Running Rapids - A View

There were over 140 rapids in my 187 mile trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The water is 48 degrees F on a hot day. But what does riding rapids really look like? Where are the wettest seats? When you are cold, where are the driest seats?


B. Raft B members waiting...


C. Raft A occupants dry...


D. Port pontoon is splashed...


E. Port Pontoon is doused...


F. This is a detail of (E): Bathtub is hanging on...

G. This is a detail of (E):

Person 2 is in the bathtub, Person 3 is in the shower seat,

Person 4 and 6 and and an unlabeled person (or 2?) are on the inner seats,

Person 5 and 7 on on the pontoons. Remember, this water is COLD, 48 degrees F.
Guides 8 and 9 are in the back - the driest place on the raft.

H. Another hit on the port side...

I. The bathtub is being filled... (And remember, there are 2 people on the pontoon...)

J. More wet...

K. More wet, the bathtub is under... again...

L. Pretty much the entire raft is emerging from this - Note the water draining from the seat area between the pontoon and raft body...

M. (Detail of L). The front pontoon rider hangs on with his hands, the water has pushed his foot way into the air...

N. Catch your breath, dry out and great scenery, Serenity even,
until the next rapids...

I took the raft trip with the Wilderness River Adventures rafting guides.

Bighorn Sheep in Grand Canyon

This bighorn sheep watched us raft down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon from a low cliff. We saw surprisingly few mammals on the trip, so spotting one posing was a treat.

July Etsy Treasuries

I wanted to share two wonderful July 1009 Etsy treasuries that included products of mine.

Treasuries are great fun to be in, because a "curator" I never met found and selected my artwork to be in their collection. You get a kind of thrill when you are included in a treasury. Both treasuries have expired by now. (Alas, treasuries only last 3 days...)

The treasury "Teen Scene" was created by anuradesignstudios and featured my lollipops card (In the top right corner).

The lollipops card is available for sale in my on-line store.

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MadAboutYarn created this treasury with the theme Peace. It featured my peace card pack (In the middle of the top row.) This item can be found for sale here in my etsy shop. I have a number of items with the peace sign.

(For an explanation of Etsy treasuries, click here )

Colorado River View of Grand Canyon

A view of the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River. You can only get here by water. (Or a really long hike.) This is classic "Out West" to me.

I was here on a 7 day Wilderness River Adventures raft vacation.

Rafting, Day 1, Part 3

We left Lee's Ferry boat landing, Arizona, elevation 3107 feet above sea level, at about 10:30 in the morning. The view as we started down the Colorado River was beautiful.


The terrain and views were so majestic - and big. Everything was more 3D, more stunning then I had expected. The texture of the rocks was so intense. The scale of the views around us were so different from Wisconsin's lush spring.

There were 2 rapids within the first miles, the first of many - there were over 140 rapids in the 187 mile trip.

Miranda and I were riding in Brad (left) and Zack's raft.


After about the first half an hour (and a rapid or two), The rafts were lashed together and we floated downstream as Bret gave us instructions on the raft, where the munchies, water and soda's were, and other details.




Around mile 4 we saw condors flying overhead, and the Navajo Bridges. The Navajo bridges connect the North and South Canyon walls, soaring 470 feet over the Colorado River. Hwy 89A travels over the downstream car bridge built in 1995, and upstream bridge, now for pedestrian (and apparently condors), was built in 1929. The Navajo Bridges are last place a car can cross the Canyon until 350 miles south, where cars can again cross the canyon at Hoover Dam. We passed under the Navajo bridges around 11:30 AM.

Condors can cross the canyon where ever they want, but seemed to prefer the Navajo bridges. I only remember seeing condors clearly the first day, at the Navajo bridge area, where they rested below the pedestrians on the bridge. Throughout the rest of the trip, a large bird might be spotted for fleeting moments, but I never saw one clearly enough to watch for a while, or photograph.



Around noon, the rafts were pulled up onto a sandbar. Lunchtime! The crew efficiently set up a washing area, serving table and a lunch spread.


Lunch was great - a hint that we would not go hungry on the trip. Lots of food, lots of choices. 3 kinds of chips, 3+ kinds of meats; lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, avocados; 3+ kinds of pickles, choices of bread; Mayo, salad dressing, low fat options (5 options here); margarine, honey, Peanut butter and jelly, cookies, and more.


By lunch time I was very glad I had worn all the water gear - The water that hit us was cold (48 degrees F). Pastor Swicegood had told us to wear lots of rain gear (for the rapids, not rain). I listened - Hey, he is the pastor. But the warm morning had made him optimistic, and he was in shorts - and cold by lunch time. Those people that wore shorts and short sleeve shirts at the beginning of the day loaded on rain gear and layers. Miranda didn't object to the extra layers this time.

After lunch we went through a series of rapids called the Roaring 20's : 26 rapids between mile markers 20 and 30. But more on rapids - in another post.

Elves Chasm, Grand Canyon

Elves Chasm is a beautiful waterfall located where Royal Arch Creek meets the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon. Elves Chasm is accessible by rafting around 117 miles down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon, and then hiking a short distance.

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This is the first time I am participating in Scenic Sunday.
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