Floating

One of my favorite days on vacation was the trip to Lee’s Ferry & the Colorado River downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out & the clouds were puffy, blocking the sun at times. When Troy & Brett’s grandfather passed away, Brett was given the fishing boat to take down and use on the river. Troy’s Grandpa & Grandma were very big into the outdoors and had an outboard fishing boat. I learned a little about motors during this trip. The most important thing I learned is in order for them to work, you have to swear at them. Then they start up but they are mad.. then the motor refuses to work ever again because someone got angry with it.

We launched at Lee’s Ferry, this is where River Tours & the Stark boys that are the river guides for the Wilderness River Adventures launch their rafts at the beginning of their 2-3 week river trips. It is the only place you can launch for the next 200 miles on the river. It was such a beautiful place. This is another company launching in this picture.

We backed into the water to launch the boat, and put the motor into the water, but it wouldn’t start. Brett is really good at small engine repair and he got it started after a few minutes of taking things apart. OK maybe more than a few minutes, but it started. We got the boat into the water and we set off at a rip roaring speed up towards the dam. After a few minutes the engine clunked out again & Brett took it apart while we floated in the water. We set off again. I was trying to take it all in but Brett was trying to get somewhere super fast & that boat was super loud. Brett was talking/yelling to us about the Native Americans that lived on the right side – their land (reservation) had horses that roamed free. He told us about the Lee’s Ferry connection to the Mountain Meadow Massacre. About 4 miles into our trip the boat gave up and we stalled. Then it became peaceful. There was no motor to impede our listening. The water was semi-clear due to a powerful rain storm the day before. I put my hand in the Colorado River. I had never done that before. It was awesome! We saw wildlife, blue herons dotted the shore line. They would not sit still for a picture. We saw horses grazing along the river. Fish were jumping in the deeper parts of the river. The water was calm and I was able to get some great photos & I realized just how beautiful our planet really is.

And the boys got to paddle in to the dock. It was a great day. I am glad that the engine wouldn't work. It was exactly what I needed.