The Grand Canyon — A View from the Colorado River

Unless you consider staying at a Holiday Inn rather than a Hyatt “roughing it”, you should consider adding a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon to your travel bucket list. For adventure travelers and photographers, it is an awe-inspiring trip for the senses as you literally journey through 1.8 billion years of the earth’s history, uncovered by relentless erosion.

Visually, around every bend of the Colorado River is the incredible beauty of multi-colored rock layers, glowing in the early morning and late afternoon sun.  At night, you are covered with a blanket of stars, more numerous and brighter than can be seen in or near the towns and cities where most people live. It is difficult to close your eyes while staring at the Milky Way or rediscovering constellations, but soon the sound of nearby rapids will lull you to sleep. The thrill of running over 100 named rapids adds the sense of touch as you feel your body dropping into a hole in the water and quickly rising on the next wave, all while feeling the invigorating cold spray from the river.

 While 4 ½ million visitors visit the Grand Canyon rim each year, National Park  Service restrictions result in only about 25,000 people who have the opportunity to experience the canyon from the river, and you are not allowed more than one trip in a year. Relatively speaking, it is a rare opportunity to enjoy what most people do not take or have  the opportunity to experience.