Grand Canyon and SW camping trip

Carol Quest (an ELL teacher and biking friend) and I went on a 5 day Grand Canyon rafting trip, and then hiked out on the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim (a distance of 7 miles, 1 vertical mile). The trip was great fun - hot, but not too hot, good fun rapids, but not scary. It was fascinating to see how the rock formations of the canyon changed as we got further and further down river and into the canyon. We were 24 people on the trip with 6 people paddling on 4 different rafts. There were 8 guides, 4 using oars on supply rafts. The Colorado River is cold, about 50 degrees. Some people jumped in and splashed while Carol and I watched. We camped under the stars those 4 nights in the canyon; the stars were unbelievably spectacular - stars, stars, and more stars.

We hiked in some of the side slot canyons and body rafted in the Little Colorado River which was a beautiful bright turquoise because of calcium carbonate. The meals were delicious. For one half day the paddling was extremely difficult because of head winds, and we paddled like crazy, barely making progress. We were exhausted and had sore arms at the end of the day. That was the evening that the wind never stopped and we got covered with sand that also filled our ears and nostrils. Amazingly enough, the cooks managed to make a sand less dinner.

The hike out was hard. We got started at 7:30 am. 17 people hiked out that day while the others continued on the rafting trip for another 8 days. Carol and I were last and were accompanied by the "sweeper" who sprayed us with water, fed us medicinal Pringles, explained geology, and encouraged us a great deal. We arrived at the South Rim at 4 pm. After showers, we fell into bed and slept until 9 pm. Needless to say, we were exhausted.

The next day we started our camping trip. The first night we were in Monument Valley (NE Arizona) where there are huge majestic red rock formations. Many western movies have been filmed here. We put up our tent such that we could watch the sun rise behind some of the rock formations. We really felt that we were greeting the sun just as the ancients had done. That was a camping site of the Navajo that was being renovated; there we learned that one needs to carry water at all times. One native man suggested that we were unprepared... We managed to beg for water from a Dutch woman at a resort. The next day we lined up with the Navajo men in their pickups, and while they filled huge tanks of water, we filled our thermos.

Then off to Natural Bridges National Monument (SE Utah). (Being over 62, both Carol and I can now enter National Parks free with our Golden Passes - a really good deal). It was lovely there with bridge formations. Just to prove that we could still hike, we hiked down to one of the bridges. Beautiful. The campsite was nice, no showers, but at least there was water available in the park.

The next morning we drove to the SW corner of Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park (showers!). Puebloans (ancient native people) lived there from 600 to about 1300. They had originally lived on the mesa in pit houses, then built storied villages, and eventually moved to alcove dwellings in the overhang of cliffs. It would have been challenging to get back and forth daily from the houses to the fields because the crops (corn, squash, and beans) were raised above on the mesa. One was considered an elder at 35, however, and got to stay home and tell stories to the children.

There were guided tours of three of the larger village ruins; we went on all the tours and learned a lot. The dwellings are extremely well preserved and the rangers are very knowledgeable. We also took a hike to see lovely pictographs. The hike was beautiful with many wild flowers. We were there 2 nights and then rendezvoused with a friend of Carol's and her friend at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona.

It's a huge canyon, also a National Park, and on the Navajo reservation. One can drive along the rims and look down at various rock formations. People live there and farm in the summer since it is cool. Since this is part of the reservation, one needs to be accompanied by a native guide, except for one trail. We did a full moon walk which was interesting, but a bit long and a bit dark. The moon was amazing. The next day we took a jeep tour through part of the canyon and saw some ruins and heard about Navajo history. The campsite was free and quite nice. It's a place that the Navajo can go to fetch water. At one point we went into an air-conditioned lodge for a break because it was so very hot.

On to Flagstaff and Sunset Crater National Park where there was a volcano 1,000 years ago. Lava is everywhere and plant life is still absent. We took a beautiful short hike in late afternoon, and then stayed at another lovely campsite. Coffee in the morning at Macy's in Flagstaff, then on to Las Vegas to be with my friend, Jean, for a few days.

We managed another short rafting trip on Sunday afternoon with Jean and Christine below Hoover Dam in Black Canyon. A nice way to end the trip on the Colorado River again.

It was a lovely trip.

See photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/darlene.kunze/GrandCanyonAndSouthwestJune0802?authkey=eMuV9IC59Nw