Today was the day we had booked a rafting trip down the Colorado river. No, not the seven day white water rafting trip that goes through the Grand Canyon (maybe next trip), but rather a still water rafting trip that leaves from Page, Arizona and travels to Lee's Ferry, Arizona. Lee's Ferry is the let-in point for that seven day trip through the Grand Canyon, so our trip ends just before the rapids begin.
When we got up this morning the weather was not looking good. We got our campsite packed up right before the rain started, though, so at least that was promising! The drive up to Page was about three hours, but it was a gorgeous drive. The Mesas in this part of Arizona are amazing! Everywhere you look there are shades of red, orange, and peach and it is just beautiful. We were tracking the radar the whole way and were anticipating a rainy rafting trip, though, so we were a little disappointed. We arrived in Page about two hours before we needed to be at the rafting shop so I managed to get my laundry done and we had time to eat lunch. It was still raining at 12:30 when we reported to the shop for our trip that left at 1:00. We were reassured that the trip was still going to be great because we might see some fabulous waterfalls.
At 1:00 we loaded into the bus that would take us to the put-in spot for the rafts. This ride was pretty cool because we got to go through a two mile tunnel that was cut through the sheer rock banks that make up Glen Canyon. At the end of the tunnel was the dam that holds back the Colorado River and provides power for this part of Arizona. We got into our raft and began the three hour journey down river. In my opinion, there are few things as relaxing as being on the water in a beautiful place. The canyon walls are so high and interesting I was craning my neck looking up for the majority of the trip. Shortly after the trip began the sun came out and shined brightly for the rest of the day. We saw Blue Heron, Turkey Vultures, and a variety of other birds. We stopped at a beach about an hour and a half into the trip and they told people they could swim if they wanted to. My boys hadn't worn bathing suits (because they told us they didn't need them), but Brady was really dying to go in so I told him he could go swimming in his shorts. Did I mention that the water is only 45 degrees? I figured he would get as far as his knees and think better of it. That is not what happened. He not only went in past his knees but he dunked his head under the water! Not to be outdone by their little brother, both Nick and Ryan also dove right in after only a little coaxing. Joe and I stayed safely in knee deep water, and even that was painful! After getting back in the boat we continued on our way to Lee's Ferry, around Horseshoe canyon and down the Colorado River. The canyon views continued to be spectacular and we saw some wild horses grazing on the hills. Our guide was great and we had a terrific ride.
When we got to Lee's Ferry we anticipated an hour long ride back to Page. We had a campsite reserved at a campground right on Lake Powell, which is in Page. The lake looked beautiful, but we were debating getting a hotel room instead, just because of the time that we would be getting there and the fact that it is not that much fun to set up a whole site when you aren't really even going to have any time to enjoy it. Our minds got made up for us, though, when we came upon a truck fire on our way back to Page. A truck had just come down the mountain on the other side of the road as our bus and the breaks caught on fire! We arrived right as it was beginning, but our bus driver thankfully wasn't willing to put us all at risk by driving by it. As we arrived at the scene the two drivers were still trying to get the cab off off the trailer, which was really scary because they had to get really close to the ever growing fire. Thankfully they did get it off and no one was hurt. If they hadn't it could have exploded. Needless to say we were delayed for a couple of hours. First we had to wait for law enforcement (the ranger from Lee's Ferry) to come, then the fire truck (which ran out of water and had to leave to go get more) and then the bulldozer to push the burnt out trailer carcass off the road!
By the time we got back to Page it was after eight and we were tired and starving. We went to get pizza for dinner and tried to Priceline a hotel to stay in for the night. None would accept our low bids. There are eighteen hotels in Page, but they were all either booked or well over $100 for the night, or both! Who knew what a popular destination Page is?! Finally after debating our options in a Walmart parking lot for a bit, and after I refused to allow the family to spend the night in the car, which seemed to be Joe's preferred option (although I think that was just because he was frustrated), we booked a room at the Holiday Inn for a room with one king size bed for about twice as much as we wanted to spend. Fortunately we were able to get two rollaway beds in for the big boys, and Brady fit just fine in the king with us. It was worth it! We all got a good night's sleep and breakfast was included. Now we're off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!
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