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Day On The River Moveable Feast
As
an out-of-this-world adventure, running the Colorado River through the Grand
Canyon could be ranked with a safari to the Serengeti Plain or a trek through
the Himalayas. The experience is unique--one of a kind. In eight memorable days,
you will cover some 277 river miles, negotiating nearly 200 exciting rapids,
but with safety, and in first-class comfort. It was different for Major John
Wesley Powell who, with a small band of fellow explorers, in 1869 took a month
to blaze the watery trail we now cover in a fraction of the time. Like most
river runners who have since followed him, Powell was awed by the river and
the Canyon:
"Away to the west are lines of cliff and ledges of rock--not such ledges as you may have seen where the quarryman splits his blocks, but ledges from which the gods might quarry mountains... and not such cliffs... where the swallow builds his nest, but cliffs where the soaring eagle is lost to view ere he reaches the summit..."
Grand Canyon offers the most spectacular geological extravaganza on earth. This grandest Canyon of them all, stretching 280 miles in length, measures from four to 18 miles in width, and averages a mile in depth. Erosion relentlessly attacks its primeval floor and its age-old walls, carving bizarre land forms. A veritable rainbow of hues is displayed from its two-billion-year-old base of black
Vishnu Schist to the dazzling white Kaibab Limestone at its rim; and in between,
every color found in nature's easel. Though this is a desert setting, plants
and wildlife nonetheless abound. Cactus and wildflowers dot the river's shores.
Cool glens where waterfalls tumble to the river can be seen, lush with ferns.
Bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, and ringtail cats may be seen along the banks
and in tributary canyons, while overhead, many species of birds may be observed,
including hawks, golden eagles, falcons, great blue herons, and egrets.
A Grand Canyon expedition is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation; it deserves to be an unhurried experience. Our eight day expedition traverses the entire 280 miles of the Canyon, beginning at Lees Ferry, Arizona (in Grand Canyon National Park), and ending at Pearce Ferry on Lake Mead, Arizona.
To many, the most thrilling event on a Grand Canyon voyage is riding the rapids. The exhilaration you feel as your raft plunges through the waves cannot be merely described, it must be felt. Only after passing through such rapids as Soap Creek, Hance, Sockdolager, Hermit, Crystal, and Lava Falls can one appreciate the achievements of Major Powell and other early river explorers.
Life on the river is pleasant. Eight days of exciting rapids, exploration, and sleeping under the stars will seem to pass much too quickly! Most people sign up for our standard eight-day expeditions. However, we do offer special trips for those with particular interests in history, geology, photography, ecology, and archeology. On these expeditions, which follow the same course as our regular eight-day trips, passengers are accompanied by experts who share the special knowledge of the Canyon and of their fields of expertise.
Eight-Day
Motorized Expeditions
Lee's Ferry, AZ to Lake Mead, NV
Trip Dates For 2003
April Expeditions
April 3 - April 10
April 9 - April 16
April 17 - April 24 *
April 30 - May 7 *
May Expeditions
May 1 - May 8 *
May 6 - May 13 *
May 7 - May 14
May 8 - May 15
May 13 - May 20
May 14 - May 21
May 15 - May 22
May 20 - May 27
May 21 - May 28
May 22 - May 29
May 27 - June 3
May 28 - June 4
May 29 - June 5
June Expeditions
June 3 - June 10
June 4 - June 11
June 5 - June 12
June 10 - June 17
June 11 - June 18
June 12 - June 19
June 17 - June 24
June 18 - June 25
June 19 - June 26
June 24 - July 1
June 25 - July 2
June 26 - July 3
July Expeditions
July 1 - July 8 *
July 2 - July 9
July 3 - July 10
July 8 - July 15
July 9 - July 16
July 10 - July 17
July 15 - July 22
July 16 - July 23
July 17 - July 24
July 22 - July 29
July 23 - July 30
July 24 - July 31
July 29 - Aug. 5
July 30 - Aug. 6
July 31 - Aug. 7
August Expeditions
Aug. 5 - Aug. 12
Aug. 6 - Aug. 13
Aug. 7 - Aug. 14
Aug. 12 - Aug. 19 *
Aug. 13 - Aug. 20
Aug. 14 - Aug. 21
Aug. 19- Aug. 26 *
Aug. 20 - Aug. 27
Aug. 21 - Aug. 28
Aug. 26 - Sept. 2 *
Aug. 27 - Sept. 3
Aug. 28 - Sept. 4
September
Expeditions
Sept. 2 - Sept. 9
Sept. 3 - Sept. 10
Sept. 4 - Sept. 11
Sept. 9 - Sept. 16
Sept. 10 - Sept. 17
* Special
Interests Expeditions
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