a new favorite song

I was in Nebraska for a few weeks in November and my Mom, sister, & sister-in-law went shopping on  Thanksgiving night, aka Turquoise Thursday.(Lori says it's going to catch on so just go with it)  :)

I was not really in the market for anything specific but I did browse the $5 CD bin to see what they had.  One of the CD's I ended up purchasing was Carrie Underwood's Blown Away album.

Since I had a 13 hr drive home that Sunday, I popped in the CD and found a new favorite song.  It really touched me at that moment because I had just been home to Nebraska and needed that trip desparately because I was pretty homesick.  Although Lincoln wasn't my home growing up, the message holds true for me when I think about my amazing family and friends still in my life in Nebraska.  Even when I cross the NE/KS border into NE, my heart gets so excited even though I have a few hours left of my journey.

I hope it touches you like it did to me.  It's worth a listen.

"Thank God for Hometowns"

Cookie disaster to cookie victorious!!

I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago(follow me at kirstcarpenter) and am really enjoying it.  It seems like a "good" waste of my time, unlike facebook, and is starting to spark a sort-of-creative-kirsten.  :)

I've been baking since last weekend with recipes found on pinterest.  On Tuesday, I had book club and we were also doing a cookie exchange so I wanted to make these for book club(and I even doubled the recipe).  Unfortunately I had a cookie disaster.  I think it was due to my desire to use oat flour instead of worthless white all-purpose flour...can't blame me for trying to make it a little healthier.  But these were pretty yummy even though they look terrible.

I baked about 1/2 of the batter, shed some tears, then tried the next recipe(that didn't need flour), & had success.  I took the Andes Mint cookies to book club and then made the other two kinds this weekend after getting yucky white flour.  You can find all the recipes here.

Although devoid of anything remotely healthy, they all are quite tasty and I plan to freeze some so I do not continue to eat cookies for breakfast, lunch, & dinner.  Ooopsies!  Festive, right?

Mike and I attempted to go snow shoeing this week since Santa Fe got snow last weekend(Yes - for the billionth time, Santa Fe DOES get snow and has all four seasons - don't compare Santa Fe to Phoenix weather - not even close!) but the snow wasn't quite ready for snow shoes so we went on a nice calm & quiet hike.  The big pups were in heaven...Stuart stayed home for obvious reasons.

And for your entertainment, a short video of our happy(and apparently thirsty) pups! (FYI-video is not viewable on an iPad I don't think)

OK - technical difficulties w/ the video and don't have the patience to deal with it today.  Sorry!

Here's a few workouts for you

I know I probably have more important things to blog about right now but I have a shoulder, bi's/tri's, & leg/glute workout that I'm loving right now so wanted to share.  Maybe this weekend I'll get pictures of my trip to the Philippines & our Mediterranean cruise posted.

All these workouts leave me completely pooped by the end of the 45 minutes.  I've added the weights that I use...maybe in the future, I'll be able to look back to this post and see my progress.  All are 3 sets of 8-12 reps...my rule is if I can get to 10-12 reps easily, I need to increase the weight.

I pretty much created these workouts myself based on what I've learned over the last year or so...Jamie Eason's Livefit trainer(found on bodybuilding.com) & www.littlebshealthyhabits.com are two resources I use often to get ideas.

Shoulders:
Seated Shoulder Press : 20 lb dumbbells
Arnold Press: 17.5 lbs dumbbells(so glad my gym has the "in between" db weights)
Super Set: alternate front raises to lat raises - 8-10 reps for each move with 8 lb dumbbells
Super Set:
- seated bent over lat raises(not sure if that's what it's called) w/ 8 lbs db's
- move directly into a set of plate pushes (hold a plate at your chest and push out while squeezing shoulders.)  I've been using a 10 lb plate but need to increase it.

I do abs on my shoulder day and usually incorporate abs in between my shoulder exercises.

Arms:
Preacher Curl: I use the bar which is 25 lbs but I may increase to 30 tomorrow!!
Triple Set: (this is killer which is why my weights look wimpy!)
-Alternating DB curls w/ 12 lb db's
-Barbell curls - I use the 20 lb barbell but need to work to increase it
-Hammer curls with rope - 20 lbs on machine
Overhead Cable Curl w/ 20 lbs on each arm(Mike spots me on this one to make sure I get all the reps)
Tricep Rope Extension pushdown - 40 lbs
Overhead triceps extension(I've been using a db but you could use the rope on a machine too) - 17.5 lbs
Bench tricep dips to failure(I've been reading some controversial info on doing dips but I like them)

Legs w/ glute focus:
Barbell Squat: I got to 90 lbs today!!  My goal is 100 by the end of the year. (Mike always spots on this if I go heavier)
Straight Leg Deadlift w/ barbell- 65 lbs (I need to increase this but need to use lifting straps)
Leg Press - I'm not sure what the machine weighs but I put 140 lbs in plates on the machine
Hack Squat - 70 lbs(I'm so pooped by this point but I know I need to increase)
Glute Machine(not the seated/lying leg curl or adductor/abductor machines but another machine that focuses on glutes)- 35 lbs(wimpy I know...need to increase this one as well)

Yes, I train my back & chest but am never happy about it.  I just do it because I know I have to.  I also do another leg day but with different exercises.

I'm going to stick with this through the end of the year and then I'll change it up.  Hope it's helpful to someone out there or gives you some ideas for your own workout.

the inevitable

We made it back from our Mediterranean cruise trip safe and sound!  But...the inevitable is that I ALWAYS get sick during or after I travel and this time is no different.  This cold is kicking my pa-tooty.  But enough complaining(see my previous post)...

It was a wonderful trip.  I feel like I'm still trying to digest everything we saw and did.  Mike's parents were on the trip too so it was great to see them and spend time with them.  To give you a taste:

-We started in Barcelona.  Arrived two days before our cruise departed so we were able to check out Barcelona.  From there, this is where we visited ~>
-Toulon, France: We took an excursion to Marseille & Aix En Provence.
-Florence, Italy:  We visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa and did a wine tour/tasting at a Tuscany winery.
-Rome, Italy:  We visited the Vatican & the Colliseum.
-Naples, Italy: We walked around Naples and ate some pizza...no special excursion this day.
-Mykonos, Greece:  This was a great place that we walked around and ate some delish greek food.  The pics will speak for themselves for this place.
-Istanbul, Turkey:  No special excursion but we did a city tour bus.  Saw some beautiful mosques and visited the Grand Bazaar and a Spice Bazaar.
-Izmir, Turkey: Took an excursion to the ancient city Ephesus...super interesting place.
-Athens, Greece:  We visited the Acropolis/Parthenon and had a bus tour of the city.
-Venice, Italy:  We took a walking tour through Venice, which included a visit to St. Mark's square & Doge's Palace.  We then had a nice gondola ride...how could we not?  It is a city built on water and all.
-We had an extra day after the cruise in Venice so we literally just walked around Venice and ventured through all the random alley's and streets, no matter how small or "scary" they may have looked.

I'll work on posting pics this weekend.  This being our first cruise, we really enjoyed it.  They had good entertainment on the cruise and a lot of activities.  I think a Carribbean cruise would have had a totally different feel.  It stayed around 70-75 degrees at almost every location and on sea days so it definitely wasn't a "lay in the sun or pool" type of vacation (which we fully understood).  I actually think hot weather would have caused this trip to be pretty miserable...we did lots of walking so I wouldn't have wanted to be hot & gross the entire trip.

Who knew that if you aren't on the ship at All Aboard time, you WILL GET LEFT BEHIND.  I mean it seems pretty obvious but we definitely left a few groups behind a couple times because they weren't back on ship.  They caught up with us at the next port but all at their own expense.  Yikes!

We got back last Friday and then left on Saturday for Gunnison, CO.  Mike was working up there for the week so I decided to bring my work and join him this time.  Long story short, his location/time there was adjusted so after some negotiation with the house sitter, I ended up coming back home Monday night after work.  And now the inevitable...fighting this cold...I think my body is detoxing from how I treated it on vacay.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Complaining

I was checking all my social media outlets this morning and the following was posted on facebook by one of the fitness gals I follow.  It really resonated with me and how I've been feeling lately so thought I'd take time out to post:

(This excerpted from The Challenge to Succeed audio series by Jim Rohn ~ I pulled these pieces of the quote from www.jimrohn.com.)

"Complaining.  There's room for legitimate complaining, but if you let this deadly disease of attitude - complaining - loose it will conquer you.  Complaining can take over your life.  Destroy you and leave you without anything.  Nobody want to take along a complainer.  Nobody wants to promote a complainer.  Nobody wants to live with one.  Nobody wants to be a partner of one.  Nobody wants to have one around.  Complaining leaves you out of more opportunities than you can possibly imagine if you let it take over and grab you by the throat..."  "...Complaining is not for the winners in life.  You must focus on what you can do, not what you cannot.  And you must focus on the opportunities not the difficulties.  When you do this you will not only inspire yourself but you will be an example for others to follow as well."

I may just need to paint that bolded sentence on every wall of my house as a friendly reminder to myself.

Happy Tuesday!  Back to work...no complaining allowed!!

an overnight extravaganza

Mike got home from Burning Man on September 7th and he had Saturday/Sunday off as admin days.(I guess they think you should have a few days off after you've worked 12+ hr days for 2.5 weeks)  So - we took this opportunity to take a quick camping trip.  As you probably remember from a previous post, I really enjoy camping and disconnecting from the world every so often.

We packed up on Saturday and headed out, dropped Stu off at the kennel, and drove for about 2.5 hrs until we came to "just the right spot."  Yes, we took Boulevard and Ranger but boarded Stu for the night.  Although, I'm sure he would have been fine, Mike and I wouldn't have got an ounce of sleep because Stu is a yapper.(which is why we run a fan at night to drown out any sounds he may bark at)

We found a spot on Forest Service land with no one close by.  It wasn't a campground or anything, we just found a spot in the forest that looked good.  The dogs ran their hearts out, Mike and I played Bocce Ball(love that game!!), cooked some food, and set up camp.  Since Mike was gone for 2.5 weeks and three days prior to him leaving for that trip, he'd be gone for 2 weeks(and I was gone for a week in there), it was so amazing to just be with him and have uninterrupted time together.

Here are a few pictures for you:

I swear I have to get a gun and shooting lesson every time we do this.  I kinda look like a rock star, don't you think?  It IS legal to shoot here, in case you were wondering.

We got a couple dummies out and played with the pups.  The routine would be: Boulevard would fetch the dummy, Ranger would snatch it out of Blvd's mouth and go lay down somewhere with it(before B could bring it back to us), then while Rang was distracted Boulevard would steal it away again.  It was pretty funny.

We ended up forgetting our camping stove but we had recently bought this cast iron griddle thing so we did all of our cooking like this.  It actually working out perfectly...and a handsome chef to top off the yummy food.

Camping headquarters!

This was right after Blvd and Rang totally knocked me over and I was being attacked with licks.

Two words...Spoiled Rotten!!

I was trying to show off my Husker sweatshirt(it was a game day) and the red bocce balls...apparently Ranger thought I was trying to play.  Why the hat?  Well, we were at 10,000 feet so it was pretty chilly.

Hopefully you can see this video(make sure you have your sound on).  This is Ranger whining because he was tied up while we were playing bocce ball, obviously so the dogs wouldn't chase the balls.   This, coming from the dog, that will bite the heck out of someone if he gets "the command."  What a big baby!!!  And...as usual, Boulevard is an angel in the background.

There you have our camping trip summary.
Be sure to scroll down to see my other post today, in case you missed it!!

Lake Jumping

One of my avid readers(does it count if it's my Dad?) mentioned my blog today.  As usual I have some catching up to do so we'll start with lake jumping.

Earlier this summer, Mike took Sunday off and we went with a group to Lake Abiquiu to do some lake jumping.  What is lake jumping, you ask?  Well, I honestly didn't know so I googled it after we were invited and most of the video's online showed biking off of ramps into a body of water...um, no thank you!  After texting my girlfriend, she basically described it as jumping off some cliffs.  I would call that cliff jumping but...she called it lake jumping so lake jumping it is.  Although I only actually jumped a few times(from the lowest "cliff" mind you), it was really fun and I wish we had gone a few more times before the season turned to Fall.

Here are some pics to re-cap the day:

Can you see the guy in mid-air back flipping off the cliff?  He did this all day long.  The was the "high" cliff.  The girl on the lower bottom of the picture is on the lower cliff.

Here goes Mike!...also off the lower cliff.  I'm actually surprised he jumped considering he used to have a friend put his Christmas lights on his house in Nebraska due to the height.  :)

 Here I go - also from the lower cliff! (look at that white bod...and you better believe I coated myself in sunscreen for this too!)

The group we went with, minus me because I was taking the pic. (Mike is on the right side.)

The girls getting ready to jump.  (I'm in the middle)

There we are in the water...guess the photographer wasn't fast enough to grab a mid-air shot.

The gals after the "girls" jump. (I'm in the middle again)  My Keens water shoes were awesome for this because I could jump with them and not kill my feet trying to climb back up the cliff.

Mike's last jump.

...after jumping and climbing back up.  You can see his new tattoo he got this summer too. 

And that was lake jumping.  It was a really fun day...I thought the best part was watching everyone else to be honest.  I wish we would have taken Boulevard because he would have had a blast.(there was an area of water that you could wade into so he would have loved it)

Next up...camping trip, Burning Man, and my trip to the Philippines...
But first, I'm off to pound some pavement...to avoid helping the hubs stain the remainder of the fence. heehee!  I love good timing!

first game of the season

There is no place like Nebraska

Good 'ole Nebraska U

Where the girls are the fairest

The boys are the squarest

Of any 'ole place that I know

There is no place like Nebraska

Where we're all true blue

We'll stick together 

Through all kinds of weather

It's good 'ole Nebraska U

Go Big Red!

If you think you're a Husker fan and don't know this song than I hate to tell you that you really aren't a Husker fan.  :)  I didn't even attend the University but I know it. 

Definitely wish I was in Nebraska today tailgating & watching the game with my family and friends for the season opener.  Instead, I'm throwing my own party (everyone I know in Santa Fe is out of town, including the hubs) right here at home.  I'll be cheering on the Cornhuskers from the comfort of my own couch!

maybe you can help me understand...

Here are the facts ~

Going to the gym in the PM:
-a lot of driving traffic - takes me about 5-7 minutes longer to get to the gym in the pm
-gym is super duper hot(not sure what the problem is with their air conditioner)
-gym traffic(lots more people in the gym in the pm)
-have to periodically wait for the machines, dumbbells, or bar bells that I need
-get to sleep in until 6:30am instead of getting up at 5:24am to be at the gym by 6am
-don't get to be at the gym with the hubs
-don't have much motivation to get to the gym after a long day at work

Going to the gym in the AM:
-no driving traffic
-the gym is practically empty
-no waiting for gym equipment which means I can get through my workout faster
-gym is nice a cool in the morning from our cool Santa Fe nights
-have to wake up at 5:24am to have breakfast and get to the gym by 6am
-get to be at the gym with the hubs

So...as you can see, almost all signs point to going to the gym in the morning.  If that is the case, please help me understand why I can't get myself out of bed at 5:24am!!!  Honestly - What does an extra 66 minutes of sleep provide for me?

Ugh!  Obviously - you can tell this is a battle I fight often.  Any suggestions?  What works for you?

home sweet home

I got home from the Philippines late Tuesday night. (more to come on that later).  Mike gets home from Georgia in T minus 2 hours or so!!   He's been at FLETC for defensive tactics instructor school.(hopefully I got that right).  He passed and graduated yesterday and is flying home today.

We used a house sitter for this trip for Boulevard and Stuart and it seemed to go really well.  Stuart didn't seem as traumatized and no kennel cough risks by boarding them.  By the way, Boulevard is completely healed from his kennel cough.  YAY!  I think the sitter left our house in better order than how we left it for her.  ;)

Ranger couldn't go with Mike so we boarded him...he's a little much to handle so we didn't want to put the sitter through that.  I picked him up from the kennel on Thursday.  Imagine if you will ~ 100 lbs of German Shepard being leashed and led by me to the car from the kennel.  Ok...let me rephrase...100 lbs of Ranger literally dragging me across the parking lot to the car, my feet flying behind me, trying to resist the pull, and yelling NEIN NEIN(Ranger's "no" command) at the top of my lungs.  I'm surprised I didn't face plant into the pavement.  Come to think of it I don't think I've ever handled Ranger with a leash and now I know why.

When Mike gets home with the computer, I'll blog and post some pics about my Philippines trip.  It was incredible trip and a great reminder of how blessed we are to live in the U.S.A. and  have the things we have.  I'm so amazingly thankful for the life I live and the great country we live in!

stressed

I've been feeling a little stressed this week.  So much to do in, what seems like, so little time.

The epitome of stressed for me is apparently brewing a cup of coffee with our keurig coffee maker but...forgetting to place a coffee cup under the brewer.  Whoops!  Luckily I noticed before the drip pan, which sits under the brewer drip, was full of coffee.  It did crack me up after I confirmed that coffee was not all over counter.  Phew!

Luckily today was a productive day at work so I'm feeling pretty good now!
Have you ever done something silly when you're stressed?  It was almost a nice comic relief moment this morning with my coffee cup mis-hap.  :)

rattle snake

I just said out loud to whoever may have been listening(Mike, pups, no one??...who knows!), "I wonder if I have any pictures to blog about."  So I grabbed the computer and started reviewing recent pictures and came across these.  Mike actually took these while he was working in a nearby area called Camel Tracks.  Mike said the rattle snake was about 3 1/2 feet long and was "sunning" to stay warm(in the first picture) but then coiled up...he/she never started rattling.  Whew!  I thought it was a very New Mexico'ish post for the blog.

Update on Boulevard - I took him to the vet on Monday and he was diagnosed with kennel cough and the flu.  He's on an antibiotic & a cough suppressant...hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.  So far it doesn't appear Ranger or Stuart are getting sick ~ thank goodness!

oh...the dogs!

I feel like it's always something with the dogs.  Let me recap the major events and then I'll explain what's happening today.

2010 ~ Boulevard has infected ears and we have to spend a chunk of change on medication.  Boulevard's ears = healed!

Spring 2011 ~ Boulevard eats some sort of rubber object and he has to have surgery.(surgery after he's already had 3 x-rays, numerous vet visits, numerous prescription, & an ultrasound)  I'm not even going to talk about the chunk of change it took for this event.
Boulevard's intestine = healed!

Summer 2011 ~ We get Ranger.  I feel that getting a third dog is quite an event and was an adjustment for all of us.

Fall 2011 ~ Ranger is diagnosed with Lupus.  He gets a cream put on his nose everyday and has to see the vet every 6 months or so.
Ranger's nose = as healed as it can be!

2011 ~ I identify a lump on Boulevard's chest.  It ends up being tested and isn't an issue.
Boulevard's lump = just a fatty mass!

June 2012 ~ Stuart has an infected eye.  Spent a reasonable amount of change to get his eye fixed.  But am told that he has a slow & irregular heart beat.
Stuart's eye = healed!
Stuart's heart = probably the same because I haven't done anything for it.

Now for the July 2012 event:  We are 99.9% certain that Boulevard as kennel cough, likely from the most recent boarding visit.  Ugh!  We are very regular and consistent about getting our dogs vaccinated, including the kennel cough vaccine.  But I have read that the vaccine doesn't necessarily keep the dog from getting kennel cough.  It's interesting timing since I'm interviewing another dog/house sitter today for some traveling we're doing throughout the rest of the year...guess it's even more of a reason to have a dog sitter instead of boarding the dogs at a kennel.

I'm waiting for the vet to call me to see if they can prescribe something without seeing Boulevard.  They should create a frequent vet visitor card or something for as often as we're there.

Guess I'll go work off some steam by running my 6 mile run today.  :)

Bearizona & the GRAND CANYON!!

Grab a glass of tea and get comfy 'cause this could be a lengthy post.

We went to Sedona, AZ for my birthday(see previous post) and took a day trip to the Grand Canyon, with a stop at Bearizona on the way.  Bearizona is like Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs.  :)  You drive through the first section in your own car with a GPS-driven verbal guide through the various "pens" that animals were in.  The second area is more of a zoo-type set up in which you walk through to see all the animals.  There was some construction occurring so it seemed like it was a fairly new attraction.  I'd be interested in going back in a few years to see how it's developed.

All the animals we viewed from our drive - we often had to wait for the animals to cross the road...yes, if you rolled down your window, you could reach out and touch them if you wanted.

White Buffalo

When we got to the bear section, we were reminded and instructed to keep our windows rolled up and if a bear approaches our vehicle, that we are to drive slowly away.

As you can see by the glare in the picture below, we abided by the "leave your windows up" rule.  This one cracks me up - a bear...just chill-axin in the shade!

Then we got to the walking area where we watched these little bear cubs for about 20 minutes.  They were so funny to watch, playful, and so cute!

Then we got to the "petting zoo" area.

He looked like he need a scratch behind the ear.  :)

After Bearizona, we ventured to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  I'm not exactly sure what I expected but...whoa...completely amazed!  The pictures don't really do it justice.  They have it set up so nice so you just park and then a shuttle takes you to all the overlooks and hiking trails.

You can see the Colorado River way down in the canyon...

We took the South Kaibab Trail and our intention was to go 3 miles down and then the same 3 miles back up.  However, they had these groups of kids going about 1.5'ish miles down and back and I witnessed too many of them crying their eyes out so it totally psyched me out.  I told Mike that we should probably turnaround at the 1.5 mile mark, making it a 3 mile hike.  Afterward, I completely wished we would have gone further ~ I definitely could have made it!  It's hard to judge because going down is the easy part...it's hard to imagine how tough the return back to the top may be.

Mike at Ooh Aah Point.

Resting and getting a snack at our turnaround spot.

Quite breath-taking!

I would definitely go back to the Grand Canyon and spend more time there.  I think it deserves an entire vacation of it's own.  We could check out more trails, maybe hike to the bottom, camp, and then hike back up the next day??  Maybe hike down and raft out?  I can't tell you how many signs said, "No Day Hikes to the River!!"...so I will certainly abide by all the rules and ensure we're planned and prepared.

If you've never been, please make sure you put it on your bucket list!!

P.S. Yep, I've been blogging a lot lately ~ I was a little behind but, more importantly, we got a new laptop that actually doesn't make me want to throw it out the window.  Thanks for reading and allowing me to do a little catch-up on my "scrapbooking."

My first VLOG

We recently got a new computer so I'm trying my hand at VLOG'ing. (aka video blogging)

Here it goes...hopefully it works after I select Publish...cross your fingers.  :)

If you have any running necessities, please share in the comment section.

Kleptomania

Per Wikipedia, "Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value.  People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or not significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape."

Ok - I wouldn't define myself as a klepto(the hubs may have a different opinion) and I can resist but I do occasionally, when at restaurants, take more straws than I need for my one drink and use them at home.  Mike doesn't usually use a straw so I usually bring his allotted straw home also.  It's just one of those things I guess...I have this big mug that I fill a few times a day with water so I need just the right straw that fits my mug.

My straw of choice??  Definitely Wendy's straws!!

Might I add that Mike even brings straws home occasionally just for me.  :)

Am I the only one that has an odd quirk like this??  Ummm...let me help you out...the correct answer is "No Kirsten, that's not weird at all!"  :)

Rio Chama

At the beginning of June, Mike and a few co-workers decided to raft the Rio Chama and patrol since some of the river is on BLM land.  They had to check out a few places that are only accessible by raft as well.  Another wife and I decided to join for the 3-day journey.  So the five of us put in the river around noon on Friday and took out early evening on Sunday.  I had never done any sort of rafting so it seems logical that they put me in my own one-man ducky.  ;)  It really wasn't too bad because there were only about 6 rapids over the course of 30 some miles and the most difficult we faced was class 3.

Me and my ducky.  A hat and my water keens were critical for this trip!

Mike also had a ducky - during the class 3 rapid, he did run into the rock cliff...eh hem...but I didn't.  :)  No one flipped their ducky's during the rapids but I always wore my helmet when we got close to the rapids...just in case.

 Here's our crew - three of us were in ducky's and then 2 were in the raft carrying all of our gear, food, tents, coolers, dry bags, etc.

A lot of sunscreen was critical for this trip!

These zip off pants were the BEST! When zipped off they became bermuda shorts(perfect length) and they were super comfy!

We took a few short hikes.

Our view from our tent on Saturday evening.  Two in our party were veteran rafters so they thankfully knew what they were doing, planned all of our breakfasts and dinner, & knew where some great camping spots were.

Campfire - of course we had 'smores!!

It was a really fun trip because it was not busy on the river at all - for this river, you have to have a permit to raft so the number of rafts and groups were very limited.  Like camping, I really enjoyed disconnecting from the world on this trip and getting to know some of Mike's co-workers a little better.