Rafting on the Colorado

We left the Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at 7:30am, beginning a 2.5 hour drive to Page, AZ, where we were to embark on a river cruise down the mighty Colorado. Claire remarked on how easy the driving has been--good roads, little traffic, delightful companionship. Actually, I made up one of those.

We both continue to be stunned to see such consistent, monumental beauty in this Big Sky country.

The Vermilion Cliffs. These are the start of the Grand Canyon.

Marble Canyon

Marble Canyon redux

The Original Navajo Bridge, 1928. An important area event, since crossing the Colorado was not possible anywhere else for 600 miles. In a sparsely populated region, 5000 people came to celebrate its opening. Now a pedestrian-only bridge.

The Old and New Navajo Bridges. The near side is in AZ, the far side is part of the Navajo One Nation. Interestingly, they have different time zones: AZ is on Mountain Standard Time, while the Navajo Nation is on Mountain Daylight Time.

A pack of these guys came roaring into the parking lot with sixties rock music
blaring and engines pounding. Our first thought was that it was a bunch of outlaws rebelling against the world, trying hard to be as annoying as possible. Next thought was that it was a bunch of guys in their sixties too deaf to hear the damn music. Talk about shattering the peace of this gorgeous spot. Next thing we knew, they were yelling and screaming and running around the bridge, all wearing identical red t-shirts. Soon, in heavily accented English, they were singing Happy Birthday. We worked our way through the group, noticing that they were all young middle-aged and their t-shirts proclaimed "America Coast to Coast--Harley Davidson Tour!" I asked one of the guys where they were from....Brazil!

Triple AAA, our Rafting Guide. That is the Glen Canyon Dam (& Bridge) in the background. The dam created Lake Powell, the largest man-made lake in the US.

Rafting Down the Colorado...

Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend from above

Petroglyphs of Big-Horned sheep. We only made one landing stop along the way--to view the Petroglyphs. The guide said these were more than 5,000 years old. We did stop another time--in the middle of the river--Triple AAA had to repair our propeller.

17 mile, 4 hour rafting trip down the Colorado: $85 each.
Boxed lunch for rafting trip: $9.75 each.


Q: What do you get when you mix 50 pigs with 50 deer?
A: 100 sows and bucks! ~ Triple AAA