Come See the Grand Canyon!!

• Age: 2 billion years old.
• Length: 277 miles long
• Elevation: south rim 7000 feet, north rim 8200 feet
• Colorado River began carving the Grand Canyon
  
  Click Here to See a Map!

There is no feeling on earth that compares to pulling the first few oar strokes that begin a trip down the Colorado. You pull your boat into the current and use its powerful push and shove to point your tiny craft downstream, into Marble Canyon, on the way to the Grand!

As you drift the first few miles down the Colorado, you are traveling through Marble Canyon. The Marble Canyon got its name from John Wesley Powell, the leader of the first expedition down the river in 1869 simply because he thought this limestone resembled marble. Minutes later, at mile 4, you pass under Navajo Bridge, spanning the gorge 467 feet above the river. At mile marker 20.5, the North Canyon's fine, long beach makes a terrific camp site. The side canyon makes for marvelous hiking with the widly folded layers of sedimentary rock creating an amazing grotto. Twenty-nine miles down the Colorado, at Silver Grotto, experienced hikers will find this dangerous side canyon made of the slick, polished Redwall limestone that dominates most of the Marble Canyon. Soon after, 32 miles down the Colorado River is Vasey's Paradise. Powell named the lush grenery and large spring gushing from the canyon wall after his friend and botanist, G.W. Vasey. Be careful not get get caught in the poison ivy!! At Redwall Cavern, mile 33, Powell once thought that the cavern could seat 50,000 people. This estimate is high, but there is enough of room to toss a frisbee around!! The Canyon Wren is a unique part of the river experience. Once you've heard its plaintive call echo through the canyon. Little Colorado River is at mile 61.5 down the river. The confluence of the Colorado and the Little Colorado Rivers marks the end of the Marble Canyon and the beginning of the Grand Canyon. A combination of mineral deposits, spring water, and the light refraction, makes the "Little C" appear a bright tourquoise in color. At mile 79, going into the gorge, rapids get bigger as you plunge into a gorge carved from some of the oldest rocks on earth. The walls are composed of schist, a metamorphic rock estimated to be 1.7 billion years old. 179 miles down the river, Lava Falls Rapid is bound to get everyones attention. It's just plain huge, dropping 37 feet over an ancient lava flow in a quarter mile. Separation Canyon, at mile marker 240 down the Colorado River, is where Powell's 1869 group left the expedition in an attempt to exit the canyon overland. They were never seen again.

I hope you've enjoyed the trip through the Grand Canyon with us. Maybe next time we'll get a little wetter!!

Pictures