Rafting in Black Canyon/ Lessons About Gambling

Wednesday we were very worried as we were scheduled to go on an all day rafting trip in the Colorado River, just under the Hoover Dam. The weather was still so hot we were afraid we would be miserable. I think if we it hadn't been so expensive (and previously paid) we wouldn't have gone. We are so glad that we did! The trip was wonderful. We met at a casino close to Hoover Dam. We had some time to kill, and the boys were interested in the slot machines. They asked Marcus to play. He thought that might be a good way to show the boys how silly slots are. They aren't very entertaining and you just lose all your money. He played the quarter slots starting with 10 dollars. All was going according to plan at first as Marcus was losing, but soon he won a fairly big one and ended up 5 dollars ahead. Now the boys are more interested than ever. So much for real life lessons, perhaps a lecture would have been better?!
Once we got on the river, we had a great guide who was funny and knowlegeable. We learned lots about the area and saw some great wildlife. I'm not sure how many Big Horn Sheep we saw, but they came right up to the river to drink and we were not that far away in our raft. We saw Black Crested Cormorants, and Red-Tailed Hawks as well. But the "coolest" part of all ( pun intended) was that the 48 degree water kept splashing on us keeping us nice and cool indeed! We had a nice picnic halfway through where the Smith men even swam in that cold cold water! Colin stayed in the longest. He loved it! Apparently he is a cold water fish.
After the rafting trip, we watched a movie and ate dinner. By the time we got back to our trailer it was cool again. It was all good!

Rating for the Day:
Ann 9- Now this was what I wanted from this trip!
Marcus 9- Rafting was awesome and we got along really well.
Derek 9- The day would have been perfect, but the heat was still pretty intense and I still got annoyed with Colin.
Colin 10- I liked the rafting, we had nice family time and I liked the movie!

VIP winner Marcus with 32 out of 40.