…on the Legendary Rio Grande Gorge!

After waking up in the quaint town of Taos, Sarah and I indulged in a delicious authentic breakfast. Afterwards, we were ready to get out there!

We drove 18 miles from Taos to Pilar, New Mexico and met up with our river runner crew and readers. We were given a quick tour of our course from Allegra, who works for Los Rios River Runners.

We hopped on a good ole yellow bus and made our way to our starting place on the river.

We strapped on our helmets and life vests and got ready to paddle our little hearts out. We were taking funyaks, also known as duckies - they are inflatable one-person kayaks.

Our guide, Adrienne, provided Sarah and I with some knowledge of the sport and the river, that was new to us.

We got in our inflatable funyaks and were ready to brave the Rio Grande River. The rapid we faced was The Racecourse, which was a class 3 rapid. The ride started out smoothly and then the rapids picked up – along with the size of the rocks! You had no one to blame but yourself if you got stuck on a rock, or worse, flipped your funyak - noggin first!

Our reader, Michelle, said it best; "I'm stably unstable going down!"

There were a few rapids where some members of the group flipped, but everyone handled it like a champ and got right back in their funyaks for more. Certain areas along the river were absolutely stunning. You could sit back and relax, every so often, and take in the sights.

We were told the Red Willows along the river’s edge had medicinal purposes and their root is what aspirin is made from.

Sarah chills in funyak with Red Willows behind her!

Towards the end of the course, we approached “Big Rock” – the most difficult and most anticipated area of the course. There were huge rocks to both sides of us and a strong undercurrent if you didn’t go down the correct way. Adrienne was a great team leader and we all made it down with ease – no problemo!

We made a quick photo-op pitstop, so I could get a good shot of the river gang. I jumped out of my funyak and trekked up the river bank. However, with my wet shoes, it proved difficult. I slipped to avoid falling back into the river and jammed my foot...I will be sure to get a pedicure at our next stop!

Sarah and I had a great time down on the beautiful Rio Grande Gorge...although, our arms are aching from paddling the 5 miles! Thank goodness our drive is just a friendly 2 hours to the neighboring town of Albuquerque, New Mexico!

We'll see you guys tomorrow as we explore Albuquerque!