July 4, 2015

July 4, 2015

This is our sixth and final day on the Colorado River.  Our only big stop is at the confluence with Havasu Creek.  It is just a narrow crack in the Cliffside.  We hiked a mile upstream to where it opens up into a little playful stream.  It has a hint of the teal blue color of the Little Colorado River.  I think the rains this week has muddied it up.  The creek is nice enough with a continuing series of minor waterfalls, but I would love to hike the four miles to Havasu Falls.  That gorgeous blue water 100 foot waterfall on the Havasupai Reservation, another Bucket List item, will have to wait.

The rest of the day is mostly quiet.  The Granite Gorge has disappeared.  (We must be coming down off the peak of the Colorado Plateau.)  The river is calmer and we spend most of the day motoring downstream. 

At lunch, one of the younger passengers is digging in the sand in search of Ant Lions.  Having never heard of them, I am amused to find an innocent looking weevil-like insect with that name.  It turns out they are ferocious.  All around I notice little sand pits.  I drop an ant into one and am shocked to see the Ant Lion clamp down on it.  The ant struggles but can’t escape the death trap.

Near the end of the day, the landscape suddenly changes.  Volcanoes have altered the landscape.  Basaltic lava rock coats the Cliffside.  We can see the characteristic hexagonal columns in the cliff walls.  Our guide describes how lava flows dammed up the Colorado River several times over the last million years.  Mother Nature and the river eventually destroyed each one but not without altering the course of the river. 

The last lava dam is not completely gone.  The resulting Lava Falls rapid is probably the biggest we ran.  It is a boiling cauldron of coffee-colored water.  We survived, but not without some major splashes in the face.  This rapid also marks the end of our trip.  We camp a few miles down at mile 187.5.

Since today is both the trip end and a Holiday, the raft crew restocked us with more beer and vodka.  We have no fireworks (The National Park forbids them), so we sing a couple patriotic songs.