run through it!

Cameron's in the background making his way to the "flesh melter".

 Ahhh, beautiful...but the wind started to pick up in the afternoon and the stops becam less and less as we tried to paddle against the wind. It was down right brutal at times. Our friends were in a double kayak and his wife hurt her shoulders, not on the trip, and couldn't paddle so he was paddling that thing by himself in the wind, with another kayak tied to the back because on the trip one of the other ladies slipped and hurt her wrist. It was quite the sight and at times he couldn't even keep it facing down river. If I hadn't been trying to keep myself facing down stream I would have taken a picture. The day ended at 5 when we finally reached it to the pull out spot. Phew!

For Cameron's birthday he wanted to go out to eat. Here in Bullhead there aren't a lot of places to choose from and we hadn't been to Lake Havasu City yet so we headed down that way. I don't think there's an original idea in all of Havasu. They have the London Bridge, you know...the one from London, and they have these mini lighthouses from places across the country. Why they can't come up with their own thing I'll never know. Anyway, for fun I made Cam and the girls get their picture with one of the mini lighthouses.

It was windy. Well, it's always windy.

THE London Bridge.