Is it Tuesday? Green River: Day Three

Moab is my favorite town, with approximately 5,000 residents, located in a beautiful setting close to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. There are multiple coffee places and bakeries, bookstores, ice cream, good restaurants, and gift shops. The grocery store is large and well-stocked and the hardware stores are entertaining. On the down side, hotels keep being built along a highway already choked with semis and tour buses. A local guide told me he knows when tourist season is over when he can cross the main street without running for his life.

Day Three

I learned not to hesitate when getting in or out of the kayak. I gave up and put a leash on my paddle and secured it to the boat. The cord is annoying as it drips and tickles my legs but not as annoying as trying to kayak without a paddle. I quit wearing my tevas and went barefoot. It is easier that way to rinse some of the mud off my feet to keep the kayak cleaner, but I swear the mud is mixed with some kind of dinosaur glue. I know there must be a reason the inside of the kayak is a brilliant white, but it will never actually be clean again. Ever.

When the sun came up, Tuesday morning, somewhere behind the clouds, we realized the fish were feeding along the banks of the river. A lot of the fish turned out to be bubbles escaping from the sand but a few fish were visible and real. It rained a lot the night before but we had good tents and the sand didn't stay wet for long. It was hard to believe this kind of weather was happening after the brutal drought the west has endured this past year. Despite the heavy cloud cover,  the red cliff behind us was illuminated briefly when the sun first rose above the horizon.

We saw several deer while camping there. They must be attracted to whatever is being grown at the ranch across the river. We haven't seen any other people on the river so far.

Later in the Day

Blasting friggin' wind kept up all day again. We saw double rainbows, though, and finally a partial third. Enjoyed guacamole, chips, and salami as we stood on a sandbar and watched the sky north of us. There was thunder and lightning in the distance. 

Lots of people were on the river today. More than I've ever seen on any of our trips. Ruby Ranch is a good place to put in on the river and that may account for the sudden influx of people. I wouldn't bother going all the way to the town of Green River again. We're still getting stuck in low water sometimes but not very often. The riffles caused by the wind make it even harder to read the river.

The scenery in the canyon is becoming more dramatic. Whenever we come to the steep cliffs bordering the river, we slow down and drift along so we can take it all in. Our favorite activity is to hold the three boats together and break out the snack bag and cooler and drift with the current while gazing up at the canyon walls.

We picked out a large sandbar opposite a lovely canyon two-miles south of Three Canyon for our camp. Our tents were set up and the firewood gathered before the front hit. Cooking was difficult in the heavier rain and wind. This was our coldest night but we were still comfortable and well-fed.

The bottom lands are often named. My favorite one is named "June's Bottom".