As the Raven Flies: Colorado River: Here Comes the Rain Again

October 21, 2015

Day 3

In the morning National Park Service employees slowly motor-boated past us. It appeared like they were gathering some sort of specimen for research. We pulled everything up from the mud, and a huge puddle was formed where the tent had been sinking. I picked a "random" Clif Bar out of the food bag which stated the message, "Head for the hills." Once we were up and about we continued rafting again and rowed quickly to pass them and get away from the loud hum of their boats. As we floated along, we observed a green heron on the bank eating a fish. Soon the Potash campground and then the plant were both behind us, and there was no turning around. There were no roads nearby us now. We skirted the edges of cliffs and could reach out and touch them. We raced some grebes for about 15 minutes. Just as the weather was starting to look ominous, we came across a dock. We pulled over and Freebird went to check it out. There were no "No Trespassing" signs on the dock or in the screened porch above it, so we lifted the rafts out of the water and placed them on the dock, weighing them down with our water containers. The porch appeared to be a former business - there was an old neon "Open" sign covered with dust and hooks on the wall that once held merchandise. Tables and chairs were set out. It was the perfect place for lunch, especially as a storm was approaching. Just as we dumped out all our food on the table, it began to pour. Then once lunch was finished, the rain subsided. We packed up everything and returned to the dock to load our boats. A Tag-a-Long tour boat from Moab stopped to check on us and make sure we were ok. We left the old business behind (a place we later learned was once part of a lodge named "Camelot" because they offered camel rides), and continued on downriver. Camp was set up across the river from Pyramid Butte on an island, at a very high point (about 20 feet) above the water. Then I ran around barefoot in the sand as the sun was setting. We had a fire along the river that night to dry all of our things that were still damp from the night before. Of course another downpour began and we raced back to the tent and waited it out. Once the rain stopped, we rekindled the fire and dried everything this time. We got back in the tent, and it rained all night.