Posts Tagged With: Colorado RIver

2018 Trip 4: Arizona: May 31

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Flagstaff, AZ. Thursday May 31

Floating on the Colorado River south of Glen Canyon Dam

Supposedly only 1% of the 5,000,000 people who visit the Grand Canyon area actually get down into the canyon. Well, we are part of the 1%. As mentioned yesterday, hiking down is not an option, nor is hiring a helicopter. We chose to float on 15 miles of the Colorado River. Wilderness River Adventures is a licensed NPS concessionaire and we chose their three-hour float trip.

Downstream side of Glen Canyon Dam from the Colorado River

Yes, much of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon has rapids. But we started just below the Glen Canyon Dam which creates Lake Powell. Lake Powell is the second largest reservoir in the U.S. and the water that is released provides a relatively calm ride for the next 15 miles. The canyon walls in this section rise from 700 to over 1500 feet above the floater. The float trip includes riding through Horseshoe Bend, a well-known tourist vista normally seen from up above.

Our raft

The trip begins with a 6 A.M. check-in, including a TSA safety check since the trip begins in a restricted area beneath the dam. A bus transports us from the Page AZ gathering point to the base of the dam, including a two-mile tunnel ride from above ground to the dam base. Our raft held 19 people and our guide; the raft could probably have held as many as thirty people. Four rafts left this morning (yes, all came back) from a combination of individual ticket buyers like us to chartered bus trips.

Some of the petroglyphs

For the next three hours, we traveled downriver. Early on the day was cool. As the hours went by, the sun rose higher and it became warm, making us glad we did not take an afternoon trip. For part of the trip, a wind developed along the river and cooled us off. We stopped once for a bathroom break and short hike to view petroglyphs chiseled by the Ancient Puebloans and Hopi.

The boat pulled over to one side of the canyon walls by a spring that pours water into the river. The spring is purified by seeping through hundreds of feet of limestone. Adventurous souls like me tried a sip or two. Not bad, but I was expecting it to be cooler.

Top-part of mountain goat group; bottom-close-up

When we began the journey, Cole, our guide who also has a second job at Bonkers where we ate dinner last night, indicated that mountain goats inhabit the area. If we were lucky we might see some. However, he has only seen them twice in the last year. I was lucky enough to spy a group of nine of them and alerted the rest of the boat. A fortunate circumstance.

The beginning of Horseshoe Bend

As usual on such trips, the guide is eager to point out rock formations that resemble people, or animals, or shapes. Our guide was no exception but frequently to see the rock formation shape would take more imagination than I have. When we went through Horseshoe Bend, we could see the tiny figures of people 1000 feet above. When we visited Horseshoe Bend a few years ago, we stayed further back from the edge due to my vertigo and I would probably not have been visible to anyone on the river.

The trip finished at Lees Ferry, one of the few areas along the river with slopes gentle enough to allow early travelers access to the river. The LDS church sponsored an early ferry here to assist its members in their travels to Salt Lake City. Today it is a major jumping off point for river rapids rafters. Just downstream from Lees Ferry is a bridge that automobiles and travelers take to reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. That drive is spectacular, we took it in 2016.

View of Colorado River from Lees Ferry bridge

Buses were waiting to transport us back to Page. The journey takes an hour; roads are infrequent and the road back is not direct. The view of the Colorado River and the rock formations managed to keep it awake for the first 15 minutes. Lunch was at a Page restaurant called The Dam Bar and Grill. It was okay.

After lunch we headed back to Flagstaff for a last night with Lou and Joyce. We did make a stop at the Cameron Trading Post. This is a 100 year old store, restaurant and lodge and for many years was the major resting point between Flag and Page. Ice cream was our only purchase.

A beautiful morning on the Colorado River

Ed and Chris, June 3 Phoenix AZ

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2014 Trip Four, May 21, The Southwest

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Moab Utah May 21

Canyonlands National Park preserves a wilderness of rock. There are three separate areas, one is completely wilderness for diehard hikers and campers. Obviously not us. The main section is called Island in the Sky and is likely to be where we spend most of our time. The Colorado and Green Rivers divide the various sections and then meet at the end of Island in the Sky.

The Colorado River is very brown with silt. The Green River originates in WY and looks green due to minerals in its drainage basin. Originally the Colorado River was not considered to start until the confluence of the two rivers. From its origin in Grand Lake CO, in the Rocky Mountains, the river had been known as the Grand River. In 1921, the State of Colorado petitioned the US to rename the upper section as the Colorado also and over Utah and Wyoming objections, it was renamed. The Green River covers a larger drainage area prior to the confluence but the Colorado’s volume is higher.

View from Mesa Arch in Canyonlands NP

View from Mesa Arch in Canyonlands NP

We began Wednesday at the Visitor’s Center at Island in the Sky and listened to a park ranger (the one from West St. Paul) discuss John Wesley Powell. Powell served in the Civil War where he lost the lower portion of his right arm. He was an adventurer from early on, traveling down the Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans by himself.

Powell gathered together an expedition, funded by himself, family, friends and donations, some left over US government property after the Civil War. He and 9 others, none with previous whitewater river experience, left Green River WY on May 24, 1869 to explore the previously unmapped and never successfully journeyed section of the rivers from Green River down to the Grand Canyon. When they reached their end point, they had 10 pounds of flour left. One of their group left early on, three others left and were never heard from again.

Powell’s exploration opened up this area of Utah, previously marked on maps as “Unknown”. He had advance thinking and suggestions for his time, suggesting that the river resources should be husbanded and shared. Most suggestions were ignored.

Mesa Arch

Mesa Arch

After education, it was time for exploration. One of our first stops was Mesa Arch with a great view of the La Sal Mountains in the east. However, the wind was ferocious and it was like being sand blasted. We put up the hoods on our windbreakers and stood with our backs to the wind to ease the hassle.

Green River

Green River

Lunch was peanut butter and crackers at one of the overlooks and then it was on to the Green River Overlook. All of these views are from higher elevations looking down at the rivers. In fact, once the Colorado leaves the town of Moab and enters the “Portal”, it is surrounded by cliffs for something like 500 miles.

Green River

Green River

You look down into this great, deep valley/canyon and can see the river in the distance with these steep cliffs descending from your location. It is quite an amazing sight.

Our final stop was at Grand View Overlook. It is the farthest point south casual visitors can go at Island in the Sky. In the far distance is the confluence of the Colorado and the Green followed by Cataract Canyon where the whitewater rapids are especially potent as the combined volume rushes through a narrow canyon. Todays flow was quite strong as the mountain runoff in Colorado is strong but not yet at its peak.

Vista from Grand View Point

Vista from Grand View Point

Dinner was at a local BBQ restaurant which we chose since it had local musicians playing that evening. The food was fine, the music just bearable. Tomorrow morning we get up early for a full day of adventure.

Ed and Chris May 22 9:15 pm

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