lindsey et al.: Westwater Canyon

Last weekend I took a little float down Westwater Canyon (Colorado River). I was joined by a most excellent riding companion, Claudia. We drove down Friday, engaged in lively conversation, spaced our exit, drove slow and stopped for breaks without the worry of a small children pulling items off gas station shelves. We eventually got to the take-out around midnight and took advantage of the now rare occasion to sleep out under the stars. I'm not sure if it's because it's been awhile since I slept out under the sky, but I swear the stars never looked so close. I felt like if I stood on top of the car I could reach up into the sky and give the milky way a stir. The experience was further enhanced by a meteor shower which we watched until our eyelids could stay open no longer. Claudia introduced me to this great thing called "sleeping with a poofy coat over your head." This works well at night to keep out the cold (instead of having to cinch your mummy bag around your face) and allows you to breath freely. This method also let's you sleep in because you never notice when the sun comes up...we were woken at 9am by the rest of our group honking their horn; a fine way to start a fine day. The day ended just as fine with 1/2 pound greasy burgers at Ray's (in Green River).

It was a fabulous weekend.

A few photos.
Row 1: The Crew
Row 2: Roy, Chad and fall colors on the river.
Row 3: Me working hard on the flat water (or was I impaled by an arrow)? KC and Lacey scouting Skull.
Row 4: Chad with the "room of doom" in the background. This photo of Claudia is perhaps my favorite of the trip. This was the look on Claudia's face after watching a raft get flipped in skull (see video). Lacey said "take a photo of Claudia, she's looking a little nervous" but of course she had nothing to worry about...