River Running

Day 5. Slept in LATE today - what a well needed rest. Lounged around all morning hoping and praying that the cold and rainy whether would go away since we had our big rafting adventure planned! 17 of us left for West Glacier to raft the middle fork of the Flathead River - class 2-4 rapids. Kid stuff - but we had a bunch of beginners :)

Got to rafting place and it was still FREEZING and raining outside. Not good. Luckily the rafting place gave everyone wet suits (very sexy), booties, fleece and jackets (yes we have pictures of that, but since they are all on the old fashioned water-proof 35mm, we have to wait to get them developed). Given our amazing luck this trip, I was positive it would be sunny by the time we got on the rafts. As we entered the river, the clouds parted, and we had yet another terrific day! In between rapids, the raft guides let us jump in the water - since I bailed on last night's polar adventure, I felt obligated to redeem myself and jumped into the 53-degree water. My heart literally stopped and I couldn't breathe it was so cold. I think I shoved Lauren out of the way trying to get back in the boat! She's young. She'll bounce back. Everyone had an awesome time and the kids, who started out very nervous about the ride, were truly upset when we had to get out.

Got back to the house around 7:00pm and the weather just kept getting better - clear sky and warm weather - broke out the scupper for the kids to paddle around the dock before eating delicious BBQ and watching an unbelievable sunset over Flathead Lake (see pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#).

Thought the night was winding down, but I was wrong. Guys built a fire by the water and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Some of us may have had s'more than others. Ha ha ha. Finally winding down at 11:45 and getting ready for our first trek into Glacier National Park tomorrow for some hiking.

Quote of the day (Damon's cousin Doug): How do we get these things off? Do you have an a$$-horn(referring to how he was going to get his wetsuit off).