Travel Thursday!

My trip this week is a little more unique than the others that I've featured here on Travel Thursdays.  In October of 2009 I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  While millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year, only a small fraction of that get to view the Canyon from the bottom. 

My Dad got into river rafting several years ago and has a group of friends that we have gone on several rafting trips with over the years.  I have had to opportunity to raft down the Salt, San Juan and Rouge rivers- these trips were all around 4 days in length.  The Grand, however, is a 17 day trip!  In order to get a permit to go on a non-commercial (no guides) trip down the Grand Canyon, Dad's friend got on the wait list in the early 90's, when I was only 6 or 7 years old! 

Here's the group before we started out! 

There is a unique rhythm that goes with a rafting trip and I absolutely love it.  The days start early with a breakfast and then packing up camp and loading the rafts.  Everything has to be packed so that if the rafts flip on a rapid (delighful thought, I know) everything will stay attached and dry.  Next the rafts leave camp and get on the river.  Some days we would stop for lunch, some days we would just eat on the rafts and keep floating.  In the Grand Canyon, the walls of the canyon are so high that we would need to find a camp spot by around 3 in the afternoon.  Then camp is set up and it starts all over again the next day. 

I can't really describe the feeling of being on a rafting trip like this.  It's so peaceful and you fall into the rhythm of the river so quickly.

 My mom, dad and I during a day hike up the Little Colorado River, the water is impossibly blue here - the photo doesn't really do it justice

 View from the raft

 A scene from camp

Me, manning the oars

 View from my tent



I actually got pretty sick on the trip and had to hike out with my mom once we got to Phantom Ranch seven days in. 

It was an amazing trip and I would do it again in a second if I got the opportunity!
Here are a few more beautiful scenes from the bottom of the canyon...

Happy Trails, see you next week!