Colorado River Rafting

Rick organized a side-trip for us: a raft-trip down the Colorado River! We were all leery after the lousy train trip experience in South Dakota two years ago, but I must say he redeemed himself. We traveled to the docking spot at Page, AZ, a 130-mile trek, almost to the Utah border on Lake Powell. The entire two and a half hour trip was pretty desolate. Twenty-five miles to get out of the Grand Canyon Park, fuel in Cameron, AZ (just about the only civilization along the trip. Highway 89 runs through Navajo country. They live in much poverty and a stark landscape, many without power and running water. However, it must be an entirely different living standard than ours. They wake up to this beautiful view every morning, regardless of their situation.

Rick, of course, always drives but sometimes wants to see the scenery. Ted says Rick will feel two thumps if he crashes over the edge, the first one being Ted's fist! We finally arrived at the Raft Trip office, got checked-in and and boarded a bus to the dock. The catch is that the boarding point is through a 2.5 mile tunnel in the rock, down to the base of the Glen Canyon Dam (second in size to the Hoover Dam.) About 25 people boarded each four-pontoon raft for the 16 mile trip down the Colorado River. The rocky red sides of the Canyon rose 1,000 feet above us on each side. Again, the perception of scale only became real by seeing people on the rim and the other pontoons on the River. Our happy tour guide and boat captain, Chris lives in this area because she likes white water rafting with her husband, also a guide. This section of the Colorado River is VERY calm, with only an occasional ripple. We felt privileged to see this part of the world, mostly untouched by the man's hand. We ate our packed lunch at a sandy beach, where we were invited to walk to the canyon wall to see petroglyphs (Ancient Native American graffiti). Four hours after launching, we ended our trip at Lee's Ferry and boarded buses back to Page, an hour drive.

Back in the truck: 130 miles back to the campground. We stopped at the Cameron Trading Post for dinner and souvenirs. The worst part of the day was driving along the Canyon after dark. Ted watched closely for animals in the roadway. Signs warned of elk and mountain lions. We saw three elk along the road but none were in our path. YIKES! We were all exhausted from the day but oh what a wonderful trip!