Buena Vista Camping Adventure

This weekend, we ventured out to Buena Vista (2.5 hours away) for a camping trip with some new friends of ours. AJ and Andrew went to Castle Academy together for pre-school and ended up both going to ACS for Kindergarten, though they weren't in the same class. We found out not too long ago that they also live around the corner from us. The boys have had a few play dates together and get along really well. Andrew is a super nice kid and his parents are great too! Valerie and Dan invited us on this adventure that was supposed to include a few other people but it ended up just being our two families. It was awesome!

 

The plan was to camp at the KOA campgrounds Friday and Saturday nights and on Saturday have a fun filled day of rafting and horseback riding. It sounded so fun to me! I was a bit worried though about how AJ would handle it all. He's been dealing with some fears lately and I worried he would he afraid. Well, he wasn't! He had a BLAST!

 

On Friday, Andrew came over for a few hours to play before we left. Then he rode up with us. Let me tell you- these boys are really good, but I am not used to 2 kids in the car together that long! Who knew that when playing the "silent game" they would say "pause game" 100 times and talk. It was funny..and not silent!

 

 

 

Headed out to go camping!

We arrived at the KOA campground. It was super fun!

The kids headed straight to this park. It was great because our site was close enough to watch them.

This was also at the campsite- they made breakfast on the weekends. YUM!

On Saturday, we were up early and headed out to go rafting. AJ was a little hesitant when the guide was giving us instructions. What to do if someone falls out, what if the boat flips over, etc.. I tried distract him, but also listen in case I needed the info. I will also admit, I was a little scared myself. I ha never done it before and in the back of my mind was remembering a few moms who asked me "You're really taking AJ rafting?" haha!

Listening to the guide give us instructions

Getting our gear on!

At the river- just about to get on the boat!

 

When we got on the boat, we had about 4 miles to go before we hit any rapids. I was nervous.. I guess I assumed it would be non stop rapids. But that wasn't the case at all. We took this time to learn to paddle and chat with our guide, Pat. He was super nice and made sure we were comfortable and safe. The boys paddled some too- but then once we hit the rapids, Pat took their paddles away so they could hold on. I had AJ hold onto the boat and to my life jacket. Since he was behind me, I couldn't see him, but I could feel him holding on.

 

After the first rapid, which Pat told us was the biggest, I relaxed. It wasn't nearly as big or scary as I'd thought. It was SO FUN! The boys were cracking up and loving it!

We got REALLY wet! But Jason and Dan were in front so they got pounded the entire time!

How cute are the boys? Laughing and having a blast!

The water was cold.. but we had on wetsuits and splash jackets. It wasn't bad at all.

 

We stopped at "Jump Rock" and we all got out of our boats. Those who wanted to jump, climbed up and did. I stood for a while wondering if I should do it or not. It's not something I've ever done. But I really wanted to. I was also really scared. It was only about 15 feet. I asked AJ if I should do it- he said yes. So, I did!

 

After our 3 hour rafting trip, we headed to the stables for horseback riding! Again, AJ was SO brave! He loved it! Though, later he told me it was boring compared to rafting! hah

 

AJ and Miss Cash

 

We rode for 2 hours and it was really fun. We did a tiny bit of trotting, but mainly walked. We went through a river a few times and up and down the mountain. It was gorgeous! AJ did great, though 2 times I think he almost fell off! Both times we were going down a steep hill and his horse was a bit stubborn and wanted to do it her way- not the way the wrangler wanted. Valerie and Dan were ahead of me and both ahead of them. She told me at one point, it was good I wasn't close enough to see how far his butt was off the seat! Thankfully, all was well and AJ steered his horse the right direction. Phew!

 

We had SUCH a wonderful time. We're definitely adding this place to our list of camp sites each year. The KOA was awesome, the town is super cute and I see a lot more rafting in our future! I did tell AJ that it was kinda funny that we all like very expensive sports!