A ride to remember

First thing on my agenda for the morning since sleep was out of the question.... :)  was a canoe ride on the lake.

So we rented a canoe, suited everyone up in life jackets and headed towards Devils' waterhole.

Right along side the famous jumping rocks.

We got an up close view of the rocks I had admired from across the way.

And found a tiny little cove around the corner with some beautiful and colorful rock outcroppings.

While I alternated snapping and paddling Sharon figured out the right way to do it turning the paddle over to Caden and letting him paddle while she snapped pictures.  :)

At one point she decided she just couldn't wait for our promised hike in this general area and decided she would hop out and take some more pictures before we headed back.

Despite warnings from both Kevin and I over how slippery the rocks were and what a bad idea trying to get out was she stood up, and stepped out towards the rocks.

Needless to say, she should have headed our warnings.  :) 

As she stepped out her movement pushed the boat out away from the rocks, and no sooner had her first foot landed before she discovered just how slippery the rocks were as she zipped off the rocks, plopping into the water and under the boat to come out on the other side, shocked and sputtering.

After a moment of slight panic as she frantically latched on to the side of the boat - shocked at the cold, deep water, and the fact that she found herself unexpectedly in the water as she doesn't know how to swim and was only afloat thanks to the life jacket - she left out a laugh.  Reassured that she was okay we joined in and had a good laugh as well.

We moved our boat safely out of the way and enjoyed the show as she attempted to make it up onto the rocks several times before finally giving up and listening to our recommendations to find shallower water on the other side.  However, not being able to swim she refused to let go of the boat and insisted her husband paddle her across to other side.  :)

They eventually did make it across the way and she was able to walk out of the water.

To the cheers of some passersby enjoying an early morning hike in the area.

Thankfully the water while a little chilly when you first got in turned out to not be bad at all after a few seconds and other than a soggy cell phone, and little scrape on one elbow everyone and everything escaped unscathed.