April 25 - Rafting on the Colorado River

Saturday, April 25 - Rafting! The room was comfortably cool overnight, and we were up around 7:00 AM. We didn't sleep that well because gusty winds were noisy blowing against the yurt. It is really, really windy out West, we are discovering. Our plan this morning was to get ready and head to Moab for a few chores including a charging our car, grocery run, and update of our blog. These all went perfectly well, and we headed to the rafting outfitter around 10:40 to get ready for our run down 7 miles of the Colorado River.

The pre-raft prep went fine and we were on the bus for the hour-long scenic trip to the river on Highway 128. Upon arrival we were grouped with four young people from the Netherlands. Their English was pretty good, so we had a great time with them. We sat in the back of the boat near the guide, who had oars that he used the entire time we were on the river. Since our Dutch friends were in the front, they got splashed a lot by the cold water, which made the squeal with delight and laugh uncontrollably - and stop padding! Our guide was really good, too and we had fun trading whitewater stories.

The rafting trip was pretty tame. The river was a Class II with a drop of roughly 15 feet per mile, which meant lots of flat water with decent current. However, there was a stiff wind blowing against us, so we had a lot more paddling to do that normal - but our guide did the lion's share of that as well.

The highlight of the rafting trip was the scenery. The Colorado River gorge in that area is incredible and we found ourselves awestruck throughout the day. 

Getting ready to get on the bus headed for the put-in.

Amazing views from the river - this is a butte.

Great day on the river - temp was perfect!

Views like this all down the river.

Leon enjoying the view

We stopped for lunch at this former ranch-turned-inn. The food was good, but the view was better!

At the inn/restaurant, they were setting up for a 200+ person wedding outside for the evening. This was the view for the wedding. Outdoor weddings here are more practical, because it rains so infrequently!

You can see the chairs over my shoulder for the wedding to happen in the evening. What an amazing place to get married!

Resting in the shade before we loaded back up on the raft for the rest of our trip.

The trip ended around 4:00 and we took the 40-minute bus ride back. We really noted the heavy traffic throughout town. There was a classic car show on top of all the normal heavy traffic, so it took a long time to get anywhere in town.

From the rafting outfitter we headed to the tip of Dead Horse Point State Park. We had a brief stop by the visitor's center before getting to the point. Here were some of the most incredible views we've ever seen. You could see 30-40 miles out over a wide view at the Colorado and Green River canyons. The rivers were roughly 2,000 feet below. We took lots of pictures, but they can't convey the views we had. And there was a wedding getting ready to happen when we arrived - another great place to get married.

Dead Horse Point is right in the middle of the picture - it's a bluff in a U-shaped bend in the river.

The views were amazing from every viewpoint

You can see a dirt road running through the middle of the picture - you have to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to drive on this road. Glad we didn't do it, because there are no guard rails anywhere.

Those are potash lagoons in the distance

We stayed about 30 minutes then headed back to the yurts for dinner and the evening with friends. We were in desperate need of a shower so we set up the camp shower for the first time. This consisted of a bag of warm water with a plastic "shower head" which could be turned on and off by the user. We also setup the tiny tent for privacy. Haley went first and it was non-stop laughs as I held the shower bag and tent in place (it was windy) while Haley washed herself under the water. The shower head had a habit of falling off the hose so that created another level of challenge for us. Once she finished we changed places and my success was about the same as hers. We got semi-clean and entertained ourselves and our friends (who were watching nearby).

That's me inside the privacy tent. Leon is holding the camp shower above me so gravity can do its work. The wind kept gusting, so I was convinced that the tent was just going to blow up and away at any moment. It was the fastest shower I have ever taken! Another adventure, for sure!

 It was windy again in the evening and overnight, so we hung out inside the yurt and shared stories with friends.