Day 1

I have driven the 1-70 corridor through western Colorado a few hundred times and never been up this particular side road leading to a ranch that is home to First Descents' Vail sessions. This place rocks! Beautiful lodge and cabins with meadows and a pond to practice our kayak skills in the water. I drove from Telluride, a girl "Louise" from Texas and a guy "RV" from Reno, NV . A couple hours later the rest (who had flown into Denver) arrived on the short bus. In all we have 15 campers The weather was sunny! A nice break from the weeks of rain Colorado has been getting. We were all given nicknames right away. Mine is "Hot Rod". There are about 15 staff – making a sweet ratio of 1:1. The guides are a quintessential reflection of what us campers need; fun, inspiration and constant laughter. A raucous group with skills galore and patience.
It has only been a day and we are family. This morning we geared up and practiced the basics on the pond. Everyone performed a wet exit (flipping your boat, pulling the kayak skirt and pushing yourself out of the boat returning to the surface). About 30 of us campers and guides played water polo and those who had not already turned blue stayed to learn the T rescue (if you flip, and don't want to swim, another kayaker hits their bow to the side of your boat, you grab their bow and flip yourself upright). My "Villian" makes the hip snap feel easy.
We spent the afternoon in the hot tub and getting a massage, yeah, camp is pretty rough. Time for dinner and campfire, then hopefully some sleep. River tomorrow!