This morning we woke up to another great pot of cowboy coffee, fresh blueberry pancakes, and bacon. Last night’s sleep was not as good as the night before, at least for me.
Jennifer, the kids, and I tried to get our camp packed up while we still had the shadow of the canyon on it. Other’s didn’t, and had to pack up in full sun.
After packing camp, we shoved off for our last day of rafting. As soon as we were floating down river, all four of our boats were lashed together to make a huge 28 foot rafting rig, for our float into Lake Powell.
The further we got into the lake, the more green and wildlife we saw. There were some amazingly high cliff faces, just beside us. Some were over 1,800 feet high.
Midday, the guides began taking orders for fresh BLTs and Club sandwiches made right in a makeshift kitchen on the raft.
At about 1:50PM we saw our first signs of civilization in three days, the Hite bridge. This also marks then end of our river trip. Our guides steered our rig to a ramp with a convoy of vans and trucks waiting for us.
Since it was only us and three others flying back to Moab, we had to quickly lighten our load for the flight. We said goodbye to our new friends and loaded into the van for the short drive to the air strip.
Upon arriving at the strip, we first noticed that the runway was neither straight or level. It also pointed directly to a canyon wall.
We went through a little flight orientation, and then loaded into the six passenger plane. Before long we were airborne and flying back over the river we had just rafted. What an awesome view. The ride was a little bumpy, but nothing major. In fact Brandon actually fell asleep. Trevor got a little quezy, and need to breath into his “bag” for a little while. The flight lasted about 45 minutes.
At Canyonlands Airport, there was another van waiting for us, to take us back to the river outfitters.
After getting back to Moab, we piled into the car, and headed back to the hotel for AC, washer/dryer, and more importantly showers.
Once the hotel’s pipes were adequately clogged with sand and dirt, we headed out for dinner at Moab Brewery.
Today’s Highlights
- Enjoying the massive canyons and cliffs
- Relaxing on the rafts
- Showers
- Clean Clothes
Advice
- Take the flight, not the bus!! It costs more, but the view is worth it.
More athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jking89/sets/72157606448670293/