One of the most amazing parts of our very busy summer was a family trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. If you are reading this and haven't had a chance to visit the Grand Canyon, GO! We traveled with Grand Canyon Expeditions, and had a wonderful time. It is like no other place I have been before, and was truly an experience of a lifetime.
Day 1 August 4:
We had to wake up super early on our first day to catch a bus to Lees Ferry where we met our raft and our guides. After one picture by the raft we were on our way!
Departure from Lees Ferry
At Lees Ferry the Colorado is fairly clear, but just as you get going the Paria River joins the Colorado and the switch from clear to muddy water was dramatic.
Our first stop for lunch had a view of the Navajo Bridge. Every day we pulled over to a different small beach area where our wonderful guides provided a lunch with a view.
On our way!
At Lees Ferry the Colorado is fairly clear, but just as you get going the Paria River joins the Colorado and the switch from clear to muddy water was dramatic.
Our first stop for lunch had a view of the Navajo Bridge. Every day we pulled over to a different small beach area where our wonderful guides provided a lunch with a view. 
We had our first real drop (9 ft) in the afternoon at House Rock Rapid, but most of the day was pretty calm waters allowing everyone to settle in and get used to the raft. We traveled about 22 miles on our first day on the river.
Settling into camp meant finding a spot to call your own, setting up your cots and unpacking whatever you might need for the night. Most nights we didn't even take out the tents, it was plenty warm and we had an amazing light show between the stars and the moon.
Hanging out at camp, enjoying the view and the company!
Day 2 August 5:
After a quick breakfast and packing our camp back onto the raft, we headed out for another day on the river. We had a few big rapids (Georgie rapid and Nankoweap rapid were both...)
Just before lunch we stopped off at the Redwall Cavern...
This was definitely our coldest day... really the only day we felt like we needed to bundle up. Most of the time we were very clearly in the Mojave desert, but on this day we snuggled close!
This was definitely our coldest day... really the only day we felt like we needed to bundle up. Most of the time we were very clearly in the Mojave desert, but on this day we snuggled close!
Our second camp, Lower Nankoweap at mile 53.5 after about 31 miles on the river.
Our camp was just down river from some Puebloan granaries where local Native American tribes had carved out storage rooms to store grains. A few of us took a wonderful hike to see them up close, and the views of the river were amazing.
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