Green River, Day 10

Today's the end of our Green River trip. It's been the 10th trip for me, but the first time to combine the upper and lower flat water sections for a 100 mile trip. When I got up, our camp on the Upper Spanish sandbar was still in the shadows with the sunlight starting to show on the tops of the cliffs on the west side of the Colorado river.

As the sun continued to rise and highlight the Doll House, the clouds built and the breeze increased. We were glad that we didn't need to paddle into the stiff southern wind today.

When the jet boat arrived from Tex's for our shuttle back up the Colorado River toward Moab, there was something different. It had shrunk.

Our solo boatman today was Kenny. After we teased him about not getting any sleep (he has a brand new baby girl at home) he started calling for gear and loaded their small jet boat with all the boats and gear from seven people - the five in our group and the two that had followed our lead. This was the first time we'd had an opportunity to experience the small jet boat.

Leaving the confluence is always a little sad, even more so with the longer 10 day trip. Peace, quiet, beauty, solitude have been our diet and now it's time to head back to reality.

The clouds and shadows kept building and moving but it never rained on us. The cliffs on the Colorado are as beautiful as the cliffs of the Green as the jet boat ride completes our circumnavigation of Canyonlands National Park.

The south wind worked against the current of the river to build some chop which made for a bit more noise and a bit rougher ride than usual, but the light and shadows kept up their show.

As we got closer to Potash the clouds seemed to decrease.

Potash is where we transitioned from the river to the road. The small jet boat goes on a trailer towed by the van instead of on a semi trailer like the big jet boat does.

We stopped for a quick look at some of the Fremont petroglyphs along the Potash road and then headed back to Tex's office where the boats and gear were unloaded, mostly into our cars. I got off light - the canoe was staying at Tex's for a couple days until BJ's trip with her gals when it would hit the river again. If you beg, maybe you can get her to share some about her Labyrinth Canyon trip.