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.

Green River Friends

A memorable trip with a wonderful group of friends!

Before (Clean)

.

After (River Clean)

And some of our other animate and inanimate "friends"

Studious photographer and the custom flag.  The flag has significance to Edward Abbey fans.

 Had quite a few toads on this trip.

 What can we say?

The lizard showed up in various places, always with the beads.

 Might be cold, but it was comforting.

Devon, one of the owners of Tex's Riverways, giving his preflight safety speech - complete with a seatbelt.

Float Pictures

 Kelli at Mineral Bottom

 Kathy & Willy at Mineral Bottom

 Willy was the leading expert for relaxed "paddling"

 Candice

 Ian

 John

 BJ

 Shari

 Kathy & BJ

Camp Pictures

 Cooking in the rain

 Blowtorch lady!

 Beats working

 Somebody has to do it

 Mother & Daughter

 Just exploring

Dinner time

Shuttle Pictures

  

  

Green River - Day 6

Friday, September 28 - The sunrise is reflected on the western wall of the Colorado River at the confluence on jetboat day.

This year the whole crew got shirts.

We got everything organized and folks had just settled in to wait when the jetboat arrived and started loading.

Boats load first, then the freight.

The 46 mile trip up the Colorado River to Potash now takes a bit over 2 hours depending on how long  the optional stop at Lathrop Canyon takes.  The Colorado side of Canyonlands National Park is just as beautiful as the Green River side.

At Potash, the jetboat blows up onto the trailer for the trip to town.

All the passengers get the yellow limousine for their trip from Potash back to the office in Moab.

The boats are unloaded from the jetboat when we all get back to the office.  It's a very efficient shuttle system owned and operated by great people.  The jetboat is a great summary to a wonderful week.

Green River - Day 5

Thursday, September 27 -- We woke to a beautiful day and no rain last night.  After breakfast the boats were packed and we headed downstream, knowing that it would be our last paddling day.

We waved at the structure in the mouth of Jasper Canyon as we went by.

Folks started realizing that we were running out of river, and paddling was replaced with lots of drifting.

With no wind, the reflections were wonderful!

About mile 4, Kelli & Kathy switched places for the last few miles.

All too soon, we were spotting the turtle at the top of the rim on the east side of the Colorado river, signifying the confluence was only about 10 minutes away.

We picked a spot on the sandbar just below the confluence where it would be easy for the jetboat to land the next morning, and proceeded to set up camp and then cleaned and stacked the boats on a tarp to avoid getting sand in the shuttle boat.

  This year, the glow sticks were joined by soft rubber balls with strobe lights - really tough to catch a ball in the dark when it's lit by a strobe!

Last night on the river -- at least the last night on this river for this year.