We started early at Lee's Ferry, though not quite as early as the guides and crew, who had already loaded the rafts with provisions for two weeks.
There was a certain amount of milling about as we got our waterproof bags to the rafts.
On the first day, I ended up in a boat with Ben (guide), KG, Kathryn, Grace, Elliot, David. The Navajo Bridge from the water:
The cliffs were quite low here:
The first day involved a lot of gentle floating in the invitingly clear (but very cold) water:
Kathryn and the cliffs:
Grace takes a break - no rapids to keep her awake. (KG on the right.)
At this point, rapid-free, four of us tried jumping overboard. It was cold. I felt immediately like my chest had compressed even tighter than the uncomfortable life jacket and could not breathe. KG had the easiest time launching himself back in the boat; I was the least successful and had to be hauled in every time (I didn't get any better at this as the trip went on, even though the water got warmer).
Here, David makes his first re-entry into the raft:
Elliot climbed in next:
(Not bad, guys!) Full speed ahead....
Oh, no! We've lost one already! (Elliot looks on, unperturbed.) Sarah's boat slips on through to the other side after enjoying some shade "up close and personal":
David, fashionably sheltered from the sun:
Carrie's boat: Esther, Julie, Helen, Avavit, Joe, and Dave:
Sarah's boat has not quite mastered the "high five", but will have plenty of time to practice: Note the cave high up in the rock, possibly a granary: This made me think of castle walls, or rooks: KJ's boat, with Curt, Stella and others:
Dave, Helen, Joe (back), Avavit, Carrie, Julie: David, Kurt, Drew: In sight of camp: Initial view from our camp site:
For the start of our Grand Canyon Experience, we sloughed off our excess luggage in the Hooters parking lot and shuffled on to a bus. We traveled through the arid landscape under ever-changing clouds.
On the bus, our fearless leader asked us to share who inspired us and what we hoped to get out of the trip. Eventually, we reached Lee's Ferry. We checked into a motel and dispersed for naps, hikes and/or beers according to our tastes.
Julie, Grace, Helen and I decided to start with a hike. The Cathedral Wash trail sounded nice, though our map was a bit cryptic.
We headed toward the Lee's Ferry ranger station and the Navajo bridge (or rather bridges; one for vehicles, one for pedestrians). We got our first glimpse of the mighty clear turquoise/green Colorado River. More on that later.
The ranger tried to discourage us from the hike we had intended to go on - apparently it's a big wash area and if the thunder was indeed a sign of a rainstorm, we'd pretty much be toast. (Soggy toast swept out in a giant flood? Maybe the metaphor doesn't quite work.) So we walked into the middle of the pedestrian bridge to tempt fate in our own way. It was pretty steep:
Once it started to rain, however, we split up. The sensible folk went back to the motel with its covered beer garden and socialized. Julie and I decided to head into the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area.
It was exhilarating to walk out and explore in the desert as we got muddy.
I liked this rock formation, which made me think of Hamlet meditating on Yorick's skull ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."):
This mushroom-shaped rock fascinated me. There was a French family posing by it for a while (you might dimly see the children to the left of it): I got ready to catch the top-heavy rock, of course:
Here is a balanced rock:
Eventually, we found what we believe was the Cathedral Wash trail area - though we did not go down into it. The grooved, sinuous sides of the wash reminded me of old-school baths: Reluctantly, we started heading back so that we'd have time for dinner before orientation. It was a good thing, too, because the path was a lot longer and more hilly than we'd remembered.
We were able to relax and enjoy a good part of the evening with our fellow rafters before KJ started explaining why we needed to rush out and buy replacements for things that some of us had deliberately left behind in Las Vegas. Grrrr.
N.B. This is the first of nine posts about my trip. Grand Canyon Trip Navigation: [Next Post][Last Post]
We flew into Las Vegas for the start of the trip, which meant I had to actually leave the airport and enter the city. One of my fellow-rafters shared accommodations with me, so after dinner we walked from Rafting Central (the Tropicana, chosen - I kid you not - for its proximity to Hooters) back to the hotel. En route we milled around for a while in front of Bellagio's with a crowd that had gathered there. Ducks floated on the water, so I was a bit skeptical that something was going to happen. Then, suddenly and noiselessly, little metal sticks poked a centimeter out of the water. The ducks quietly disappeared. and the show began:
I was dismayed, however, to discover that we did not really need to leave the city limits to have the Grand Canyon experience:
N.B. This is the first of nine posts about my trip. Grand Canyon Trip Navigation: [Next Post][Last Post]
The day dawned clear and bright, and "Crazy Vic" graciously drove around 3 boroughs and Long Island to pick people up for the hike in his SUV-van.
After a few wrong turns thanks to a malfunctioning GPS, an uninformed policeman, and a spacey kid, we made our way to the GW Bridge and set off for the Catskills.
We joined another 20 hikers at the meeting place, Ed gave us his spiel, then we set off through a meadow where we soon encountered ... a diamondback rattlesnake!! It doesn't look that big in this picture, but I think it was over a meter long. It was a bit uncomfortable with us, so it shook its rattle fiercely as it slithered across the path into a more auspicious side of the meadow:
A slightly closer look at the moving rattle:
Disappearing into the tall grass (look very carefully):
Oddly, our group did not blend in quite as well in the meadow, even though Oscar was wearing green:
As we entered the forest, we alternated between rock scrambles and soft soil, steeps and flats, with plenty of twists and turns and abundant wild blueberries. We stopped for lunch at the monoliths:
Everyone took lots of pictures:
Ben showed off his rapelling skills as Mischa and everyone else watched:
Villo gave it a shot too, starting a wave of first-timers who wanted to get a jump on the rock-climbing lessons scheduled at the gym next month:
Lee stationed himself on the rocks below to capture the descents:
Several people tried the descent, but after one guy slipped a few feet, our leader called a halt. It's probably better to start at the gym....
We made our way down the mountain to complete a nice 7-mile loop, then 16 of us reconvened at a diner near Woodbury Commons. I believe it was called the Bright Star Diner. The waitress was incredibly kind and accommodating -- she actually gave us, at our request, 16 individual separate checks. (As opposed to Cassidy's, near FAPC, which fought us when we tried to get 4 checks for 16 people, divided naturally by tables of 4.) At any I hope everyone tipped generously at the Bright Star. I did my part, leaving more than 100% tip on my delicious and satisfying $4 meal.
June seemed unusually busy this year, or at any rate it sped by.
I missed the Independence Day fireworks, but I caught the fireworks after the NY Philharmonic concert on June 24 (early clip):
From closer to the finale (listen for the quote of the day: "I wish I had my camera"):
And even better, I caught the fireflies in Battery Park after a performance of Macbeth (accompanied by a public service announcement from Stephen Burdman, director and artistic director of the NY Classical Theatre):
Very short (approx 11 seconds) video clip from "Vedi, le fosche" (Verdi's Il Trovatore) sung by the Metropolitan Opera Chorus on June 20 in Prospect Park:
June 26, I saw an a cappella concert. A newly formed barbershop quartet, Highline, sang a lot of songs about love and longing. We got front-row seats, but the lighting was not very flattering:
Highline was opening for an all-female a cappella group, the Metropolitones:
On June 27, I went to South Street Seaport to see the Waterfalls. I was somewhat underwhelmed. I'm sure they were a tremendous feat of engineering, but they don't look incredible way out in the East River, dwarfed by the neighboring bridges.
New York Classical Theatre takes a bow after performing Macbeth in Battery Park:
Earlier in the month, I saw another Laura Brenneman concert. Here's a VERY short clip so you can hear a bit of her sound:
This was her biggest gig so far, held at the Bitter End. It then morphed into a surprise birthday party for her at Madame X. Pretty cool.
Grace, Esther and I stake out our turf on a private beach (with metaphorical stakes, since we didn't set up tents):
Sandra, a former dragon boat racer, and Freddie, from Peru:
Some hustle and bustle by the kitchen area:
Clouds and cliffs catch rays of the setting sun:
Light fades; twilight descends:
