Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

From June 28th through July 3rd, I had the privilege of being on a raft on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. This was part of a family trip “for the guys.” On a trip put together by my father-in-law Allan, his two sons, me (a son in law), my three sons, two other grandsons, one grandson-in-law, and one great grandson spent five days and five nights on the Colorado River. These blog posts are part of the story.

One of the more unusual and beautiful parts of the trip was the Little Colorado River. The water in the big Colorado River was clear 4 1/2 of the 5 days. It becomes dirty when rain up river catches you a few days later. Given the depth of the water and the bottom, the water looked green. When you scooped the water in your hands or in a bucket, it was free of silt. Great.

The Little Colorado River is different. Search for images on the Internet for this gem. Here is a link to one photo and here is another – aqua. What a wonderful contrast to everything else in sight.

I loved the Little Colorado because the water temperature was fine. I jumped in and floated. This river gives you a unique opportunity to ride the rapids on your own. You take your life jacket off your chest, poke your legs through the arm holes, and sit in the water. This was great fun.

One side note, Australian dad lost his hat in the little rapids, and no one could find it. While walking on the shore back to the main river, I spotted it drifting under the surface. Brother-in-law #2 was standing nearby and grabbed it. All was well.