One week ago tonight I returned home from one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  Thanks a million to all of our friends, family and supporters who helped make Paddling for a Cure a success – I really do hope to be able to do it all over again next year.  The Grand Canyon is a magical, amazing place and seeing it from the river below revealed how very different it is from mile to mile.  My pictures don’t do it justice.  I saw tons of big horn sheep, a coyote, one snake (not a rattler), lots of bats, vultures, a condor, several falcons, lots of lizards, a ring-tailed cat, a beaver and native fish (some of which were apparently 30-40 years old according to the river scientist that was showing them to us.)  Sleeping under the canopy of stars was a highlight but by day five I had sand everywhere, including in my ears and some in between my teeth.  The weather was sunny, quite hot and very dry until the last night.  The hikes were incredible – slot canyons, turquoise blue water coming in to the canyon from side creeks and breath-taking vistas.  The people that Maryellen and I met during the trip were awesome too.  The only other person to paddle the whole 225 miles with us was Neil from Great Britain – and that was a royal treat.  We also enjoyed the company of Aussies, a Kiwi, Germans, two people originally from Columbia and a man originally from Pakistan (who was also a cancer survivor!)  The other Americans were all amazing people who had an adventurous spirit and who were a blast to paddle with.  Our river guides were top notch and totally fun to be around – they knew the canyon and the Colorado river from top to bottom and cooked some seriously great meals.  If anyone reading this ever considers a Grand Canyon river journey, I highly recommend Outdoors Unlimited.  After being gone for two weeks, it was a huge treat to come home to smiles and hugs from my family and a totally clean house (nice work by my hubby!)  I was totally and completely honored to paddle for the angels, warriors and survivors who have battled Neuroblastoma.  I’ve posted pictures with some of my honorees names but please know that I paddled for EVERY child and family who has been touched by pediatric cancer, especially Neuroblastoma.  Whenever we approached one of the bigger rapids and I felt my nerves kicking in I only had to remind myself of the battle kids with cancer face – they paddle harder than any of us can imagine, they do it without a shred of self-pity and they define the true meaning of the word courage for me.  In case you are wondering, Kate is doing really well.  The front page picture is from this morning - she was wearing her Paddling T-shirt (click on the link if you want one for yourself!) – check out how long her hair finally is.  She doesn’t have an oncology appointment until July (woo hoo!)  Until then, we’ll be enjoying the summer very much.  Thanks again to all of you who made a donation to Paddling (it’s not too late if you still want too…) – every dollar makes a difference.  Enjoy your summer too!  Hugs from all of us at Camp Jacobs!