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Saturday, August 12, 2017

Rafting the Grand Canyon - What an AMAZING adventure

What an amazing adventure, rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in August 2017! It was filled with incredible views, wonderful new friends, great food, challenging hikes, hot desert days, cold water splashing from rapids, and lots of time to reflect on life. What a way to visit a national park. Only 27,000 people can raft down it a year, so most book their trip about a year ahead. 

For many in our group, this was their first time white water rafting, and for some, it was their first time camping. The outfitter, Arizona River Runners, provided the camping essentials, all food and great guides who made our journey very memorable and safe. 

Want to see more or experience what it was like running the rapids? Drop us a note as we created a short video of the trip from our GoPro clips.

We flew to Marble Canyon from Las Vegas to start our trip through the Grand Canyon. 
 We launched at Lees Ferry, about 15 miles from the Glen Canyon Dam, to start our seven day adventure. 
It is the only place in over 700 miles of canyon where you can drive up to the Colorado River. 
No need to hike in!
Meet two of four guides, Marty and Ethan. Marty (pink shirt) has been down the river 190+ times.  He also guided the USA Men's Rafting Team in early 2017 in their attempt to break the speed record for going through the canyon. There is a great video that documents the effort.  Click here to see!
One of our two boats--we carried EVERYTHING on these boats following a "leave no trace" practice.  We covered 187 miles of canyon in these motorized boats (no rowing needed).
Stunning canyon views
The canyon is definitely one of God's art studios.
Jaw dropping beauty
Views that never ceased!
Daily side trips that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Relaxing in the falls
Amazing scenery 
Beautiful waterfalls!
Great trips up side canyons, never a boring moment!
Relaxing after a day of rafting
Great guides!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We camped in some amazing places, see those rock ledges! We slept on cots under the stars; tents were available but not needed.
Our group, great folks in a great place!
Wildlife abounds in the canyon!
No hiking out of the canyon for us; we flew out by helicopter. What an amazing ride!
After the trip we had to go see the Hoover Dam - AMAZING!