Father Daughter Adventures

White Water Rafting Down the Grand Canyon!!!

Sunday, July 5

The trip has begun. We loaded the plane only to be deplaned due to the airline needing to wait for a 1st officer. As my heart sank just thinking the worse that we wouldn't make our connection on Monday in Vegas we got in line awaiting our fate. A great fate it turned out being. We switched from U.S. Airways to Continental. Ran through the Rochester airport, caught the plan and were upgraded to 1st class. It's going to be a great trip!

Monday, July 6

After a leisurely start to our day we boarded an eighteen seat plane heading for Whitmore International airport in the center of the Arizona strip. This airport is literally a little dirt mixed with gravel in the middle of a canyon, with nothing else around it. From here we headed to the Bar 10 Ranch where we spent the rest of our day.

Learning a little history about the Ranch which was built in 1983 and it is still run by the 2 youngest sons. Caring for over 1000 cattle on 250,000 acres of land. In their free time the family entertains river runners like Dad and I.

Before dinner we challenged a brother and sister to a game of horse shoes where I demonstrated that I have no throwing skills. Then it was off to skeet shooting where Dad hit both birds while I again had no skills.

Then finally the best part of the day, after dinner we went for an ATV ride through the canyon to engagement point. Absolutely beautiful and it was given it's name because the oldest son proposed to his wife at this point, then took a helicopter into the sunset over the Grand Canyon. Actually to the point here we will be flying tomorrow to start the rafting portion of our trip.

The evening ended with a show put on by the cowboys and girls of the Bar 10 Ranch. They sang, danced, recited poetry and played the harmonica.

Tuesday, July 7

Waking up bright and early for a true cowboy breakfast starting off right. Then we packed our bags, got our quick drying clothes on and headed outside where a helicopter was waiting to shuttle us to the canyon base. They started off by taking every ones weight to balance the copter correctly. I luckily got placed in the cockpit and had quite a ride. Only taking six minutes we stormed through the Arizona Strip cutting sharply over the ridge and dove into the canyon. My 1st glimpse was absolutely amazing.

Once everyone had been shuttled in we met Tony, Steve, Lynsey, Kelly, and Robert our guides for the next 3 days. They got us all situated with dry bags and life jackets before boarding the boats to get our feet wet on the little rapids. Which we all thought were quite big till we found out they didn't even get ranked in the difficulty of rapids.

After stopping for lunch and then again for a swim / potty break we headed for Kulb Falls a level 8 rapid on a scale of 10. It was a great ride but I have to say I was a little disappointed I wasn't on the front tubes where the real wild ride was. A short while down the river we stopped to set up camp. This process consists of a fire line to unload the boats, setting up the cots while our guides set up the kitchen and outhouse. A very luxurious camp.

After group bathing time we enjoyed a meal of hearty spaghetti with mushrooms, onions, meat and a ton of other great things in the sauce. I of course gorged myself and still had room for cheese cake for dessert.

The evening conversation may have been the best part. Dad and I are on a trip with two huge families. So we have bonded with the guides right away. Tonight we talked about Truffle hunting. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Wednesday, July 8

The night along the river was rather pleasant with the water flowing by. We were all asleep by 8:30 because the lights went out. It was a good thing because we woke up bright and early when the sun came up and there was the call for coffee. Breakfast was amazing with eggs to order, blueberry and lemon poppy seed muffins and hash browns. Again plenty to eat. Then we were off putting in around mile 212 and going a short ways to pumpkin springs. A bowl of water formed by travertine. We took the opportunity to make a few jumps off a 20 ft cliff. I had to just run and jump to make it.

Back on the water we hit a few small rapids warming up for the afternoon. Three Springs Canyon, Granite Springs, and finally Diamond Creek Rapid before stopping for a gourmet lunch. After lunch we turned a corner and stopped at Travertine Grotto where we hiked up a waterfall by using a series of ropes and ladders. And of course I had to get a jumping picture.

Then back on the boat for the real excitement the 3 largest rapids of the trip. I jumped on the front barrels for the 1st through Travertine Falls. They were huge and I was told after that I was higher then the rest of the boat when we hit. I'm just glad I hung on. Next big one was Honeymoon falls. Named after Bessie and Glen Hyde who disappeared in 1928 at mile 232. There boat was found but they never were. The final rapid of the day was Bridge Canyon rapid where dad rode the front tube and I was in the chicken coop taking pictures.

From then on it was just flat water and relaxing on the boat. I have to admit I took a little snooze along the way. At camp we found a great place right on the beach to put up our cots for the night. Once I was all set up I waded out into the water for my smile break and I noticed a great current I could float on. I grabbed my life jacket waded out and caught the current that whipped me down past the boats. I only had to swim a little towards shore before I caught the ghetty that swept me back up and around. I took the trip 3 times before I decided to get out and bath for the night.

Dinner was exciting again. Steve had told us that it was going to be a captains dinner and the attire was black tie. I never would have guessed that when I turned the corner all the guides would be in skirts. The guys as well but Robert was shirtless with a bow tie to have the true affect. Dinner was fantastic again with steak and rainbow trout accompanied by green beans, rolls, and cake for dessert. A very tasty treat.

Then came the entertainment. Steve broke out his guitar and played the 4 songs he knew. Then once the sun went down Kelly wowed us all by spinning fire. Then instruments were brought out and a make shift band was put together for a couple more songs before we retired for the night only to be woken up by the full moon coming over the canyon at 4:30 a.m.

Thursday, July 9

The fourth day and final day of our rafting adventure. We woke up bright and early again because we had a 3 hour float down the river to Lake Mead and the jet boats that would take us the rest of the way.

Nothing too exciting happened except surfing on the raft, hula hooping and taking jumping pictures. We also learned a few things while we watched the canyon slowly disappear before our eyes into the water.

The coolest part however was the jet boat when the Colorado river dramatically turned from dirty muddy water to bright blue of Lake Mead. After a short ride we reached the dock, unloaded and reloaded a bus to Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam.

Back at the hotel we took time to relax before picking up the car and getting ready for our trip to Zion tomorrow. We went down the strip to The Bellagio for dinner at Noodles and then caught the tail end of the water show out front before walking home to bed.

Friday, July 10

Let's see, there were a good amount of events today. We left Las Vegas around 9 am heading for Zion National Park. We reached our lodge a little after one because we stopped at Springdale Organic Farm for sandwiches and cinnamon apple crisps. After dropping all of our gear we headed to the visitors center to get the lay of the land and to catch the shuttle up the scenic drive.

Zion is unlike anything I have seen before. The cliffs are red sandstone with shear rock faces going up 1000's of feet. There are very few trees or greenery throughout the entire park which is a drastic contrast to everything in the Alps. Our 1st hike took us to the emerald ponds. These ponds were named this in the 20's because of the algae that grows giving off the emerald color. First we went to the lower falls which I think were the most impressive with waterfalls coming off the cliffs above hitting the algae covered rocks below.

Then we hiked up to the upper falls which was set back in the canyon and the falls let out in a pond below. Finally we finished the loop at the middle falls directly above the lower falls on an overhanging rock. This pond was completely filled with tadpoles that 3 boys were engrossed in catching. After the hike Dad and I indulged in a chocolate vanilla twist before catching the bus to the weeping rock.

The Weeping Rock was very similar to the Emerald Falls in its greenness. However, this green came from the trees and plants growing vertically out of the sandstone rock face. The reason the rock got it's name is because the water seeps out of the rocks at a significant rate creating the weeping affect. This only took us about 15 minutes to see so we caught the next bus to the Temple of Sinawava to take the Riverside walk. This walk was very beautiful along a river bed. The most interesting part was the deer we saw that had a full rack. I would have liked to go farther than the path allowed into the Narrows but we didn't have the proper gear to wade down the river to where the canyon narrows significantly.

At this part it was rather late so we caught a shuttle back to the car and headed to dinner at the Bit and Spur. A place that came highly recommended by a variety of people. It definitely lived up to those recommendations and we had a great evening of beer and food.

Saturday, July 11

4:30 A.M wake up call for a 5:30 drive through the park. We arrived at Zion Mountain Guides at 6:30 where we met Zack our guide for the day. We drove about another hour outside the park to a town called Leeds and to a Canyon called Yankee Doodle.

We unloaded the Jeep, grabbed all our gear and walked to a cliffs edge. With very little information or training Dad was hooked up and repelling down the 1st drop. Probably one of the most difficult because after a couple of steps down the rock face it cut in sharply and we had to rely solely on the rope and use our arm strength to repel to the bottom.

The next one had a tricky entrance with a bolder in the way that we had to climb around it, not holding the rope. I went down 1st for this one carrying our pack. I thought it was fantastic because at one point I had to push off and jump from one spot to another, flying through the air.

From there on out we didn't use the ropes anymore and had to rely on our strength and using our arms, legs, and backs to shimmy between rocks and down the canyon. It reminded me a lot of when kids climb up door frames. The only difference being we had a longer fall below us. But Dad and I completed them all successfully, truly impressing Zack with our beginner skills.

The last part of the adventure consisted of us climbing up a steep portion of rock. There were points where we had to use our hands and feet to pull ourselves up. A simpler version of rock climbing. But when we reached the top we felt successful and I think Dad is ready for more adventures.

Later that day, after lunch, Dad and I headed towards Angel's Landing. The hike that everyone we talked to recommended and told us it is a must do. It was about 2 pm and 107 degrees. We walked about 20 minutes towards Walters Wiggles and decided we weren't feeling the 2 hour hike up in the scorching sun so we turned around and headed back down, and into town before driving to Vegas.

Our adventure is over this time around. However, I have a feeling Dad and I will be traveling again and trying out more wild and crazy things.