The 53-year old parents seem a little old fashioned. A little stiff. Definitely boring. That’s why their two daughters were surprised when they came home one summer evening to find the parents sitting at home laughing so hard that they were nearly crying as they flipped through a box of old photos. It’s not that the parents did not usually laugh, it was just that their laughter was usually a little more controlled.
The boxes of photos were from a summer 35 years ago. After their first year in college, the much younger couple traveled from Nebraska to Colorado to work at a church camp. The most surprising photos were of mom and dad whitewater rafting. Turns out at least once a month these old fashioned, stiff, and boring parents went on a full day rafting adventure with the entire staff. Some how these photos never made it into a photo album so the 15 and 19-year old daughters had never seen them before.
As the entire family of four flipped through photos of other Colorado church counselor adventures, the youngest daughter finally said what everyone had been thinking. What happened to all of that fun? Sure, it was great to look at pictures of their parents having fun 30 some years ago. It would be more fun, however, for this family of four to have that much fun together. Between traveling for college visits, gymnastics meet, and show choir competitions, the family rarely vacationed together any more. Certainly nothing as fun as a Colorado River Expedition.
The talk progressed to favorite vacations that the couple had taken before the girls were born, the father mentioned that he would love to take the girls to the Grand Canyon. The youngest daughter did an internet search for “White Water Rafting Trips Grand Canyon,” and the real planning began.
More Than Three of Every Four Americans Say Outdoor Adventures Are an Important Part of Their Lives
A quick search for “White Water Rafting Trips Grand Canyon” shows hundreds of images of families, friends, and workers battling the Colorado River as it winds its way through a schist, a type of metamorphic rock that research says is 1.75 billion years old. And while the canyon itself is nearly half the age of the Earth, modern adventure companies continue to find ways for visitors of all kinds to enjoy the beauty of a place that is visited by nearly 5 million people a year. Never old fashioned. Never stiff. And, definitely, never boring!
White water rafting trips Grand Canyon-style just might become your new family favorite photo album.
