Floating down the River
When planning for this trip, DH and I had been disappointed to find out that all mule trips down the Grand Canyon had been fully booked when I was looking. Afterall, looking down the Canyon from the top is all very nice and all that; but we were after a different experience this time round. We were specifically looking to get to touch the Colorado River.
As the mule ride was out and with the ease of a couple of key strokes on my laptop, I worked out that our options were to go white water rafting along the Grand Canyon. But that would mean at least a 3 day tour and in a direction not in the way we were heading. The other option I found was a half-day flat water rafting tour and the more I looked into it the more it suited our itinerary. The company offering this service is the Colorado River Discovery (CRD) out of Page.
During the summer months, they offer tours starting at 7.30 am and 1 pm respectively. Our hosts had booked on our behalf for the 1 pm tour on this day and we had been advised to head to the CRD facilities in the town by noon. I'd prudently decided to order the sandwich lunch for all of us. The noon-time arrival gave us time to pick up our packs and eat.
This was the Thai Chicken wrap; Chicken, Broccoli Slaw, Shredded Carrots, Green Onions, Havarti Cheese, Rolled In A Jalapeno Wrap With Peanut Dressing. Sorry for the chew marks; but I was hungry.
DH got the Vegetarian Hummus Sandwich; Hummus, Sliced Tomatoes, Cucumber, Roasted Red Peppers, Cabbage Slaw with lemon pepper Mayo and Monterey Jack Cheese on wholegrain bread.
Our lunch came with a bag of snacks and a bottle of water.
The organisers gave us the low-down as we were eating and effectively marked off a roll. We were told the ins and outs of what to expect. And because we were heading into an area of national importance, we were advised that anything we brought with us would need to be in clear plastic bags. Our cameras, phones and wallets were welcomed providing they were in a clear plastic bag; but no camera bags, no back packs, no handbags.....nothing! I'd come forewarned and had specially brought two of those large ziplock bags with me for this excursion.
After the official messages were delivered, we boarded the bus....
....and were let off here.
The place of national importance?
The first dam to be built across the Colorado River. This is the Glen Canyon Dam.
We weren't allowed to take pictures on the side that we unloaded from the bus. But put on a hard hat and walk 20 paces down this walkway and you could take all the pictures you wanted. Go figure!
Our raft for the afternoon looked like this. There were enough of us booked on the rafting tour to fill 3 rafts today.
You could sit in the middle section of sit on the outside section. Naturally, we were sitting on the outside.
We're heading down that way. Judging from the number of rafts moored along here, I'm guessing that this is a very popular tour to do.
That's an impressive structure, isn't it? It stands at 710 feet high.
There were about 15 people on our raft. We had plenty of space.
See those people with their legs hanging over the side? That's what DH, DS and I looked like.
Can you tell that we were having fun?
I have to admit that it was such a thrill to be at the bottom of the Colorado River looking up at the Glen Canyon. It might not be the Grand Canyon; but that didn't matter one bit to me, DH nor DS. We had a grand time on this afternoon tour.
Take a look at the sand level out here. Can you see the top of the bank? It's quite a difference. The top of the sand bank is where the sand used to sit. The dam prevents sediments from naturally flowing down the Colorado River. The sediment down the Colorado settles to the bottom at the Glen Canyon and the water that is released is "filtered".
You may have not noticed it previously but if you go back to take a look at the colour of the Little Colorado River and compare it to the colour of the Colorado River you'll notice that the Colorado is clearer and has a greener tinge to it. If we could travel back to when John Wesley Powell first explored the Grand Canyon, the colour of the Colorado River would have been as muddy as the Little Colorado River.
When we were on the float, our captain told us another interesting fact.
Apparently every so often, the US Bureau of Reclamation will open the gates at Glen Canyon Dam and release a bucketload of water and sediment down the river. We were told that the gates would be opened in November of 2013 and the captain was hopeful that the bottom of the river was be filled with enough sand to take the level back to the top of where you see the bank in the other picture. Apparently the sand bars are needed to provide areas for the wildlife to sustain themselves. It doesn't really have much to do with the fact that the sand bars provide natural camping areas for people that have purchased camping licences at all. Nope. Not. much. at. all.
With the sun high overhead, this was definitely a day for slip on a shirt, slap on some sunscreen and slip on a hat. Seriously. If you do decide to do this tour, remember to come prepared. It can also get cold out here.
The captain told us that the Glen Canyon walls were around 800 feet at this stage.
The colour of the walls were beautiful with the afternoon sun reflecting off them.
The views were fantastic from our position on the river.
I've always preferred looking up from the bottom.
The geology of rocks around here is predominantly Navajo Sandstone. It's not a good stone to go rock climbing as sandstone is pretty soft. See that patch of red rock surrounded by the black rust? That happens when the sandstone slips off the face. The black rust happens when the minerals in the sandstone leech out over time. In this case, I think the captain said that it was a result of iron leeching out.
We did encounter some fishermen on the river.
They are looking for trout.
We also saw Osprey and Turkey Vultures out on the river. They were always too far away or too fast to take a picture but it was wonderful looking at the birds fly and looking for prey.
(Continued in Next Post)
Glad to be of service. The Colter buildings were originally built to make the Grand Canyon more comfortable for people to come and visit. Hermit's Rest provided them with a stop on the West side of the Village and the Watchtower provided them with the stop on the East side. I'm guessing that the Railroad used them to promote day tours from the Terminal/Hotel.
It doesn't work out as smoothly in the end in my case though! 
Especially those little babies awww !
I think all your deviations (except for the getting lost part) were worth it though 
Yes. I'm trying to stay in American mode here. Jelly; not jam.
