Summer Giveaway ENDS TOMORROW!

LAST CHANCE to Win a Dream Trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains

I have the perfect vacation giveaway just in time for Summer and you won’t want to miss it!

Win a trip for two to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, the only full-service town located right on the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most scenic drives in America. 

WHAT YOU WIN:

• 2-Night stay at The Embers Hotel

• Fly Fishing for 2 with The Speckled Trout Outfitters

• 2 Tickets to The Blowing Rock historic site

• Dinner for 2 at The Speckled Trout including alcohol

• Dinner for 2 at The Embers Hotel including alcohol

EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF THE RAPIDS

A Nostalgic Experience for Me

My grandfather was an avid river runner back in the day having even run a few historic runs. My mom and her siblings began running rivers in their teens and my uncle spent years working as an oarsman. Even my older sisters got to experience the thrill of the ride with grandpa, camping out along the banks of the Colorado.

However, by the time my little brother and I came along, grandma and grandpa were off pursuing other adventures so we never had the opportunity to experience it with them. I always felt so left out. Why could I not have simply been born just a few years earlier? Is that really too much to ask? 

The closest we got to being on the river with grandpa was being forced to watch old 16 mm films of river runs each year during the holidays - something all of us cousins would complain about at the time but have since learned to love and appreciate. I can still hear the whirl of the films as grandpa started up the old projector, reels spinning, the film flickering, lights low as the screen came to life in black and white. One of his favorites was a family classic where he’d always shout out half way through, “there’s where grandma broke her rib,” as the rushing rapids throw the raft against the rock, the turbulent water completely engulfing it.

Photos: Grandpa’s run and exploration of El Sumidero River in 1962, the last unexplored and rapid filled channel of foaming white water in Central America according to the paper. Grandpa was the official trip photographer along with his brother in what became the start of Western River Expeditions. 

So, when an opportunity arose to go river rafting with Defiance Rafting in Glenwood Springs, Colorado this week, I did not hesitate to jump aboard. I was all in and it did disappoint.

Not only was it an absolute thrill, but it was so incredible to be able to reminisce about my grandpa while feeling his adventurous spirit run through me. Thank you Defiance Rafting!