Grand Canyon - July 2003

Grand Canyon

In our endless pursuit to make sure we keep up with Keith's parents' travels, we arranged for a rafting trip down the upper Grand Canyon with Deborah/Damian, Kelly/Reed, and Patrick/Karen. 

Accommodations:

Boardwalk Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) - This was our cheap-o accommodation in Vegas.  So cheap that it has since been demolished to make way for City Center. 

Lodge at Marble Canyon (Marble Canyon, AZ) - A basic lodge included in the price of the rafting trip - we only stayed here one night before we ventured onto the river.

Yavapai Lodge (XX) - Basic lodge located on the south rim of the canyon where we stayed one night after the rafting trip concluded.

Amerisuites (Las Vegas) - Basic hotel where we stayed one night at the end of the trip before we flew back home.

Activities:

Vegas
While the purpose of the trip was to raft the Grand Canyon, we could not miss a couple of days in Vegas prior.  We rented a large van for the whole group and checked in to the hotel.  The first night we saw Purple Reign, a Prince tribute show.  The next day we wandered around the strip, saw the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere in the evening and hit a few bars following dinner.

The following day we drove the van to Bright Angel Trail, dropped it off, and then took a shuttle to the lodge at the put-in point for the rafting trip.  We had to show up in time for the orientation at 8pm to learn what the days ahead would look like.

The River

We had chosen to raft the 5-day / 87 mile leg of the upper canyon, taking us from Lees Ferry (at the Glen Canyon Dam) to Phantom Ranch, led by OARS, one of the rafting concession companies on the Colorado River.  The lower canyon goes from Phantom Ranch to Lake Mead which we've saved to do another holiday. 

Our group chose the paddling trip where we were the power of the boat.  The alternative was one where the guide did all the work, but we wanted at least a little exercise!  The water temperature at the put-in was really cold since it was from the depths of Glen Canyon - the water would warm up at least 10 degrees over the course of the trip.  The river rapids ranged from nice and smooth all the way up to a class-5 rapid, with lots of 3s and 4s along the way. 

Scenery
The views from the bottom of the canyon are just beautiful.  We started the trip passing through Marble Canyon and the scenery just got better from there.  The deep reds in the cliffs were magnificent and the formations were just stunning. 

Food/Camping
The rafting company provided all the logistics - including separate rafts to carry all the equipment.  They also provided tents, and cooked all the food on the trip.  For each stop, we would unload the raft and set up our tent site, then go for a shower (aka dip in the river).  Using the bathroom was simple - for a quick pee it was "skirts up pants down" (women upriver / men downriver), while other needs were met by sitting on something that resembled a 5 gallon pail with a toilet seat on top.  The food that Oars cooked was absolutely delicious -- each night was a different type of dish and we were quite impressed when they had cake for us that they baked in a clay pot over the coals. 

Hiking Out
The last day includes the 9.7 mile / 4380 foot hike up Bright Angel Trail.  This was a rough hike - not for the distance or elevation gain, but instead for the brutal heat.  However, after several hours we all made it to the top - and took a LONG, well deserved shower, followed by a group dinner.  

At the top of Bright Angel Trail

We spent one night at the south rim and then left early the next day to make our way back to Vegas, stopping along the way in Flagstaff.  The following day, we departed ways to head home, all committing to some day return and raft the lower canyon. 

Restaurants:

El Tovar (Grand Canyon) - We wrapped up the rafting trip with a dinner here in the dinning room of the El Tovar hotel.  Great location and the food was also good.

For more photos of this trip: