Canoeing on the Colorado

This summer, we celebrated the Fourth of July by getting away from it all.

We (Alyssa, Brian and Becky) drove out to Fruita and rented a couple canoes from Rim Rock Adventures. Devon (my cousin) and Ed had been doing trips on the Colorado and Green Rivers for several years, and each time I swore I was going to go.

Well, this time we finally made it, only Ed and Dev now live in Portland and were unable to join us. After arriving at Fruita, we talked to the guide at Rim Rock. He was really helpful - got us a map, suggested some campsites, etc. So we intrepid adventurers shoved off and started floating down the river.

As you can see, in most places the river is pretty lazy. It's just fast enough so you don't have to paddle very hard. You can jump over the side and cool off if you get too hot, which happens frequently.

We didn't see many people on the river. I expected hordes on the weekend of the Fourth, but we saw maybe four other groups. We camped somewhere along the banks the first night. Another group had taken the optimal site, and not knowing there was something equally nice just downstream we opted for the nearest bank where we could land.

That's Alyssa in midair at Black Rocks, our second campsite. Brian is up at the top. He jumps with his hat on. You can just make out the telephone pole in the left side of the picture - I think it's used for power and communication on the train tracks. Two or three trains went through while we were at this site. The site is awesome! Really pretty except for the thirty minute sandstorm that blew up, and the two guys with their jet drive outboard that decided to stop and fish across from us. Note that we were the only group, apart from the extremely drunk and sunburned folks around the bend to the right, on this stretch of the river. Even though it might have looked like good fishin', they didn't catch anything. Next time I'm bringing my fishing pole.

I hit the water with astonishing speed.