Moab

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about my trip to Moab (April 29 - May 2)

First, before I begin to tell you about the awesome time my friends and I had in Moab I wanted to thank Colin Fryer for the wonderful hospitality and friendship that he showed while we stayed at his lodge. It truly was an awesome trip that none of us will forget.

So we didn't arrive to Red Cliffs Lodge (the hotel which Colin owns) till 11 pm, which was not planned. So we got our room keys and headed 0ff to our very nice cabin room located right on the Colorado River. It was an awesome view and cool to see kayakers overcome the rapids throught the rest of the trip. I cant wait to go to FD and kayak again. Anyways, my three friends and I woke up around 7 am to meet at the lodge with Colin and have some breakfast and see what the plans for the day would include. He told us he had put us on the morning trail ride on horseback, which I love to ride horses and so did my friends. We scarfed down are food and headed out to the corrals. The trail ride was a lot of single file walking but the view made it all worth it. Moab truly is a very beautiful place and we couldn't complain. After the trail ride, the guys and I decided to head out to town and check that out since Colin was busy with his new cabin he is building. After scouting out town we headed back to the hotel and took it easy by the hot tub and pool. We then had an awesome dinner on the deck outside of the lodge where the sun was setting and the river was about 60 ft away. It was cool.

Day 2. (Saturday) Was the best day of them all. Colin had arranged for us four boys to help out in a real cattle drive of about 40 head. We were all excited to do this for 2 of us hadn't done it before, including me. This had been my dream since I was a boy watching the movie, "The Cowboys" with John Wayne in it. It was about an 8 mile ride that took us 5 to 6 hours to complete. We started out pushing the cows pretty easy accross open terrain and brush, but about halfway into the ride we started going through the cliffs and mesas that moab is known for. The cows and horses seriously had to walk the trail single file or else they risked sliding off of cliffs and such. It even got better. The rain a few days earlier had washed out some of the trails and cows would try and make their own. A few of them ended up fallin 10 off of a ledge, and somehow came out of the ordeal with only scratches and a bad attitude. It was the absolute craziest and coolest thing I have done. All four of us guys felt like true cowboys after we finished, because we had moved cattle 8 miles over some extreme terrain and also through some rain. As soon as I got back home on Sunday I bought a belt and belt buckle for my achievements. Ha call me a loser but I WANTED IT!!!!

Anyways, We finished off Saturday with dinner at Colin's where we met alot of his family and played some pool. And Sunday we took of around noon to go see arches and then head back home. It was an awesome trip that I will not forget. I and maybe some friends plan to make another trip down there this summer.

I will put a few pics from the trail ride that I have but will have more once my friend emails me more. His are better too so keep an eye out.

Thanks everyone...... Oh ya... I am currently undergoing chemo again (number 14) and will be at the hospital till Sunday if ya wanna stop by.

Love ya guys!,

Nick Raitt