travels to the desert, part 3

our second day in arizona we traveled about 2.5 hours north from the south rim of the Grand Canyon to page, arizona, where we took a rafting trip down the colorado river!

i had previously booked reservations for the 1:30 pm trip, but received a call the previous day informing me that due to the possibility of high winds the next afternoon, that 1:30 trip would likely be cancelled, would we like to go on the 7:30 am trip instead? after some hemming and hawing we decided to wake up at the horrible hour of 3:30 am so that we could make it to rafting site in time at 7:00 am.

it was really dark when we left, which is a shame because we were driving along the rim and it would've been awesome face to see the sunrise, but nonetheless the sunrise was beautiful as we drove along the desert.

hi, sun!

we went through a slight panic because of a time zone mix-up as reflected in our gps (though most of arizona does not observe daylight savings, the navajo nation in northeastern arizona DOES and so during certain months of the year, the time is different when you drive through navajo land - thank you, frommer's!) but got there in time to stop off at the local mcdonald's and get our beloved and favorite breakfast sandwiches.

i'll spare you the details and say that we all got on a tour bus and went through a dark dark tunnel where we emerged at the end to this:

why yes, it is the second largest dam in the us after the hoover dam!

the bus ride took us through that red rock on the right hand side, where we all climbed into blue rafts at the base of the rock. it wasn't until i was listening to the river guide that i realized i had no idea what the function of a dam was. you know what, i still don't. i was going to fake it with a google answer, but i think instead i'm going to let my ignorance hang out there like freshly washed laundry.

it was a very nice ride, very smooth, and fully powered by a motor. friend was disappointed because he thought we would all get oars and row but agreed it was a good time nevertheless. the river guide, in addition to manning the raft, also gives a nice tour and answers any questions you might have. i thanked my lucky stars multiple times as i noted how temperate it was because in the morning there was still shade in contrast to the direct sun that would've beaten down on us in the afternoon. we floated down the river for about 3.5 hours, stopping along the way to admire hieroglyphics that are inscribed along the river and to take a potty break.

i'm wearing sunglasses that fit OVER my regular glasses! the march of technology is heading in the right direction folks, that's for sure!

i stuck my feet in for awhile but the water was a chilly 46 degrees and i could only stand small bursts in the water before my bones started to ache and i had to pull them out; it was cute while it lasted. it got really hot the last hour of the ride and i think our guide was sensing that we were about done so for the final stretch down the river she really gunned the motor. it felt a little like magnum p.i.

shortly before docking our guide pointed out another small group of boats, noting that they were a group getting ready to embark on an 8 day rafting/ camping trip. all of us aboard the half day smooth water trip oohed and ahhed at the prospect of rafting with real oars and camping along the colorado river. i kinda want to try it, but might test drive a two to three day one first before i go for the eight day monster. we all got out of the boats and took another potty break before getting into tour buses to return to the parking lot. i had the great fortune of being seated next to a squeaky window, comprised of some squeaky metal bar inside plastic casing. squeaky is my enemy. it drives me up the wall and makes my skin crawl. i tried shoving the plastic in a way to secure the metal inside but it did nothing and i finally resorted to clamping my fingers inside my ears in an effort to block out the squeaky. i really hate squeaky. i know it's bad to hate things, but i really cannot stand squeaky. for whatever reason i was able to fall asleep and took a delicious nap and woke up right before the bus stopped.

up next: a personal milestone!