In the Grand Canoyn.............

We are planning on going on a pontoon raft trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in spring of next year (2008). This will be our 3rd trip. Once we got "hooked" on the Grand Canyon experience, we were really hooked. Reservations must be made many months in advance as these are very popular trips.

The pictures you will see will be from either our trip in 2004, like the one above or our trip in 2000. This was one of the more memorable evening campsites, although all of them were very unique and scenic. The rafting company supplies the tents, sleeping bags and sleeping mats. They also prepare all of your meals and the food is great. Each time we have gone, they've had someone who is celebrating a birthday during the 7 days on the river and they make a birthday cake in a dutch oven. If you want beer, wine or other intoxicants, you buy it beforehand and they stow it in the bottom of one of the two pontoon rafts. Each raft has blocks of ice in the bottom of them to keep the perishable foods intact during the week. Here is a picture at Lee's Ferry where the trip starts and another of us all on one the rafts.

We had approximately 20 raftmates (new word) on each of our trips split up between the two rafts. There are also 4 crew members who steer the rafts, make the wonderful meals, lead side hikes and do lots of other work to make it a very pleasant time on the river. You take your chances on raftmate compatibility since you really don't know anyone (unless you travel with friends or family), but so far we haven't run into anyone that we couldn't get along with. Everyone has to be fit enough to set-up their tent and take it down and every morning we must all line up to help load the rafts with equipment. Likewise, in the evenings, we all form a line and pass the equipment handed down from the rafts.

You pee in the river (downstream) and you bathe in the river (upstream). You do #2 in what is called the "Oscar". Here's an outdoors Oscar. It is usually facing the river, so you can be sitting on it and waving to a rafting group going by. When there isn't a suitable spot for privacy, the Oscar is placed in a little tent. Everything has to go into the boat and off the river at the end of the trip, so all that poop is on the boat with us for the duration. However, you don't even know it's there - wherever "there" is on the raft (somewhere in the "bowels of the barge" - good one....) If you are unfortunate enough to have to go while on the raft, they do not pull over for you. You have to go to the back of the raft behind the motor and the crew member steering the boat and hang your fanny over an opening back there. I never had to do this, but several people did it and I did not envy them their precarious position and potential for exposure. Everyone politely averts their eyes from the ass at the aft of the raft.....(I'm on a roll here...).

Hand washing lessons are given on the first day and are strictly adhered to by all. It is very important that no germs are spread and so a very clever and sanitary hand washing system is setup first thing at each stop, even at lunch. In the picture here you can see the buckets in the right hand corner of the frame. This particular picture was taken during one of our lunch periods.

We have gone in late May and plan to do the same again. The weather is not as hot, the crew has just started and has not had time yet to get sick of the tourists, plus if you want to go when there will be no children, it's the best time. (Not that we don't like kids, but we're past the kids thing and want adult only vacations.) It can be extremely hot in the canyon later on. As it is, we have to slather ourselves with suntan lotion and wear hats. On a cloudy day, it can be cool. Speaking of cool, there are lots of rapids and you get splashed a great deal depending upon your location on the raft. We always managed to sit up front and get the brunt of it. The front section of the raft is appropriately called "the bathtub". No matter that you might wear your rain gear, the huge waves that sweep over you just go right down the neck. It's not possible to keep dry in the front of the raft and actually it's the most fun place to be - at least for awhile. By the end of the trip, everyone is trying to scootch toward the back in order to avoid getting soaked. The water is fairly cold as it is released from a depth of about 200 feet at Glen Canyon Dam upstream. It's about 47F at that point. Apparently, later in the summer, the water can reach a temperature of around 80F, but in late May, the time we like to go, it's still quite cold. More about rapids and other interesting Grand Canyon rafting facts are upcoming in another post. Here's a teaser picture. Why is that water aqua blue and why is that guy wearing his life vest like that? Stick around and you will find out.

I just had to add this note: We just had a humongous, torrential rainstorm just a few minutes ago. Lightening, thunder and so much rain you could not see more than 20 feet in front of the house. It is still raining, but nothing like before. When it rains really hard, we get a very cool waterfall out by our deck. Here's a picture of it. It was even bigger at one point and actually roaring (like Niagara Falls!) Branches, piles of pine needles and old leaves were washing down it. FYI: The object in the right of the picture is part of a ratchet thing that holds a sun sail on our deck.