Canyonlands, Utah Sept 2008
We took a paddling journey down the Green River in Canyonlands National Park, roughly 50 miles
from the put-in at Mineral Bottom to the take-out at the confluence with the Colorado Rover
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With our heavily laden flotilla of two canoes and three kayaks, we headed down the calm waters of the Green River. Zane rapidly dicovered it was at least as fun to swim as it was to paddle.
The lower portion of the Green River flows through some of the more remote and spectacular areas of the continental United States. Here is the downriver view from above Fort Bottom, where a prehistoric fort provided the residents with an excellent defensive position. The climb up here seemed much tougher than our last visit 12 years ago - I am sure this has nothing to do with our advancing age!
Below the stone monolith of Turk's Head is an area with some of the highest concentration of flint chipping sites anywhere. Here, surrounded by acres and acres of flint chips, Zane examines some of the remains of what we called the "Arrowhead Factory." We wondered how many years it took to produce what we saw.
Evening comes, the wind dies down, and we enjoy another peaceful beach camp on the banks of the Green River.
The farther we paddle, the deeper, narrower, and more beautiful the river canyon becomes.
The mornings tended to be calm and provided peaceful paddling. In the afternoon the devil wind would rise and make our progress more difficult.
Along the way we saw evidence of the residents from long ago. The people had been gone long before the white men came to the area, but left behind structures, artwork, and evidence of stone tool production for us to ponder over.
Finally the end of the journey, the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. Here the jetboat picks us up for our ride upstream to civilization. Thanks to Deb, Ted, Jan, and Ted for helping make the journey most memorable.