Saturday, November 15, 2014

Canyonlands River Trip 2014

My Canyonlands rafting trip in 2014 was a huge success. Running the Green and Colorado Rivers through the National Park is among the scenic and rewarding adventures I ever done. For the geologist, it has everything. And the wildflowers are spectacular. Take a look. And by the way - I have a few spots left for the 2015 trip from May 17 to 26. Contact me for more info.

We have a one day tour of the Island in the Sky section of the Park by 4-wheel drive. Seeing the White Rim and Schafer Point (shown) trails is awesome. La Sal Mt. laccolith in the background.

We fly into Mineral Bottom airstrip to begin the trip. It is a short 20-minute flight from the Moab Airport.

View downstream on the Green River from Fort Bottom. The wide flats next to river are called bottoms.

Here is the fort at Fort Bottom. This area is at the ancestral junction between the Anasazi lands to the south and the Fremont lands to the north.

A fossil bone with the Moss Back Member of the Chinle Formation.

The Buttes of the Cross are actually two buttes one in front of the other and were named by John Wesley Powell.

Scorpion weed (purple) and daisy in Anderson Bottom.

Prickly pear cactus blossoms.

An old cowboy route in Anderson Bottom provides access to the rim lands.

Candlestick Tower from the Turk's Head.

Climbing up to Skylight Arch.

Skylight Arch.

A Google Earth image of the location Skyline Arch (yellow tack). The junction of the Green and the Grand (Colorado) is shown at the bottom of the picture.

A closer look on Google Earth of the arch location.

Beautiful spring-time bloom.

Above the Green River.

Along the Green River.

The Honaker Trail Formation exposed along the Green River just upstream from its great confluence with the Colorado.

View up toward the Doll House from Spanish Bottom.

Historic inscription along the Colorado River at Capsize Rapid.

Running through Cataract Canyon on the Colorado.

The Kolb brothers (Emery and Ellsworth) left their names on a wall (river right) in the Big Drop Rapids.

At the end of the seven-day raft trip, we are met by our planes and fly back to Moab over the same country we just floated through. Here is an arm of Lake Powell in North Canyon.

The airstrip is visible here center left.

Flying over the Land of Standing Rocks in Canyonlands National Park.

The Turk's Head (upper center) with the Green River winding around it.

Come with me in 2015!

2 comments:

  1. Amazing photos! You captured it all. Great trip. Great fun. Great geology. Great new friends. Great CRATE. Great Wayne.

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  2. These photos are majestic! Thank you for sharing them, and the information identifying them.

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