Day 2

On July 31, we woke up, ate breakfast, and got back on the river. I don't think it was an easy first night for any of my fellow rafters. Between getting used to sleeping on thin mats, the wind/blowing sand, and the rain it was difficult for most of us to get a good night's rest. The morning was a little cooler than I originally expected and although I was terribly excited to get back on the river, I do remember thinking that if everything night was going to be that difficult and if I was going to feel that awful every morning then it was really going to be a long week. Luckily, things started looking up.

Early morning mist on the river

Tammy and Evelyn-It was a chilly morning

Our first stop that morning was to a little cave where we tossed a Frisbee and talked with our guides about the canyon. Ken saw this as an opportune time to get a little bit of shut-eye since the night before was so rough.

The cave where we tossed a Frisbee and talked with our guides

Ken taking a nap

We floated on throughout the day. There were lost of fun rapids and I took all of them up front. It made for a cold ride, for a it took quite some time to feel the heat from the sun, but it was well worth it.

The morning mist covering the cliff-tops

Waiting for some good rapids-Ken and me (and Tom's back)





Some of the cool, naturally created rock formations



Skinny Dave getting some experience manning the raft

Once we made it to our campsite, we unloaded the boat, set up camp, and headed out on our first hike. We hiked up to (it felt like a straight-up climb and I told myself that if every hike was going to be like this, I wouldn't be going on every hike; fortunately, that wasn't the way it turned out to be).

View from Hike #1-If you look closely, you can see the darker shade of the creek
merging with the lighter shades of the Colorado River

The hike provided beautiful views and our destination was up to some granaries. If I remember correctly, the natives would store their food in places like this in order to protect it. It was a difficult hike but it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the people on our raft.

The granaries



The ruins of what used to be a granary



Inside one of the granaries



Evelyn and me

Views from our destination

I ended Day 2 with a journal entry: "Today was a really fun day! The food has been absolutely wonderful! We had delicious chicken salad wraps for lunch; salmon, couscous, and spinach salad for dinner; eggs (cooked to order) fruit, and bagels; roast beef sandwiches (with a PB & J option) and chips for lunch; and hamburgers/brats and cole slaw for dinner with carrot cake for dessert. It's been so good!

"We spent quite a bit of time on the river and it's been amazing. Evelyn, Ken, and I went on a hike. It was tough but it was a beautiful view! Ken headed back down before Evelyn and I so she and I had an awesome conversation about activity in the Gospel, the priesthood, and receiving the endowment. I've really been enjoying this time with Ken and Evelyn. I really do look up to them so much."