It's peeing in my SHOE!

My Croc, to be exact. Thankfully, there are holes in the bottom for drainage. BLECH!

We stopped at the Royal Gorge on the way up to the cabin. First of all... if you've never visited the Royal Gorge, it's something you MUST see. It features the world's highest suspension bridge, spanning the Colorado river 1,053 feet below. You can either drive across or walk; we walked. (This was Darren's and my 3rd trip, Dani's 2nd, and the boys' 1st.)



So cool. Amazing, beautiful scenery! We also took the incline train down to river-level, as well as the aerial tram across the gorge. I couldn't believe my boys weren't afraid on either ride!



On the other side of the bridge is a wildlife park and a petting zoo. Aidan and Ian were very excited about riding a donkey, so we did our parently duty and obliged them. The rules are this: two parents must accompany each child. (What do single-parented children do??) One parent leads the donkey, and the other parent walks alongside.

"Now, when you get to the hill back there, the donkey's liable to stop," said the crusty old cowlady at the gate. "You just nudge him in the behind and he'll start back up. He's just lazy and doesn't wanna walk up the hill."

So off we moseyed, with Aidan donkeyback, Darren leading, and me walking alongside. Sure enough, when we arrived at the base of the hill, the donkey stopped cold. I nudged his behind, but he didn't budge. Knowing that donkeys can be stubborn, stupid creatures, I decided to put a little more oomph into my nudge. I moved further back, planted my feet, and just as I started to really push, two things happened. One, I felt the splash. And two, Darren said, "HE'S PEEING!"

I jumped back in time to miss the worst of it. Aidan howled with laughter. After all, there was a donkey peeing on Mom's foot! I looked down the hill to where the old cow-woman stood, watching us as if to say, "What's yer problem, city slicker?" I hollered, "It peed in my SHOE!"

Donkey finally finished his business, and we made our way back to the gate, where the woman said, "I forgot to tell you that if he won't move when you nudge him, it's either because he has to go #1 or #2. I guess on your next trip around, he'll go #2."

"That's good to know," I sneered, eyeing Ian as he made his way through the gate for his ride.

"I'm teasing," said the old woman.

"Oh," said I.

Aidan still howls with laughter at the memory.

In the thin, dry Colorado air, the urine evaporated before I could even find water with which to clean it off. G.R.O.S.S.

The things we do for our kids, eh?