Why a blogathon and exploring the Grand Canyon are similar

This is me, hiking my way through a side canyon in Arizona's Grand Canyon. Lynn Etter took this photo of me as I was feeling my way through the water and cliffs. Exploring the "Big Ditch" with this group is similar to exploring the blogging world with you. As we make our way through, learning new tech skills, figuring out the maze that is social media, getting to know the extent of our abilities and that we're capable of so much more, it's good to know we're up for the challenge. It's also good to know we're not alone. None of us are when teamwork is involved.

A raft, some family and jazz hands

Yep, that's me in the middle, with my jazz hands all open and free. It was my first full day in the front of the raft. Day 12 (maybe) of my recent Grand Canyon River Raft tour with Outdoors Unlimited. And this one turned out to be family day. Luckily, I'd finally found my mojo on the river by then and was willing to face the rapids head on. Without ducking.

Up to that point, I was only halfway there. I still feared the big ones. Thankfully, because the river level was high during the two weeks plus we spent on the Colorado, we weren't really facing "big ones." Even the Big Kahuna of rapids in the 280 miles we'd float, the one called Lava Falls, just wasn't that horrendous. Of course, our guides fought them mightily anyway. Just in case. The rapids were still bubbly enough to pull you in, flip you over, and send you slamming into deep schist if you didn't hold on tight enough. Trust me, I held on. And those gloves I'm wearing have the rips and broken seams to prove it.

The strength of our guides (I've never seen bigger muscles underneath someone's forearms before) is the very reason you see that big smile on my face. They pushed and pulled us through high-rated rapids and drops of 30 feet, more and less, as if we were simply part of a parade. They made it look easy. And because we were smart enough to raft the entire length of the Grand Canyon, the time allowed them to ease in the chickens like me. The rapids got rougher as we made our way down river. So that, even though I was scared out of my mind at first, by the time we reached the rapids that required scouting, I was feeling secure enough when that rush of water came barreling down on heads, neck and feet. Even when it knocked me up off the raft, by then, I knew my hold on the ropes would keep me safe and dunk-free. I'd had enough experience behind me to see for myself. Yeah, the death grip really works. So I held on. Good and tight.

What a trip! You can expect to see more photos like this one in the days ahead. This one, by the way, was taken by Rebecca Albrecht. She was part of the "family" tour I was on for this 15-day excursion. I add those quote marks, because I'm not the actual family member. I am the girlfriend of the boyfriend who couldn't go. And the boyfriend is the family member. I was the fifth-wheel. But they let me play anyway, and I have never had so much fun before in my life.

So let me send props to the raft, family and jazz hands. All three made this a trip filled with more joy than sand on the beach. And let me tell you, there's a lot of sand on the shore of the Colorado. I should know, since I brought extra home with me--in my shoes, my socks, my hair, my ears, my clothes...

Can you tell me about a time you spent with family that left you reeling in laughter-filled memories long past the event? Post it in a comment below. Or just share your thoughts about what it would take for you to give yourself two weeks of carefree fun.

New! Motivation for Mondays

Hey, I'm back!

After quite a bit of traveling, and some much needed time to catch up with business marketing, administrative tasks and taking some down time from social media (but not much down time), I'm back.

And I have some good news for you.

It's Time to Get Motivated!
A fellow tweep from Twitter and I are starting something new on Mondays. We'll be posting tweets under the hastag #MotivatedMondays in order to help our followers, friends and connections get motivated after the weekend. We'll be posting tips, quotes and other positive bits of inspiration to help jump start your week ahead. In addition, we'll be using our blogs to post lengthier motivational posts on Mondays as well. So watch for those links. We want to see you move your lives in the direction you want it to go.

Because #MotivatedMondways occurred after a few spontaneous thoughts, we're not sure exactly how this is going to work. Expect it to grow organically. But we hope you'll join us and read our tweets in the Mondays ahead--and on other days, too, of course. If you have any ideas of your own, please join in and help us grow #MotivatedMondays into a service that will benefit us all.

Meanwhile, here's a story from one my trips...

The Mini Grand Canyon Tour
As you might be able to guess from the photo above, I just returned from the Grand Canyon. Over the 4th of July weekend, my boyfriend and I joined three other couples to tour the North Rim. We hiked to Bright Angel Point (not to be confused with Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim). An easy hike, it's really just a walk around the rim to an overlook of Bright Angel, and the views are amazing. It is the Grand Canyon, after all.

The part in the picture shown above comes from the patio in back of the Grand Canyon Lodge along the trail, the only lodging on the North Rim. We weren't staying there; we stayed at Lee's Ferry Lodge at nearby Vermillion Cliffs--a great stop for anyone who doesn't mind rustic rooms, more beautiful views and good food at a cafe where the waitress named Charlie is as cantankerous as they come. If you're a woman living out there in the middle of nowhere, I guess you have to take on that kind of protective attitude. It's a funny thing for city folk. No matter. You'll have a good time; she's just teasing. But the place definitely isn't for whiners.

And as we were out in the middle of nowhere, on purpose, I was slightly disappointed we'd driven the five hours to get there and all we were going to do was this simple hike along the rim. No strenuous climbing. No daredevil jumps. No panting or out of breath need for big chugs of water. Just an easy ramble along the edge of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. But I didn't whine about it. I know some of my friends aren't nearly as ambitious as I am when it comes to outdoor adventure.

Luckily, I got what I was looking for two days later.

It came unexpectedly, actually. As we packed up and were ready to return home, the lodge owner's friend invited us to go with him over to see the old homestead built by a one-time Mormon leader John D. Lee, a practicing Mormon polygamist (common at the time) who was sent to this area along the Arizona Strip by Brigham Young to operate a ferry across the Colorado River. One of Lee's wives named the homestead the Lonely Dell because it was so isolated. It's now an interesting look at a part of the Colorado River history, and I did want to see that--and grab a peach off the trees in the old orchard, maintained now by the park service.

A Three Hour Tour
On the way to see Lonely Dell, we stopped off for what we thought would be a quick hike, a mile and a half in, we were told, through a slot canyon. If I'd have really listened when our "guide" asked, "You're not afraid of heights, are you?" I might have questioned the time frame. But I'm glad I didn't.


This turned out to be the hike I had hoped for. Called Cathedral Wash, it took us through a rough and tumble slot canyon that led straight to the Colorado River itself--where you could watch river rafters float by if you timed it just right. On the way in, we climbed canyon sides, jumped across ledges, hunkered down to crawl through tight spaces, trudged through sandy soil, hopped, skipped and jumped over large and small boulders, and kept a look-out for cairns so we could be sure to take the safest path--and not get lost.

We often encountered loose rock and gravel. But we made it--three hours later--back to the car in one piece. Thank goodness my boyfriend and I stopped off for lots of water on the way, because one of our hikers didn't. And this quick hike turned out to be a long and very hot trek in mostly sun. We wound up sharing our water with him so he wouldn't be without. And we sure embraced the shade when the canyon walls provided it.

We did not get to spend near enough time at the cool water when we reached the Colorado River bed. That was a beautiful sight to see. But our guide wanted to turn right back so we wouldn't miss the chance to see the homestead.


So speaking of Motivated Mondays--or any day for that matter--next time I return to hike this area again, I'm planning a much longer stay at the river's edge. It seems a shame to have taken in all that heat and hard work for such little time at the Colorado--which is one of the world's most amazing rivers.

How about you? Have you ever been motivated to do something again because you felt like you missed the best part the first time around? I'd love to hear your stories.