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passport photos passport photos posts from our travels sunday may 31 2009 grand canyon river trip may 2009 in august of 1869 a team of nine men in three wooden rowboats entered the grand canyon near lee s ferry ten weeks earlier they had set out from green river wyoming to be the first to descend the green and colorado rivers and map the area they had started with high hopes and ten months of food but after two horrendous months on the river they had lost one boat and most of their provisions one man had left the expedition at a frontier outpost in utah they had come too far to turn back and the worst of the trip was still ahead the leader of the expedition major john wesley powell was a soldier scientist and adventurer he had lost one arm at the battle of shiloh in the civil war but that barely slowed him he thirsted to discover the unknown his men were of the same mind and entered the canyon with anticipation not dread just over three weeks later six members of the party reached the mormon settlement on the virgin river near grand wash the terminus of the grand canyon they had been given up for dead and the settlers could hardly recognize the sunburned starving men who floated out of the canyon in their battered boats three men had lost hope only the day before and left the party at separation rapid to strike out overland those men made the climb out of the canyon but were probably killed shortly thereafter by shivwit indians who mistook them for white men who had attacked them but john wesley powell had reached his goal and returned east to a hero s welcome the river that powell and his men descended does not exist any more the glen canyon dam built in the 1960 s produces electricity for the region and formed lake powell the spanish named the river colorado because it was colored red by the silt from its many tributaries that silt now settles to the bottom of lake powell and the river runs clear and cold water below the dam comes from the bottom of the lake at 50 degrees two things however haven t changed the spectacular scenery like horseshoe bend at sunset just below the dam and the seemingly unending rapids that occur throughout the descent we set out to experience both the stark beauty of the canyon and the whitewater our group was made up of eight members of the utah angels the investment group i belong to and our sons and friends 25 in total plus 4 guides we would cover 188 miles of the 240 in the grand canyon at the put in at lee s ferry we participated in the hokey pokey ritual that one of our members does by tradition before every adventure trip then we loaded our gear on two large rafts donned rain gear for the rapids and headed down river the rafts are large j rig rubber rafts specially designed for this river and powered by a small outboard motor all the gear is lashed amidship seating is along the side and front of the gear but for the real fun there are nine positions out front on the pontoons with only ropes to hang on to much of the river was calm and the scenery was amazing but then we would begin to hear a low roar that would grow as we approached another set of rapids at almost every rapid we thought of powell and his men hearing the same roar and not knowing what they faced around the bend these next three picture are from our outfitter since i don t have a waterproof camera of course today all the rapids are well known and have been named one way to immortality is to drown or come close to it in a rapid because then it gets named for you willie s necktie is named for wilson willie taylor who went overboard in the rapid and came up with a boat rope wrapped around his neck he was pulled through the rapid by the neck and lived to tell the story other rapids are named for their features house rock lava falls my favorite is sockdolager old english for knockout blow the j rig is built for the big rapids and after assessing our appetite for adventure the guide drove straight into the roughest sections in some sections riding the rapids is like getting hit with a firehose every 5 10 minutes but you dry off quickly in the heat and start looking forward to the next one in the afternoon we would pull over on a narrow sandy beach and set up camp the weather was perfect so we laid out sleeping bags on top of cots and most nights slept under just a sheet after setting up camp we would wash off with a quick dunk in the river then do a little exploring we were called to dinner with an old bugle the food was fantastic hearty dinners included steak trout one night was mexican on the fourth night we had ice cream that had been packed in dry ice just to show off i think breakfasts were pancakes eggs and sausage and always more than we could eat each day we would stop at scenic points vasey s paradise is a large spring bursting from the cliff wall redwall cavern is a huge cave scoured out by the river the entire utah symphony played here one evening it s large enough for a frisbee football game with room to spare another day we pulled over at the mouth of the little colorado and hiked up this tributary the water is turquoise from calcium carbonate in the surrounding rock the warm water is beautiful and inviting and we soon joined the others riding the rapids here s berton surfing the pipeline we wore our lifejackets around our waists for flotation and for a fashion statement another day we tied up to some rocks and made a steep climb above the boats then we followed the small stream up the canyon to this double water fall but we always returned to the river with more rapids to run on another hike we found this hidden grotto complete with diving platform and swimming pool deer creek falls is the largest along the river we climbed to the top and then hiked back behind it to another falls spouting from the rock we spent a whole morning on the havasu another beautiful river of turquoise water this is scenery unparalleled anywhere in the world on our last night the guides sprung one last surprise room service shrimp cocktail the next morning we pulled in at the whitlock helipad two helicopters shuttled passengers down who were beginning their trip and then shuttled us up to a nice warm shower a final lunch and then a plane flight back to our starting point posted by craig earnshaw at 5 53 pm 1 comment sunday april 19 2009 petra ancient city of stone petra latin for stone is the ancient capital of the nabataeans located about 50 miles south of the dead sea in the jordanian desert it intersected important caravan routes for the profitable incense and spice trade in petra the nabataean engineers constructed a series of canals and cisterns that captured the water from nearby natural springs this allowed the normally nomadic people to establish a city that grew to over 20 000 inhabitants petra was established about 100 bc and grew quickly the industrious people carved nearly 3 000 monuments and tombs into the red cliffs that surrounded their city in 106 ad the roman emperor trajan laid claim to the area though daily life in the city changed little christianity was introduced in petra about 350 ad and flourished briefly however in 363 ad a huge earthquake destroyed half the city and a long decline began trade routes changed and business fell by 700 ad the area was home to only tiny populace and became lost to the outside world until discovered by a british explorer in 1812 made famous in the movie indiana jones and the last crusade petra today is a popular tourist attraction although israel and jordan both maintain strict security controls on their borders it is well worth the hassle to visit this beautiful and mysterious relic of the past we arrived late in the evening at this picturesque hotel despite the austere exterior the rooms were charming and comfortable the next morning we awoke to this view of the surrounding desert the entrance to petra begins with a 1 1 2 mile walk through the siq a narrow gorge carved in the rock by wind and rain the entrance to the siq reminded many of us of the slot canyons in utah the siq continues to get deeper and deeper and deeper as we proceeded then suddenly the gorge opens up to reveal an eye popping view of al khazneh the treasury the treasury misidentified by indiana jones as the hiding place of the holy grail is actually an ancient royal tomb we continue down the siq into the main part of the city the colonnaded street only hints at the bustle of commerce that once existed in this area a local bedouin provides a glimpse of the past huge tombs line the walls of the valley that surround the city though many of the tombs are more down to earth the amphitheater marks the center of the old city continuing down the main avenue we encounter travelers on camel note the camel shaped rock formation on the horizon we come upon more camels which are there to provide a lift to the footsore tourist we decline the lift and head further into the canyon these steps carved by the original inhabitants and this precipitous trail eventually lead to another stunning tomb el deir the monastery we pause to wonder at the industry and craft required to carve these huge works from solid rock just past the monastery we arrive at the end of the trail this overlook of the forbidding mountains and beyond the jordanian desert not a very hospitable landscape and a good reason to turn around and head back posted by craig earnshaw at 2 06 pm 4 comments older posts home subscribe to posts atom blog archive 2009 5 may 1 grand canyon river trip may 2009 april 1 march 2 january 1 2008 6 november 1 september 1 july 4 other blogs jenkins bunch first soccer games 14 years ago the hutchings family project runway here i come 15 years ago about me craig earnshaw there is much to see and so little time to see it view my complete profile