Jenna Bush Hager has revealed that her mom Laura has a bit of a wild side, as she recalls how the former First Lady organized a daring rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon for her milestone 60th birthday — and even enjoyed going wild with bottles tequila.
The Today host, 41, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, talked about the fearless journey to Arizona’s river valley on Thursday’s episode of the NBC program, discussing adventures with her co-host Hoda Kotb, 59 .
Revealing the best adventure she’s ever had, Bush Hager said her mom Laura, now 76, and her friends explore a different national park every year — and during the 2008 vacation, it was a vacation to the Grand Canyon.
“They first took their daughters when they turned 60, which was almost 15 years ago,” Bush Hager said. ‘But we spent the night in a tent.
Jenna Bush Hager revealed that her mother Laura Bush organized a daring rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon
Laura, pictured with her daughter in 2016, put together the action-packed trip to celebrate her 60th birthday in 2008
“There was a sandstorm the first night, so she had to wear goggles so nothing got into her contact lenses and we returned tequila bottles.”
“They had made the journey before when they turned 40,” she continued. “The same group, the same people we spent the night in the stars with. It took a whole week.’
Bush Hager, her mother and her friends spent their day walking and hiking, as well as rafting and kayaking – while her father ran the White House.
An impressed Kotb replied, ‘It’s really cool that your mom makes such a plan. I think sometimes we need to be reminded that we can do incredibly cool and difficult things.
“People say, ‘Be careful, pay attention to that, what could go wrong?’ A million things can go wrong. It could go wrong.’
Nature lover Laura is an avid hiker and often documents her long walks on her Instagram page.
Whitewater rafting through rapids on the Colorado River is a popular activity among tourists
The former First Lady hiked through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with her childhood friends
The group also visited California’s Sierras of Yosemite National Park in 2016
In 2016, she and her childhood friends ventured to the high Sierras of California’s Yosemite National Park.
The following year, they took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains along the Tennessee/North Carolina border.
She shared a photo of the group together at the time, saying, “Hiking with my childhood friends in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a beautiful place to celebrate @nationalparkservice’s 100th anniversary.”
Earlier this year, Bush told Hager of the valuable lessons she learned from her mother, who passed on her love of reading and “gently guided” her as she grew up.
“Everyone knows my mom’s name is Laura Bush,” she said on a special Mother’s Day episode of the Today show.
“She was the First Lady of our country, but better known to my sister Barbara and me as our mother, our mama.
Laura invited her twin daughters Bush Hager and Barbara on the wild Grand Canyon trip while former President George W. Bush stayed home
Bush Hager and her Today show co-host Hoda Kotb discussed big adventures on Thursday
“My mom is otherworldly calm, and believe me, we tested it,” Jenna joked, recalling how her mother instilled in her and her sister a love of reading.
“She’s an avid reader and introduced Barbara and me to the wonderful feeling of falling in love with books,” she explained. “She’s also fiercely loyal and very protective.”
While Bush Hager regularly praises her mom, she’s not shy about sharing more chilling anecdotes about both of her parents.
Earlier this year, she revealed a “rude” comment her mom made about her bedding before her wedding night, as she openly spoke about her thoughts on whether it’s okay to “kiss and tell.”
‘I’m not trying to. But I’ve been married to one person for a long time, so I don’t kiss or tell about that relationship,” Bush Hager said of the concept, as an image of her marriage to Henry Hager appeared on screen.
The appearance of the photo prompted her to take a walk through her memories, with Bush Hager recalling how her mother humiliated her and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, with sexual innuendos the morning of her wedding.
“My sister and I spent the night the night before[my husband and I]got married, and my mom came in (singing), “You’re getting married! Let’s go change the sheets!” And Barbara says, “Eww disgusting, Mom! This isn’t The Other Boleyn Girl!” she recalled.
“I won’t even say what she said after that,” she added with a laugh.