Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast
Adventures in the U.S. National Parks and public lands with Matt and Karen Smith.
#23: Dories, Ho!: Floating the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon Part 2 of 2
In this second part of our mini-series about floating the Colorado River in a small wooden dory boat, we share stories from our second trip through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. We describe some of the breathtaking places along the river that we didn’t see on our first go around, as well as our runs through two of the most extreme rapids in the country. If you haven’t already listened to Part One of this series, you might want to start there. In that episode, we discuss the logistics of a Grand Canyon river trip and what it’s like living on the river. Spoiler alert: both of these trips were adventures of a lifetime. Your bucket list will get longer after listening. And at the end of the episode, we answer a question from our mailbag.
Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:
- We start the episode talking about Karen’s idea of what a bucket list is, and some of the adventures still in our bucket. (This sentence will make more sense after you listen to this episode.)
- What it was like to float the entire length of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon
- Descriptions of our day hikes, including Elves Chasm, The Patio, Havasu Creek, and more
- Floating down the Little Colorado River wearing oversized diapers
- Our impressions of running two of the biggest whitewater rapids in the lower 48: Crystal Rapid and Lava Falls
- How the beach below Lava Falls got its name
Links to more information:
- Where to get a copy of our book by the same title: Dories, Ho!
- List of concessioners who run commercial boat trips
- Photos from our trip
- Where to learn more about our books and travels
- Join the conversation on Facebook - we want to hear from you!
- Check out our Instagram account
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